If spring is the season for cleaning up and clearing out, that makes summer the time to refresh your space with some fun and fabulous finds. Before you do, check out which decor trends some designers are praying will be left behind, from styles that are fun but overdone to those that were simply wrong from the start.
1. Palm Leaf Motif
“Give palm leaves and pineapples a break.”
When asked what trend to bid adieu, the team behind Toronto’s ODAMI design studio didn’t hesitate when calling out the leafy fabrics, prints, and objects that have taken the decor world by storm. Okay, but who’s going to tell Instagram ?
2. Fiddle Leaf Figs
“The fiddle leaf fig tree has seen its heyday.”
A lover of interior trees, Emilie Munroe of Studio Munroe suggests some fine alternatives to the overused ficus, “Turn to rubber trees (incredible dark leaf coloration), yuccas (so sculptural), and large scale cactus (unexpected!)” Plant lovers take note!
3. Barn Doors
“A great idea in theory, and they can be unique, but not every room can accommodate them.”
Abbe Fenimore, designer and owner of Studio Ten 25 , loathes a bizarrely deployed barn door, “It drives me crazy to see a barn door installed on a bathroom. How can anyone have any privacy?”
Designer Kerri Rosenthal agrees, also highlighting the overuse of shiplap wall treatments and barn lighting, “The modern barn that has been so popular with new builds for the past five years will soon become the French Country of the ’90s.”
Consider yourself warned.
4. Accent Walls
“Accents walls, when done right, can add impact and create a focal point for a room but this trend has taken a wrong turn.”
Chicago-based designer Edyta Czajkowska of Edyta & Co. calls for design with intention when it comes to this trend, “It’s now a new way that people try to make their space feel “interesting” by adding bold colors and wallpaper to random walls without any rhyme or reason.”
5. Big Geometric Patterns
“It was great and fun for a while but now you see it too much!”
From tiles to furniture, Mia Jung, Interiors Director for Ike Kligerman Barkley , has had enough of the big, bold patterns. For Jung, this trend needs to shape up and ship out!
6. Graphic Text Posters
“Keep Calm and Please STOP IT”
Fenimore is also way over the “Keep Calm” word art and fears the less-than-witty trend won’t ever go away. The team from ODAMI would like to see the whole upbeat graphic text genre disappear entirely, asking us all to please stop trying to make “Make it Happen” happen.
7. A Whiskey Colored Leather Sofa Paired With a Black and Cream Moroccan Rug
“ If I have seen it once, I have seen it 1,000 times, and that makes me bored.”
Jessica McClendon, designer and founder of Glamour Nest , came back with acuity when asked which decor trends have got to go. Another overused cream accent she’s ready to ditch? Macramé.
8. White on White and Gray on Gray
“There is no place for sheepish and meek design.”
Chrissy Cottrell, Vancouver-based designer and founder of Chrissy & Co , wishes people would stop playing it so safe and find their voice through design. “Unless you’re obsessed with whites and grays,” Cottrell urges us to leave these so-called color schemes behind.
9. Magazine-Ready Rooms
“Yes, they are pretty to look at, but what a bore when a room is too staged.”
Finally, Fenimore offers some advice on how to remedy overstyled spaces that she feels create an unrealistic view of how we live in our homes, “I love seeing pillows, accessories and other design elements that are actually used in a home instead of strategically placed everything.” Here’s to authenticity staying on trend!