"It's Like I'm On An HGTV Acid Trip": People Are Denouncing The Home Design Features They Never, EVER Want To See Again
We all have our icks, whether it's the subtly annoying way your partner answers the phone or your coworker's penchant for talking just a little too loud in the office — but sometimes, current trends can feel just as cringe-worthy. Recently, I asked the BuzzFeed Community to share their home decor icks, and they didn't hold back. These are the modern-day design trends that make them irrationally irritated.
1."Grey/beige everything! It's all supposed to be 'decorating for the next owner,' but guess what: I'm living here, NOT the next owner. If I had enough money to own my house, I would paint it as colorfully as possible! The saddest thing is that some people continue the trend of bland colors in nurseries/kids' rooms just to be aesthetically pleasing to their style, which I think is bad because babies/kids love color, and it's good for their development. Some people take this trend so far that they even paint their kids' toys to match their grey/beige color palette!"
2."Cool/white lighting. Some people like it because it supposedly looks more like daylight, but it just looks like a doctor's office or sad warehouse to me."
3."When the front door doesn't face the front of the house. In some houses, you walk up and have to turn to see the door."
—Anonymous
4."I hate it when people use built-in or stand-alone bookshelves for things other than books. If you have keepsakes to display, get a curio cabinet. If you want to display knick-knacks and kitsch, do yourself a favor: box them up and donate them. Your house will look much less cluttered."
—Anonymous
5."I hate the trend of having patterned wallpaper in every room. GOLD-PLATED CRANE WALLPAPER FOR THE DINING AREA. Then you step four feet into the living room, and BAM — STRIPES WITH DOTS. It's like I'm on an HGTV acid trip or inside a Dr. Seuss book, but not in a good way."
—Anonymous, 34, Oregon
6."Faux shutters that CLEARLY would not actually cover the windows if they were real shutters."
7."I hate ceiling fans with a singular light — just one large, flat light. I like ceiling fans with multiple lamps."
8."Books with the binding side facing backward. It looks stupid (almost as bad as wrapping your books in white butcher paper) and makes it impossible to actually select a book for reading. So it screams, 'I'm trying to look trendy' to anyone who comes to your house."
9."Tiled counters! Think of all the gross stuff that gets into the grout!"
10."Strip lighting. I can't tell you how many obviously quickly remodeled or flipped houses have strip lighting in a bedroom or a main living area, and it just completely takes out the feeling of a home to me. Feels more like a gallery or a clinical space, and I can't imagine choosing it."
11."Carpets or rugs in the dining room. Do you vacuum after every meal? What if someone spills?! Grosses me out."
—Kaetlyn, 37, New York
12."Floating shelves. What in the actual eff?! Why do people like these? They're gross, collect dust, are not practical, and look cheap, cheap, cheap. To say I hate this trend is such a massive understatement."
13."Black tile. I get the biggest ick when black tile is installed in kitchens, living rooms, and especially bathrooms. As someone who doesn't like bugs, I think it makes me paranoid that you won't be able to see if there is one. Not only that, but it doesn't make it look any better. I feel like it makes a place feel more enclosed."
—Sarah, California
14."Barn doors as bathroom doors. You're letting shit and its smell out, literally. No secured privacy either."
—Anonymous
15."I'm frustrated with the lack of lamps. I cook for wealthy people and there is recessed lighting all over the house — not one lamp in sight. WTF is that."
16."Open kitchen shelving. DUST. DUST ALL OVER YOUR PLATES AND CUPS. It’s stupid. Use a freaking cabinet. Open shelves make me abnormally angry."
17."Those stupid balls of dried vines, sticks, or straw…yuck. It makes me feel like the whole house is dusty. I didn't know anyone actually wanted to live in a Kirkland's."
18."Words. Words on signs. Words about Jesus. Words about live, laugh, love and family 'rules.' Words on bread boxes and sugar. Unless it's your last name on a mailbox, lose the freaking words already."
—MH, 47, Minnesota
19."Seeing lightbulbs. Huge skeleton pendants, Edison bulbs, whatever it is…no. It’s like having exposed wires. Cover that shit up."
20."Feature walls. I’m moving in with my fiancé in September, and he has this feature wall in the living room that he painted with TEXTURED PAINT when he bought the house 10 years ago… did I mention it’s teal? Because of how much time and money it took him to complete, he’s hesitant to get rid of it. Some feature walls can be okay if they’re done well, but it’s a fairly permanent fixture, and when it becomes super dated in about a year, it’s a huge pain, for both time and money, to get rid of it. So, every time I see one, I cringe thinking out how expensive it was to install and how dated and out of style it will be in a matter of months."
—Anonymous, 27, Georgia
21."Showers with a huge open wall instead of a curtain or glass enclosure. Freezing your butt off as soon as you shut the water off is probably part of some evil madman architect's plan that they are still cackling about."
22."Color drenching. This looks amazing in magazines and TikTok, but after spending a lot of time in color-drenched rooms, even bright and interesting colors start to feel very monotonous. They affect my mood and my vision. After spending a half hour in color-drenched blue living room, I get orange after-images and splotchiness in my sight for a while. I love the impact of the first look, but functionally they just don't feel very pleasant to me."
23."Crushed velvet. 🤮 It just gives 'live, laugh, love' vibes."
24."ALL the seating being low-slung (i.e. a seat height well below the former standard, which is about dining room chair height) and/or armless. This also applies to furniture where the seats are extremely *deep*, so that you either have to perch on the edge or flop backward. Nowadays, it's almost the default for living room furniture to be several inches lower than it used to be, but seats like that (and seats without arms) are REALLY difficult for people with any physical impairments (including just age-related stiffness) to sit down in, and especially to stand up from. If all the seating in a home is low-slung, it signals, likely unintentionally, that older or disabled visitors are NOT WELCOME."
25."One of my ex-girlfriends wanted to put a potted plant hanging in the shower. I had to break up with her."
26."There is nothing worse than an area rug on top of carpeting. WHY?! It's usually under a coffee table. I hate carpet to begin with, so adding carpet on top of carpet is just gross."
—Angela, 39, Minnesota
27."Freestanding bathtubs placed too close to walls. This makes cleaning around them nearly impossible, even in wet rooms where they are in a large shower area."
What's a current home design trend that just gives you the ick? Tell us in the comments or through this form, if you'd prefer to stay anonymous.
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
