The Cringiest Home Decor Trends, According to YouTubers and TikTokers
Kiva cites the difficult maintenance of these spaces as one reason to not go for the maximalist trend. “You have to be so tactful with where you place things so that it looks beautiful and there’s room for everything else,” she says.
To avoid going too deep into a cluttercore hole, Vintage HQ founder Heather Hurst, widely known on TikTok and Instagram as @Pigmami, suggests the following: “Microdose elements of current trends that excite you, while leaving elements of your past taste and projects that you still hold dear.”
Monochrome-on-monochrome aesthetics starving for personality
Similar to maximalism, too much of one color can be overdoing it. For Caroline Winkler, a Washington, DC–based interior decorator, YouTuber, and host of the podcast Not For Everyone, monochrome-on-monochrome does little to satiate the design hunger that people have for a little variety in the form of saturation and pattern. “White-on-white is a thing of the past, and everything is going to be okay,” she reassures.
Kiva sees a slight improvement in moving from all-grey, all-white, or all-greige interiors to all-brown with a slight caveat. “There’s a very fine line between having warm, brown interiors and then it looking like a man cave, which is not always a good thing,” she notes.
Designer dupes that feel even worse than they look good
With the proliferation and democratization of design, thanks in part to social media, it can be tempting to see an It furniture item and immediately covet it. Better yet, there are dupes of designer pieces available at reasonable prices. However, most of the content creators that we consulted are over it. (And so were we when we included “duped to death” designs in our “out” trends for 2023.)
While Kellie is all for accessibility in design, she’s not a fan of “really terrible reproductions of iconic pieces that feel sort of bastardized,” like the beloved Ultrafragola mirror. Not to mention how many of the furniture dupes are not-so-surprisingly uncomfortable. Arvin Olano, a Las Vegas– and California-based interior stylist, was once duped by a dupe that made him feel like he was sitting on plywood. “Instead of buying a dupe of a designer piece, maybe find something that’s equally as amazing from the same era that’s made well, made with real wood, or just get a piece that’s a nod to that bulbous Camaleonda sofa that you like, but maybe not the exact same,” he advises.
Heather is also very on board with this pro tip. “If you’re head-over-heels for a large investment piece, use it as inspiration to seek lesser known designer pieces, go vintage, or wait until it’s passé and score a deal on it!” Emphasizing the importance of personal style over trends, Kellie believes that “the cringiest thing you can do is to be a follower versus identifying what actually makes you happy and speaks to you.” As she so eloquently puts it, “What I don’t like doesn’t necessarily matter to you if you love it. I always say, If you love it, put it in your house. You have to look at it, you have to enjoy it.” We couldn’t agree more!
Leave the uncomfortable, blobby furniture in the funhouse
While sculptural and curvaceous pieces have been en vogue for a while now, both Kiva and Nick stressed the degree of discomfort from these otherwise stylish pieces. In a recent YouTube video, Kiva jokes about needing an elevator to reach the low seat of the aforementioned Mario Bellini sofa: “It’s very low! You can’t lay on it! I want to be able to take a 10-hour nap on my sofa if I want to.”