These 30 Decor Fails Will Turn Any Classy Home Instantly Tacky

Have you ever questioned why your home decor falls short of your envisioned charm? The culprit might be lurking within your space, sabotaging your style aspirations. But fear not – we’ll uncover common design pitfalls and share invaluable tips to help you steer clear of them, transforming your space from mundane to magnificent.

Plastic Dishes Make Your Kitchen Look Unsophisticated

Instagram – @dianefriedemann

While plastic dishware and cutlery serve their purpose during parties or for serving toddlers, they lack the sophistication and durability needed for everyday use. Investing in a quality set of glass or ceramic dishware not only adds elegance to your dining experience but also ensures longevity. Opting for plastic solely may convey a sense of cheapness and immaturity, so unless necessary, it’s best avoided for a more refined dining atmosphere.

Would you like more helpful tips for a more classy home? Keep reading!

Too Many Patterns Can Be Overwhelming

Maximalist home decor enthusiasts often embrace an eclectic mix of patterns and colors, from wall hangings to furniture, but beware of overwhelming your space, as too much can lead to a chaotic and gaudy appearance. To strike the right balance, opt for a few carefully chosen complementary colors and cohesive patterns that tie the room together, ensuring your style remains vibrant yet tasteful.

Ruffled Furniture Skirts Are Just a Bad Look

Ruffled furniture skirts, reminiscent of bygone eras, should be avoided to keep your home decor feeling fresh and contemporary. Even if you have sentimental attachment, consider updating your space to align with modern trends, as these skirts can give off an outdated vibe, better suited to historical settings than contemporary living spaces. Embrace sleeker, more streamlined design elements for a timeless and sophisticated look in your home.

Small Rugs Can Make Your Space Look Awkward

Rugs can indeed work wonders in transforming a room into a designer’s paradise, but selecting the right size is crucial. A well-chosen rug, perfectly proportioned to the room, can elevate its aesthetic, while one that’s too small risks creating a disjointed look. Avoid this common error by ensuring your rug accommodates the entire seating area in your living room, maintaining a harmonious balance between furniture and floor covering for a polished finish.

Time To Rethink That Overstuffed Recliner

While plush recliners with built-in features like cup holders and refrigerators may seem convenient, they often come off as bulky and overly complicated, lacking in style and sophistication. Instead of wrestling with cumbersome levers and clunky mechanisms, opt for a sleek and comfortable chair that adds elegance to your living room without sacrificing functionality. Upgrade your space with a chic seating option that enhances both comfort and aesthetics, leaving behind the dated and cumbersome recliner of yesteryears.

Don’t Crowd Your Space With Too Many Trinkets

While it’s natural to adorn one’s home with cherished trinkets, it’s essential to strike a balance to prevent overwhelming the space. When shelves and tables become overcrowded, it may be time to declutter and prioritize key pieces. Remember, decor should accentuate, not overpower, your room’s aesthetic. Select a curated collection of trinkets that reflect your personality, infusing your space with character and charm while maintaining visual harmony.

Live, Laugh, Love Signs Are Just Cheesy and Cliche

While “live, laugh, love” has enjoyed popularity as a trendy slogan, its ubiquitous presence in home decor can verge on tackiness. Opting for more personalized and unique artwork can elevate your space beyond generic catchphrases, ensuring a chic and sophisticated ambiance. While low-price word art may seem appealing for its accessibility, investing in quality decor items tailored to your taste will elevate your home’s aesthetic and avoid the risk of appearing kitschy.

Plastic Couch Covers Ruin the Look of Your Couch

While plastic couch covers may seem like a practical solution for protecting your furniture, they often detract from the aesthetic appeal of your home, making even designer sofas appear cheap and tacky. Despite concerns about pets or children, opting for plastic covers can ultimately downgrade the overall look and feel of your space. For those aspiring to create an interior design haven, removing plastic couch covers is a crucial step towards achieving a more polished and inviting atmosphere.

Plastic Storage Can Potentially Look Cheap

Maintaining an organized and stylish home can be challenging when faced with limited storage space. While cheap plastic bins and drawers may seem like a convenient solution, they often detract from the overall aesthetic, giving a space a cluttered and unrefined appearance. Instead of discarding them entirely, consider utilizing these storage solutions in closets or garages where they can remain out of sight, preserving the cohesive look of your home decor.

Futons Are Way Outdated

While futons can be practical for small spaces and budget-conscious decorators, they often lack the sophistication and comfort desired for a stylish living environment. To elevate your space and avoid a tacky appearance, consider replacing the futon with a more attractive and comfortable seating option. As you transition beyond your twenties and college days, investing in quality furniture will contribute to a more refined and inviting ambiance in your home.

