Interior Design Trends That Are Overrated

You don’t wear bellbottoms anymore, nor do you sport a mullet (we hope, anyway). Just like your personal style changes, so does the world of home design. Here are a few decor trends that may have had their 15 minutes of fame, but are considered overrated these days.

Wallpaper

One of the biggest comeback kings in interior decor has been wallpaper, which had been dormant in the style realm since the 1970s. While it’s certainly made a big resurgence on the home decor scene over the last few years, it’s definitely one of those trends that’s been given just a tad too much emphasis.

Unless you plan on leaving your wallpaper up for decades, you might want to put a little more forethought into it. If you’ve ever tried scraping the stuff off a wall in the past, then you know full-well how incredibly tedious this task can be. If you haven’t, don’t be fooled at how easy they make it seem on those home improvement shows.

If you pick a bold pattern that’ll probably have a limited lifespan as far as it being in style is concerned, you might find yourself spending oodles of time scraping off wallpaper. Consider paint stencils or peel and stick wall coverings instead.

Dark Hardwood Floors

They’re obviously incredibly sleek and sophisticated, but dark floors are ridiculously tough to keep clean. Two minutes after you’ve mopped and polished them, they seemingly appear dusty and full of footprints again. Of course, you can opt for a less shiny and smooth finish and go for hand scraped or grained hardwood in a darker shade to help offset this problem.

But why not embrace a lighter shade? Do something to set yourself apart from the crowd and go for a different shade on your floors.

White or Light-Hued Upholstery

Sure, furniture covered in white upholstery is just as sophisticated as dark floors, but they are equally as tough to keep free of debris. Ketchup, red wine, grape juice, dog hair, crayons, dirty hand prints, etc – they all need to stay a mile away from white upholstery or else you’ll be spending all your free time shampooing it more often than you’d care to. Or else, you’ll just wind up being one of those paranoid homeowners that treats their furniture like it’s in a museum.

No Bathtub

We’ve been seeing many homeowners foregoing their bathtubs in favor of stand-up, glass-enclosed showers over the years. While large walk-in showers make bathrooms look pretty sleek, think about all the relaxing soaks you’re potentially missing out on by ditching your tub. And if you’ve got small kids, getting rid of your home’s only bathtub is definitely not recommended, unless you plan on bathing them in the kitchen sink.

And not only could the lack of a bathtub have a negative effect on your lifestyle, it could also impact the salability of your home. Make sure you ask an experienced real estate agent first before you make this change.

Mirrored Furnishings

A once popular way to add a little glam and sheen to a space was to outfit it with an abundance of oversized mirrors, in addition to adding mirrored furnishings. While this may have been a popular trend in the world of interior design, it’s definitely an overrated element. You don’t exactly have to get rid of every reflective surface in your home; instead, just use these pieces sparingly as accents in order to benefit from their positive effect without going overboard.

Tiled Countertops

This isn’t exactly a new trend. In fact, tiled counters have been around for what seems like eons. But they’ve surged in popularity over the recent years, finding their way into plenty of homes across the country. Not only are they attractive, they’re also highly affordable, which is why they have been so popular.

But after a little while, homeowners with tiled countertops have come to realize that they’re not exactly the easiest surface to clean. Nobody wants to waste time scrubbing grime out of grout, no matter how thin they are. Opting for granite or quartz is a better option, considering how much easier these surfaces are to keep clean, and how much more affordable they have become over recent years.

Brass Hardware

Interior designers have long been recommending changing the hardware in order to make a transformation the affordable way. All you need is a screwdriver and a few bucks handy. And if you’ve got brass hardware in your kitchen and bathrooms, now is a good time to consider swapping these pieces with other finishes, such as satin or brushed nickel.

Brass has a tendency to change color over time, and typically not in a uniform way. Usually the part that’s hidden under the knobs don’t change at all, which doesn’t exactly look very desirable.

Just like clothes, shoes and hairstyles, interior design trends typically only have a limited amount of time in the spotlight before people decide to move on to something else. While you can get a few pointers about what’s in and what’s out from interior design magazines, you’re better off consulting with an interior designer or real estate agent to get the 411 on the features that’ll keep your home’s value up.