12 things a seasoned interior designer would never have in her own home

The rustic trend, which features wood paneling connected interior walls, has immoderate style benefits. However, the designer said, it's overdone and dated.

"It's besides impractical — if a portion of shiplap gets damaged, it tin beryllium difficult and costly to hole depending connected the grade of the damage," she told BI.

If you want to thin into a much rustic location design, Lang recommends limewash paint, which has a streaky effect.

"Limewash gives you the opportunity to adhd magnitude pinch different brushstroke patterns that springiness your walls an old-world, vintage feel," she said.

You whitethorn want to skip buying the bedroom-set bundle and the java array that perfectly matches the TV console. The matchy-matchy creation inclination tin deficiency characteristic and travel disconnected arsenic boring.

"Mismatched, eclectic decor allows for your individual style to really travel done successful your home's design," the designer said.

It tin besides prevention you money successful the agelong tally by giving you much elasticity pinch wherever to shop.

Vintage decor tin adhd characteristic to your location — and typically features amended craftsmanship. However, Lang said, excessively galore antiques tin make a abstraction consciousness dated and unlivable.

"I for illustration to merge vintage items sparingly while mixing and matching pinch modern decor," she told BI. "It's a awesome measurement to support your favourite one-of-a-kind pieces without making love your space."

Open kitchen shelving is simply a inclination that's slow dying out.

"Unless you person azygous plates, glassware, and bowls that are perfectly positioned, unfastened shelving isn't realistic aliases practical," she said. "It's besides an easy measurement for your room items to cod dust."

If you want to refresh your kitchen, the designer recommends coating aliases updating the hardware connected your existing cabinetry.

"I would ne'er put acrylic furnishings successful my home," Lang said. "On apical of being a inclination that should enactment successful the 1960s, acrylic isn't arsenic durable arsenic different materials, and mini cracks aliases scratches can't beryllium easy repaired."

Whether you're looking for a vintage java array aliases a caller group of eating chairs, she recommends choosing wood aliases marble alternatively for a much timeless look.

Lang said warm lighting is basal for making your abstraction consciousness cozy and genuinely for illustration home.

"Harsh lighting tin make your abstraction consciousness sterile," she said. "So I urge replacing fluorescent bulbs pinch soft achromatic aliases incandescent bulbs, which emit a warm, aureate light."

"Wall hangings and decor featuring inspirational quotes — aliases really immoderate words astatine each — is simply a inclination synonymous pinch the modern-farmhouse look we should collectively time off behind," Lang told BI.

The designer recommends looking for thing much original, specified arsenic prints of landscapes, vintage lipid paintings, aliases moreover colorful absurd artwork, to create opposition successful a room.

Another modern-farmhouse trend she avoids is distressed furniture.

Some rustic touches are OK, Lang said, but ample pieces of furnishings pinch faux deterioration and tear tin overwhelm a space.

For a much modern take, the designer recommends choosing pieces pinch earthy finishes and earthy textures, specified arsenic jute, bouclé, and linen.

Although insubstantial shades are adjuvant erstwhile you're moving into a caller home, Lang said, they aren't awesome for semipermanent use.

Fortunately, location are plentifulness of affordable model treatments you tin bargain to elevate your abstraction — and immoderate elemental ways to make them look much expensive.

"A instrumentality I for illustration to show my clients is to put successful high-quality curtain rods and rings to make your curtains look higher-end," she added.

According to Lang, a tufted sofa — typically featuring buttons sewn into gem aliases quadrate patterns — is excessively bulky and tin make a abstraction consciousness crowded.

"Instead, I urge going for thing that is lighter and provides much travel to your surviving room, specified arsenic a sculptural aliases curved sofa," she told BI.

After all, she said, a properly proportioned couch tin make the abstraction consciousness much inviting and visually pleasing.

Lang said rugs that are excessively mini tin make a room consciousness unbalanced.

"I for illustration to deliberation of a rug arsenic the anchor of a surviving room," she said. "It's meant to crushed the seating area and beryllium the focal constituent that draws group in."

Her wide norm of thumb is that it should either beryllium large capable to fresh 2 legs of each portion of furnishings aliases astatine slightest 6 inches wider than the magnitude of the sofa connected each side.

"If you're fortunate capable to acquisition a location that has original flooring, perfectly do not switch it pinch laminate flooring," Lang said.

If the hardwood flooring needs a small love, you tin person it refinished.

Lang said refinishing hardwood is simply a manageable DIY task that will salary disconnected successful the agelong run. It tin besides adhd worth to your location if you ever want to resell.

This communicative was primitively published successful January 2024 and astir precocious updated connected August 4, 2026.

Click to support reference different things interior designers say they would (or would never) person successful their ain space.