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.

Sill length curtains was me! Sorry 😂. I actually do have some in dd’s room because of the radiator, but I do think they look a bit shot-off and old fashioned. Blinds (not vertical) or shutters look more contemporary, and can be paired with floor length dress curtains to soften it a bit. But - like I said, these things always boil down to personal taste. I’m probably having a kick- back against the garish 70’s horrors of my childhood🤫

Does anyone agree on net curtains though? Especially those ones that hang half way?
Voile curtains are much more modern if you want that effect.

I agree with short curtains. The more up to date way to deal with the issue is long curtains with a Roman blind

Leaving personal taste aside, things that are obviously broken/ripped/chipped/discoloured etc I’m speaking as the owner of many items that fall into this category.

@HasaDigaEebowai

I agree with short curtains. The more up to date way to deal with the issue is long curtains with a Roman blind

I really don't like roman blinds, I think they look very 90's...maybe suit a little old cottage.

I think a lot of these answers are just people personal dislikes. I don't think anyone can say that wallpaper (ie all wallpaper) makes a house look tired, the person just is not a fan of wallpaper which is quite a timeless thing as it can be done in any style. Things like salmon coloured frilly curtains with yellowed edges, yellowed net curtains, worn carpets and cracked wash basins makes a house look tired.

@ApolloandDaphne

Who gives shit? As long as your house is warm, comfortable and relatively clean nothing else needs to matter. Not everyone can afford to keep up with trends and what one person thinks is dated another will love.

Er… I do

@MrsWooster

😂😂😂

@gluenotsoup

Sill length curtains was me! Sorry 😂. I actually do have some in dd’s room because of the radiator, but I do think they look a bit shot-off and old fashioned. Blinds (not vertical) or shutters look more contemporary, and can be paired with floor length dress curtains to soften it a bit. But - like I said, these things always boil down to personal taste. I’m probably having a kick- back against the garish 70’s horrors of my childhood🤫

Oh dear 😂, I'm in the process of having just below sill length curtains made. The interior design firm seconded my opinion that they would be much less fussy in the bay and two windows I need them for in a large reception room, two of the windows have got radiators underneath them. I've got 12 roman blinds which are all interlined in different places here but a pair of thermal lined interlined curtains keeps the cold out far better.

Dated for me would be patterned carpets, artex, coloured bathroom suites, patterned rustic tiles like the brown hued things with a harvest scene on - that sort of thing.

Lots of lamps and print dated?

I definitely think this was a suggestion of trends now, not dated things

I am really surprised about the people saying wallpaper. I am middle aged and my house is probably quite dated and tired and I don't have any wall paper but my younger, cooler, no kids friends have wall paper!

One has a tiny visitor's toilet just off her hall completely decorated in jungle wall paper, it's truly fabulous

@JaninaDuszejko

If something is expensive and high quality it won't date even if the cheaper copies will so, for example:

Real marble in a bathroom will never date. Fake 'marble' ceramic tiles will.
Original parquet flooring will never date. Fake LVT 'parquet' will date.
Hand printed wallpaper with the pattern designed for the specific room will never date. Cheap wallpaper is likely to date.

Beyond that I think an eclectic look with an individual mix of antiques, hand-me-downs, vintage and modern pieces is the least likely to date. Individual pieces may go in and out of fashion but the overall look still works. My PILs are architects, they have a gorgeous Victorian house loaded with original features that they've lived in for 50 years. Their furniture is from all periods and from all over the world, they have persian rugs over the pitch pine floorboards, the walls are full of modern art. It's fabulous.

Ah this just reminded me omg one -- Persian rugs.

I absolutely agree with you on everything else

@Pickuptruck

signs that say something to do with prosecco or LIVE LIFE LOVE type of nonsense

YES

LOL at the person who said curtains 😂

No but seriously if you just pick stuff that you like from the off rather than something fashionable then it doesn’t matter

Crocheted doilies on the arms and headrests of the settee

Arched doorways. Louvred doors

Anything that has been trendy ever will look dated within about 5 minutes.

Items that were never trendy tend to not date.

Bit like clothes really - classics and staples tend not to date...

Stencilling and ragrolled effect painted walls

Then there are trends that are dated because they were trends from 2021, or 2020

A trend from 2021 looks dated in January 2022? Really??

Wallpaper borders.

Re toilet mats- I would prefer to have a smelly little mat absorbing all that then skid in it on a tiled floor.

Re toilet mats- I would prefer to have a smelly little mat absorbing all that then skid in it on a tiled floor.
I choose option three, no piss on the floor, but that’s just me: fancy.

The kind of stuff you find in shops like The Range - either diamante / bling / chrome / black /purple. Or old hat shabby chic / french country chic type stuff. People who bought "Louis" style furniture and Cath Kidston bed linen must be gutted now at how much they spent. Similarly chesterfield style sofas.

I think the 70s style stuff might be making a come back personally, look at the huge rise in popularity of mid-century style furniture.

@MadameHeisenberg

Wallpaper borders.

Like all things really unfashionable, they’re probably due for a comeback!