Untidy Cables Are an Eyesore

Cables, while not intended as decor, can inadvertently detract from the visual appeal of your space when left exposed. To maintain a clean and organized look, consider concealing them with cable tidies or tucking them away under furniture. This simple adjustment will instantly elevate the appearance of your home, creating a more polished and attractive environment. Don’t underestimate the impact of tidying up those cables for a sleeker and more inviting living space!

Shag Rugs Should Stay in the 70s

While shaggy rugs were once synonymous with the fun and groovy aesthetic of the 1960s and 70s, they now often evoke a dated and tasteless vibe in modern homes. Their tendency to collect dust and appear unkempt can detract from the overall appeal of your living room. To elevate your space and achieve a more contemporary look, consider replacing shag rugs with sleeker and more modern alternatives. By opting for trendier and allergen-friendly options, you can ensure your home maintains a stylish and refined atmosphere.

Kitchenware Racks Could Cause Your Kitchen to Appear Messy

While maximizing space in a small kitchen is crucial, using racks to hang pots, pans, and utensils can often lead to a cluttered and untidy appearance, detracting from the overall aesthetic. Opting to keep kitchenware out of sight in cupboards or storage bins is preferable to maintain a clean and organized look. Avoiding excessive hanging of kitchen items as the main focus of the kitchen design will help achieve a more polished and cohesive look in your space.

Ditch the DIY Furniture

While DIY furniture projects like using wooden crates for a TV console may add a personal touch to your home decor, they often lack the reliability and sturdiness of professionally made furniture. Despite their initial appeal and rustic charm, pallets can give off an unfinished and cheap appearance, detracting from the overall aesthetic of your space. For long-term use, investing in quality, professionally crafted furniture is recommended by most interior designers, ensuring durability and a more polished look in your home.

Matching Couches and Curtains Are the Opposite of Trendy

Gone are the days when matching curtains and couches were the epitome of design sophistication. To refresh your living space without breaking the bank on a new couch, consider upgrading your curtains instead. Opt for solid-colored curtains that complement your existing couch, steering clear of the matchy-matchy look that can overwhelm and appear tasteless. With just a few simple home decor changes, you can easily achieve a more balanced and visually appealing living room ambiance.

Animal Skulls Are Not the Most Enticing Decor Items

While animal skulls have been a popular home decor choice in the past, the trend has now become outdated. Regardless of their origin, whether a trophy or a souvenir, they can create an intimidating and out-of-place atmosphere in your space. To avoid this effect, interior designers recommend skipping decorating with animal skulls altogether and opting for more inviting decor such as framed posters or artwork.

French Country Style Is Out of Style

French country style, characterized by its rustic, antique, and soft decor elements, has long been a common home design trend. While it can exude a feminine and charming aesthetic, it’s often considered too old-fashioned for current design trends, risking a cheap or cluttered look in modern spaces. While appropriate for homes in the French countryside, adopting this traditional style elsewhere may come off as tacky or outdated.

Faux Plants Do Not Look Like Real Plants

Decorating with plants can indeed be a challenge, as natural ones require care to thrive, while fake plants often fall short in mimicking the real thing and can make your home appear cheap. Despite the extra effort, interior designers generally advise against using fake plants. Opting for real plants not only adds natural beauty to your space but also offers the potential for personal growth and discovery as you cultivate your green thumb.

Bold Statement Walls Can Be Overwhelming

While bold, fun, and colorful styles can be a reflection of your personality, it’s crucial not to overdo it and overwhelm your space with gimmicky design choices. Opting for neon colors and busy wallpaper patterns may dominate the room in an overpowering way. Instead, keep your walls simple and let bold decor items take center stage. This approach ensures versatility and makes it easier to redecorate as your style evolves over time.

All White Everything Can Really Look Stale

While white walls, rugs, and furniture pieces can lend a classic and sophisticated vibe to your space, an entirely white interior may come off as sterile or low-budget. To create a more inviting atmosphere, balance white elements with pops of color to add warmth and richness to the room. Opt for one or two white focal pieces, such as a coffee table or TV console, and complement them with colorful decor and furniture to showcase your good taste and elevate the overall aesthetic of your home.

