These Are the Trends Interior Designers Would Never Try Again

With TikTok continuing to rise in popularity, and short-form video becoming the end-all, be-all of information sharing, it seems like our attention spans are getting shorter and trends are coming and going faster than ever before. 

And not just when it comes to fashion or the internet’s favorite meme of the week, but with interior design as well. One week everyone is raving about “dopamine decor” and the next week it’s all about minimalism again. It’s enough to give you decor whiplash. 

That’s why many professional designers caution against trying too many trends at home if you’re not fully invested in them. There’s always a chance your interest in the trend du jour may be much more short lived than you expected. 

At the same time there’s the risk that trying a new trend could damage your house or make it feel out of date before you know it. Designers know these risks better than anyone, which is why they have a list of trends they’ll simply never try again.

We asked a handful of experts for their personal design pet peeves, here’s what they had to say.

Peel-and-Stick Wallpaper

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According to Ashley Macuga of Collected Interiors, peel-and-stick wallpaper tends to be more trouble than it’s worth if you choose the wrong pattern and don’t know what you’re doing.

“A few years ago, we fell in love with a peel-and-stick wallpaper for a client’s powder room,” she says. “We tried installation with two different vendor partners, and it was an absolute nightmare to get the pattern to match up to our standards.”

Traditional wallpapers are applied damp and with paste, making adjustments easier, while the dry sticky adhesive on peel-and-stick papers can make them difficult to apply perfectly, Macuga explains. “We ultimately had to re-select to a standard wallpaper, and I vowed never to try that trend again,” she says.

White Tile with Dark Grout

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For Jaimee Longo of The Layered House, the answer to what home trend she’ll never try again is an easy one. She vows that white subway tile paired with dark grout will never find its way into one of her designs again. 

While pairing white tile with white grout is a classic choice for kitchens and bathrooms, the contrast you get when pairing white tile with dark grout can make your space feel less timeless. You also run the risk of people assuming the dark grout is actually dirty and not a design choice. “No more,” Longo says.

Accent Walls

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According to Samantha Struck of StruckSured Interiors, accent walls are the one trend she hopes to avoid in all future designs. Even though clients do continue to request them.  

“Every time we do them, I tend to regret the decision,” she says. “I feel like people generally get tired of them faster than any other thing in their space. So we really try to avoid doing them and work to create interest through more timeless options instead.”

Shaolin Low of Studio Shaolin agrees. “I always prefer a full room of wallpaper versus an accent wall,” she says. “I’m not against the wallpaper accent wall, but when I can, I always prefer to commit and do all four walls.”