To ask your interior design hates

[Pleasehelpimexhausted]

For me it’s got to be those massive bloody clocks made up of parts which get stuck to the wall. We’re house hunting at the moment and they’re in almost every kitchen. Those and navy walls nearly always coupled with wicker furniture and cheese plants - it feels like such a ‘done’ look now.

Interested to hear yours!

I am the same. I expect many here would hold up their hands in horror at my interior design tastes. A lot of my furniture is from charity shops or second hand in general but it all goes well together as most of it is Nathan - shock, horror next - mid-century. I love it. It is very solid and well made and what w3 have paid a few hundred pounds for over the years would cost many thousands of pounds if bought new and of the same quality today. I have many ornaments, books in bookshelves and it all fits together very well in my opinion. It is clean and tidy and there is lots of space in between. Because these things have been put together over many years they are my individual taste and, l hope, make my house homely and welcoming. It takes a certain amount of confidence to not follow all the fashions but to adapt your home to your own style but it need not be expensive. I have always thought that charity shops are the best idea when setting up home on a budget as you can get a lot more for your money. Dunelm, IKEA, The Range and B & M have their places and it is possible to get some really nice things there. They are excellent for the basics and l really like my IKEA bookshelves and coffee tables. It is when people buy everything from one of these shops that their homes can seem a little soulless and as if it is a show home. Nice and tidy but lacking in personality.

I was thinking what a dreadful bunch of snobs you all were but then I went to have a google at what this Mrs Hinch grey / velvet / mirror / diamanté look was and……dear god no.

Walls, in fact walls, floors and a roof - every bloody house has these. No doubt these will date soon

Tiled floors in the living room - feel cold just looking at it
Grey
Mirrored surfaces
crushed velvet
Glossy kitchens
Red/black colour combo
Dark wood windows/doors
diamond sash windows
open plan kitchen/living room

The TV goes on a wooden TV unit which looks just as smart as the other wooden furniture in my room. It also means the TV doesn't dominate the room which it does if it's wall-mounted, especially if it's above the fireplace.

Can you add doors and windows, they are common and you won't need them when you get rid of the walls.

I do wonder about toilets, nasty things.

I used to live close to a main road and hated all the black stuff that accumulated on top of the curtain rails in the summer when the windows were open, including at the back of the house which was a lot greener! An eye opener to what’s floating around out there😊

Open plan is an interesting one. I think it can work really well if it’s designed properly and the property suits it. I hate it when it’s in a flat with a couple of kitchen units seemingly shoved along the back wall of the living room, though.

I did consider adding those but I was worried I may end up offending people if they realised that had most (if not all) of these

And really hate those plastic round hanging balls of foliage/flowers people put either side of their doors.

Me too. I share the dislike of a lot of what's been mentioned but these plastic balls are truly awful.

I didn’t say that I don’t open my windows - quite the contrary; I open them in the winter too. I just hate all the black stuff that builds up on top of the curtain rails courtesy of air pollution, so bi-fold doors will let all that dirt in landing wherever and it’s me that does all the cleaning😊 just saying my preference.

Other than Extreme Squalor, find it difficult to get worked up or hate lr loathe people's preferences

Just an excuse for the snobs to be snobby.

Quite agree re books.
Do some MNs not think we read
We re just putting book shelves up at the moment as we have 75 boxes of them in our halls. Do I care if people think we haven’t read them…
There’s a MN book thread if anyone is interested.

Especially when the plastic has faded in the sun.

See, I feel the opposite. We have a huge TV in a rectangle shaped living room. It's hung on the wall that is behind the door as you walk in. So the focal point of the room is actually the fireplace, which has bookcases built into the alcoves either side.
The TV is practically flush to the wall. One sofa faces the fire place and one is at the far side of the room facing the TV. When we had the (much smaller) TV on a TV unit, it took up more space and was much more of focal point.

Agree
Dont like tvs on walls either
Ours just sits on a cupboard…it doesn’t have to be a special bit of tv furniture.
I don’t like tvs that dominate a room either ie Large tv small room. The scale needs to be thought through.

dandeliondandy
My tenancy agreement is you have to have carpet unless you live on the ground floor so I get no choice. Would rather have a wood floor but it’s not an option.

Im in social housing and have an open plan kitchen, dining and living area, and you come straight in to the kitchen from entrance door. Again not what I’d have chosen but for social housing this place is absolutely amazing so I’m not complaining.

Bi-folding doors
Islands taking up the whole room and leaving the table shunted against a wall -Why?
Fake grass
Family rule wall 'art'
Down lights in a lounge
Grey grey grey

@Charlize43 I read your defense of books with great pleasure! I totally agree. Scanning my book shelves is like reading back through old journals or diaries as they remind me of where, when and how I was feeling.
If I visit a home with a book case it is the first place my eye goes as it tells you so much about the person and can be a great way of starting a conversation. I have books that belonged to my mother (long dead) and reading her books and seeing particular phrases underlined gives me a connection with her.

I have to keep adding book shelves! I have taken out our bannisters and replaced them with book shelves so I now have a library running up our stairs - I'm sure that would be hated by many on here but I love it.

Grey walls, carpet, sofa, furniture etc and then using cushions to add colour. Also the same in white. Also houses decorated in the latest fashion like every other house. Come on people go pick a colour you like not what everyone else is doing.

if everyone hates grey (my house has a lot of it and I actually find it quite soothing) what do you think looks better?

I'm thinking of going for a dark blue sitting room but worried I might regret it.

Actually we have visitors, and it's quite convenient for them to be able to help themselves without asking where everything is.

Kitchen islands are 'vulgar'? Do you actually know what the word means? 😂

I totally agree that there are many examples of islands being shoehorned into kitchens that are far too small simply because the buyer wants an island. But in big square kitchens, islands are simply a brilliant use of space. To call them 'vulgar' is ridiculous!

@GetWhatYouWant

I'm not sure that a tv on a wooden tv cabinet dominates a room any less than a tv hung on a wall. It would take up a lot more room potentially could dominate more depending on the layout. I think maybe what you dislike is a tv that is the wrong scale for the room. But I think it can look a lot better to design a space that works with and integrates technology, so that it fits in a space, wires are hidden, it can sit flush, etc. It doesn't mean the tv becomes the primary feature of the room.