Mason Jars Should Be for Crafts Not Decor

Repurposing items like mason jars can be a creative and eco-friendly way to decorate for holidays, parties, and special events. However, using them as year-round main decor may give your home a tacky or cheap appearance. While mason jars are useful for storage, overusing them in decor can detract from the overall refinement of your space. To ensure your home maintains a tasteful aesthetic, reserve mason jar decorations for specific occasions and balance them with other decor elements.

Famous Artwork Reproductions Are Cheesy

While famous artwork by renowned artists like Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso is widely celebrated, decorating with replicas of their work can come off as kitschy and discount-looking. With millions of reproductions printed on various items, from pillows to tapestries, these replicas have become commonplace, diminishing their uniqueness and authenticity. Opting for original artwork or lesser-known pieces can add character and individuality to your home decor, avoiding the pitfalls of generic mass-produced replicas.

One of a Kind Lamps Are Not the Best Look

Lighting plays a crucial role in shaping the ambiance of your home, yet some may overlook its significance and opt for quirky or bizarre lamps that detract from the overall aesthetic. Instead of investing in novelty lamps that may cheapen the look of your space, prioritize elegant and tasteful lighting options. Choose simple fixtures with the right bulb color to enhance the beauty of your living room without veering into tacky territory. By selecting stylish lighting solutions, you can elevate the sophistication of your home decor and create a more inviting atmosphere.

Blanket Ladders Are Not Really Practical

Blanket ladders, once considered practical for easy access to blankets, have become outdated and gimmicky as decor items. To elevate the style of your space and create a more sophisticated look, consider removing them altogether. Instead, opt for blankets in complementary colors to your furniture and neatly fold them on the couch for a chic and polished appearance. By eliminating blanket ladders, you can achieve a more expensive and elegant aesthetic in your home decor.

Stay Clear of Glass Furniture

Glass furniture, once a popular choice from the 1970s to the 1990s, has become outdated in modern interior design. While it was once ubiquitous, glass tables and cabinets are now considered passé. Not only are they high maintenance and prone to smudging, but they can also quickly make your home appear dirty if not constantly cleaned. When redecorating or replacing furniture, it’s best to avoid glass pieces to maintain a clean and contemporary look in your home.

Chintz Wallpaper Is Too Old-Fashioned

While chintz wallpaper can be stunning in certain settings like Victorian museums or chic hotels, it’s generally advised to avoid this trend in your own home. The bold patterns and colors of chintz wallpaper can quickly overwhelm a space and make it feel dated. Additionally, it can be challenging to incorporate other decor elements without clashing or overcrowding the room. Opting for a classic white wall provides a more modern and versatile backdrop for your home decor, allowing you to experiment with different styles and accents without feeling constrained by a busy wallpaper pattern.

Shot Glasses as Decor Make Your Home Look Like a Dorm

While collecting shot glasses can be a fun way to preserve memories and souvenirs, displaying them as decor may come off as tacky, particularly in an adult’s home. While it might be appropriate for a college apartment, it’s generally not considered trendy for more mature spaces. Instead of showcasing them, consider keeping shot glasses tucked away or displayed in a more subtle manner. While there’s nothing wrong with collecting them, using shot glasses as decor might not be the best choice for achieving a sophisticated and stylish look in your home.

Pallet Furniture Looks Unfinished

While wooden boards and pallets are popular for DIY projects like building coffee tables or side tables, they often result in furniture that appears unfinished and cheap. Instead of opting for pallet furniture for everyday use, consider investing in a solid wooden table for a more aesthetically pleasing and sturdy option. Save wooden pallets for DIY projects and keep this tip in mind when shopping for furniture to avoid a tacky and cheap-looking room.

Matching Couch Cushions Are Boring

When choosing pillows for your sofa, avoid selecting ones that are the same or too similar in color to the couch itself. This can create a dull and monotonous look, washing out the visual interest of the space. Instead, opt for pillows that provide pops of color and complement the furniture, adding vibrancy and personality to your living room. By selecting pillows that harmonize with the rest of your decor, you can create a stylish and inviting space.

Barn Doors Belong on Farms Rather Than Inside a Home

While using barn doors as decorative features in homes has become a trend, it’s one that many interior designers advise against. While they may impart a rustic and unique feel, barn doors can appear bulky and jarring in modern interiors. Moreover, trends change rapidly, and what may feel stylish now could quickly become outdated. Opting for a regular door ensures timeless elegance and avoids the risk of falling out of style. Additionally, a farmhouse aesthetic, while charming, may not suit every home and could become unstylish over time, making a barn door installation more inconvenient than cool in the long run.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Article Sources:

Real Life DIY

To learn more read our Editorial Standards.