What makes the interior of a home look tired and dated?

[FindingMeno]

Interested in people's views as it's sometimes difficult to discern in your own familiar surroundings.

Too much clutter.
Cushions worn and faded.

Houseplants and nice prints liven a space. Lots of lamps.

Clutter....curtains or vertical blinds ( as opposed to Romans blinds or shutters) .....wall paper.....anything chrome, silver plated or glittery......patterned carpet ( or any carpet really in a living area) ..... too many patterns going on.....bare walls ..... wall lights.....anything mahogany..... shag pile rug.... chipped or stained wood furniture......China ornaments.....anything mirrored ( a mirror itself is ok but not a mirrored table etc)

Magnolia paint

Yellowed gloss

Orangey pine (I like wooden furniture but not when it's oranger than David Dickinson)

Clutter and 'objets'

Shabby chic

The bathroom in every single place I've rented.

I'll have tonnes more but can't think of them right now.

Grey

Woodchip
Artex
Pebbledash
Bathroom fittings in any tonal colour eg mushroom or avacado
Striped carpets

Grey everywhere

Pine

Navy kitchen cabinets, metal industrial pendulum lights.

Grey
Artex
Yellowing gloss paint
Feature walls
Brown
Fluorescent strip light in the kitchen
Saggy towels draped over everything in the bathroom
Dust
Three-piece suites
Black leather furniture
Glass and chrome TV cabinets
Pebble dash
Carpet in the bathroom

Anything that’s is (or has) been actively fashionable will look dated within a few years. The general rule being more actively on trend it is the sooner it dates. Well until 30 or 40 years down the line when it’ll start look cool to younger generations again.

Feature walls, definitely!

Clutter, or - controversial take, maybe - aggressive, YouTube-y minimalism.

Just thought of another one - chintzy furniture that's not in a rural cottage. Oh, and plastic flowers.

@Bonnealle

Navy kitchen cabinets, metal industrial pendulum lights.

Isn’t that what’s in fashion right now

Wallpaper any type.
Feature walls.
Glitter anything.
Grubby carpets.
Metal chandeliers
Wooden wall panels
Fake exposed beams on ceiling
Mold pressed mantal piece
Clothes hanging around drying
Shoes right near entrance that's not organised

And smells... If you have pets or a smoker etc you can become immune to it and yet gets a ugh when they walk in while not visual can effect impressions. (Guilty on the pet front!)

Fyi I have many of these things in our house and they drive me nuts slowly sorting!

Some of these are crazy? Lots of lamps and print dated? House of Hackney and Timorous Beasties are all about pattern clash and print and they’re certainly not dated. A lot of it’s down to personal taste and how you balance different elements. So I would say wood chip and magnolia paint are dated generally but someone might make them work somewhere. Faded anything isn’t automatically dated if you’ve got the right kind of bohemian look and a period property. Ie Persian rugs and Moroccan cushions. Naturally distressed old furniture is not dated but furniture painted in Annie Sloan chalk paint and overly distressed might be. I would add wallpaper borders across the middle of a wall with a different wallpaper to the bottom and top is not a good look. Grey everywhere. A single overhead light in a room. Vertical blinds. Black furniture of the sought popular in the 80 / 90’s. Carpets in bathrooms or those little mats that go around the toilet.

Wallpaper is not dated. That’s crazy talk.

The question is what makes a home look dated - washing hanging around doesn't date a house, just makes it look messy

@Divebar2021 Toilet mats are horrible!

-Carpet in bathrooms or in downstairs hallways

• matching sofas and armchairs
• super polished dark wood anything
• DVD players
• ornate shaker-style cupboard doors
• curtains which stop short of the floor (particularly ones which only just cover the window)

Anything that was very ‘of the moment’

Eg. Paint effects wall like sponging with a dado rail level wall paper border and different wall paper below. But you don’t see that much now!

I’d love to see the homes of the people who make a massive list of what’s dated 😂

I think patterned or stripy sofas are dated..but anything can look good if it’s styled well? I’m not a fan of net curtains, they are terrible no matter what.

I think with threads like this always end up about personal taste or dislikes.
Truly dated is very different- one persons dated is another person’s period.
Personally, I think Artex has had its day and isn’t coming back. Also, swirly carpets and woodchip. Black and bling decor too and sill length curtains. Things like wallpaper and chrome or chandeliers and wall lights vary too much to be generically dated, and some are design classics or current trends.

It will look tired and dated if it is not looked after our will maintained. Grubby, chipped paint and woodwork, faded dirty walls, cracks, mould, things taking apart. Mouldy sealant and grouting in bathrooms and kitchens. Very dated lightning.

What a weird thread. I’m sure we’d all love our houses bang up to the minute, but can’t afford it.

Recently been trying to buy a kitchen. Every other kitchen is grey, but apparently it’s dated🤷🏼‍♀️So every kitchen retailer is selling outdated stock?

Grey paint/decor. Grey is to the 2010s what magnolia was to the 90s.

I also think a lot of people will end up regretting this trend for open plan living. Who wants their kitchen in their living room really? It’s also environmentally unfriendly AF.