Your interior and home decor style is a reflection of your personality and personal style. If you care about fashion don’t just finish at your wardrobe, you can make a style statement in your home through your color scheme, furniture, and accessories. Like your wardrobe, your space can also benefit from a seasonal update otherwise it will look tired, dated, and tacky.
1. Ugly Accent Cushions
Accent and throw cushions are the easiest most affordable way to give your interiors an instant refresh. They can do the opposite however if you overload or choose dated colors, prints, and textures. It’s best to choose your accent color and do tonal variations and always put your cushions upright, not on a triangle slant as this is dated.
2. Mismatched Tile Patterns
Mismatched tiles can make your space feel disjointed, visually cluttered, and like you’re trying too hard to be trendy. Chic modern design is about consistency, clean lines and you want to play things pretty classic when it comes to tiles.
3. Busy and Dated Wallpaper
Like fashion, design trends come and go, so making a style statement with wallpaper can be tricky as it can date fast. It’s better to create a more cohesive design theme instead of wallpaper accent walls and if you do, definitely steer clear of busy prints, intricate patterns, and old-fashioned patterns.
4. Chunky Old-Fashioned Furniture
Don’t cling to old-fashioned furniture just because you’ve had it forever. Again like fashion, trends come and go, and clunky ornate furniture with intricate carvings and elaborate details look out of place in modern design. Upgrade to pieces that are simple and favor clean lines and functionality. You also don’t need to spend the earth, Ikea has great affordable well-made. on-trend and modern pieces.
5. Oversized Overhead Light Fixtures
Lighting creates ambiance and has the power to transform a room. Be careful however, making a style statement with large overhead lights especially if they are ornate or overly decorative as they can overpower the space and look cheap, tacky and a little try hard.
6. Tacky Themed Rooms
Think long-term as themed rooms can look too tacky and kitsch and won’t age well. It’s better to keep the canvas clean and modern and dip into trends and themes via accessories like cushions, bedding, and knickknacks.
7. Retro Overload
Retro vintage design aesthetics and mid-century modern furniture can look super cool. The trick however is to incorporate beautiful mid-century pieces with more modern design details as too much retro is a bold statement that can make your space look dated and you could tire of it quickly.
8. Heavy Drab Curtains
There’s a fine line with curtains as they can look fab or drab. Thick drapes can look and feel heavy in a space, especially in dull shades, dated prints, or old-fashioned fabrics and detailing like velvet and fringing. Let the light in and make a more modern design statement with minimalistic window coverings or chic shutters.
9. Outdated Color Schemes
Incorporating color into a space can be tricky as some shades, especially muted and pastel ones can date a space fast. It’s better to paint your space a warm white and choose furniture in timeless shades like navy, green and gray and add pops of color via the trends with cushions and accessories.
10. Forget the Formal Living Room
This isn’t Downton Abbey, stiff, overly formal and old fashioned living rooms are out and they aren’t coming back. Modern design has shifted to more open flexible living areas and a more practical casual living. An eat in banquet area, a cozy kitchen island and a chic scandi style table is stylish and modern.
11. Clear the Clutter and Knick-Knacks
Minimalism and Marie Kondo style decluttering is in. If your home is overloaded with knick-nacks, sentimental trinkets, or too many accessories it can create a sense of visual clutter and make it look chaotic and dated.
12. Dated Bathrooms and Kitchens
If you want to give your home a modern upgrade and increase its value the kitchen and bathroom are the best place to start. Tired, outdated kitchens and bathrooms will ruin the allure of your entire home. Update the cabinets, countertops, sinks and fixtures and it will look like a brand new home.
13. Fake Plants
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Indoor plants and greenery are good for your health and bring energy and style to your home. The fig tree is a trend that has been around for a while and is classic and timeless. It’s OK, especially if you’re not a green thumb to incorporate a few artificial plants into your space, but don’t overdo it, choose modern styles and pay attention to your pots, simple is more elegant.
14 Ornate Mirrors
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A mirror can open up your space, make a room look bigger, and create a cute visual focus point. Again we aren’t living in an episode of Bridgerton so go for a classic, modern style. Ornate mirrors, with elaborate frames and in vintage styles, look old-fashioned and outdated in a modern home.