14 Interior Design Trends That Bring Nothing but Trouble

In magazines, homes and apartments always look perfect. Many people are inspired by the pictures and try to implement these ideas in real life. And when they do, they find out about the problems that the designers don’t usually talk about.

We at Bright Side have found useful information about modern design tendencies that might cause a lot of trouble. And as a bonus, we added a bold piece of advice from designer Alesya Nestyak about a bathroom solution that is considered really bad taste today.

1. Carpets with long fibers

Carpets with long fibers get really dusty so they need to be cleaned more often. Pets really love these carpets too. A big disadvantage is that the fibers get really flat over time, so the carpet doesn’t look new for an extended period of time. Vacuum-cleaning might help, but not for long.

2. Door to every room

Not every room needs to have a door. Doors take up a lot of space, usually an entire corner. You should also be careful with doors in narrow corridors. If you can avoid having a door, for example, in the living room or kitchen, it’s better to do so. A cheap alternative is a curtain or a folding door.

3. Glass table

The glass will always have stains that are not easy to remove. One woman shared on a forum, “I have a glass table and it’s annoying because no matter how much you clean it, there are always some stains that are visible in certain light conditions. It always looks dirty.”

There’s no way you can avoid scratches or other marks. And they are especially visible on a dark surface. Another woman commented, “I used a glass table for 5 years. And I was really happy to get rid of it. Despite all the coasters and napkins, it gets scratches anyway. To keep it good-looking, you have to clean it 24/7. Our table also had a shelf which was very uncomfortable for the legs. So, I think it’s not for everyday use.”

You can see people’s legs under these tables and the mess. A Bright Side reader shared, “We have glass desks at work. Even the front parts of them are made of glass. In front of me, there’s a man sitting, so I always have to think about the position of my legs.”

Glass tables are not that quiet. If you use coasters and napkins under the cups and plates, you can avoid loud noises.

But high temperatures or sudden damage can cause the glass to just explode into a thousand pieces. And this could happen at any moment.

"Our glass coffee table randomly exploded while we were watching TV."

4. Long curtains

Some fabric on the floor might create the effect of controlled chaos, which is great. These curtains are good for non-standard windows and they also hide imperfections on the floor. But they are not practical, they get dirty fast, and they have to be cleaned more often in a house with pets or children. Besides, curtains make small rooms look even smaller, and if there’s furniture near the windows, they are not a good idea either.

5. Sink next to the window

Washing the dishes while enjoying the view from the window is a great idea. But the comments from people who designed their apartments like this say that there are splashes on the window that need to be cleaned all the time. Besides, a lot of people put the trash can under the sink and there are radiators under the windows. So, there might be some unpleasant smells. And one more thing — how will you ever wash the outside of the window?

6. White furniture

White furniture looks great, but over time people realize that this furniture has to be cleaned all the time. As an alternative, designers suggest using deep blue or dark green colors that create a good atmosphere and don’t require so much hard work. By the way, the all-white design is not as interesting as a design with a splash of color.

7. Artificial stone sink

These sinks look better than regular stainless steel. They absorb the sound of flowing water. But to take good care of it, you need special cleaning products. Besides, sudden temperature changes are bad for it, and you can’t put heavy objects into it. There have been a lot of complaints about the bottom just falling off.

One woman shared on a forum, “Everyone I know who has a sink made of artificial stone is complaining all the time. The sinks are covered in stains, and 2 of them cracked after 5 years. They’re nothing but trouble. I decided to get a stainless steel sink in a bronze color. It’s quiet, you can use boiling water, and all kinds of stains are easy to remove. I’ve never liked stone. My husband and I even had an argument because he thought that stone was more durable. It’s not true. Only natural stone is good to use.”

8. A standing bathtub

These elite bathtubs require a lot of space and a special design. You should understand that you will have to be sitting or lying in these bathtubs. And if you want to take a shower standing, you will need a curtain around the entire bathtub to prevent the water from leaking.

9. Chalkboard walls

It’s a really trendy idea to make chalkboard walls. But when you use them actively, there’s lots of chalk dust on the floor and around the whole apartment. And if you decide to redecorate the apartment and change the wall color, you will find out that these walls are hard to paint a different color.

10. Glass shower door

If you don’t take good care of sliding glass doors, there could be mold and fungus that will take a lot of work to remove. Also, the glass will always be cloudy if you don’t use special cleaning agents.

A woman shared on a forum, “We really loved it, but when it came to cleaning it, we realized we’d made a mistake. There were stains that we just couldn’t remove. So, we got regular curtains.”

Another woman said, “We had a door like this and we got rid of it. It was so hard to wash the glass and all the metal parts that are always wet and moldy. Now we have a white curtain and it’s awesome.”

“After 3 years I finally figured out how to get this extremely hard-to-wash water build up off my shower doors! It makes the room look so much brighter and bigger in there.”

Also, many people complain about glass doors just exploding on their own.

"Our glass shower door spontaneously exploded all by itself last night."

11. Tiled tabletop

A tabletop made of tiles in the bathroom or the kitchen is an unusual idea. One way or another, the water will build up on the grout lines and they will turn dark very soon. So, you will also have to clean these regularly.

A Pikabu user shares their experience saying, “I made this tabletop myself in the kitchen and it was quite easy. It’s hard to damage and it looks great even 3 years later. But you have to be really careful with glass and other fragile dishes because there might be damage done to them. Knives get blunt after contacting the surface.”

12. Mirrored appliances

These appliances look awesome and they make it seem as if your space is bigger which is important for kitchens that are small. But washing this appliance is much harder — it’s more like a regular mirror.

13. Doors with glass

The main advantage of glass is to make the space visually bigger by increasing the amount of light in the room. Glass doors require a lot of care because all sorts of dirt and fingerprints are easily visible on them.

14. Sink on the washing machine

This solution has its advantages and disadvantages. The good: it saves a lot of space not only in the bathroom but in general because many people have to put washing machines in their kitchens. Also, these sinks are never very deep, and you need special taps for them. Also, it’s not very comfortable for short people.

“If you are not very tall, when washing your hands, the water might just flow on your arms and onto the floor,” a man shared on Pikabu.

“In one apartment, the sink is just hanging above the washing machine, and I don’t think this is very convenient. And in another apartment, the top of the washing machine is removed and there’s a tabletop with a sink on it.”

Bonus: The time of bathroom tiles is over

The ordinary way of putting tiles all around the floor and the walls in the bathroom is an outdated solution. Small tiles, or tiles with flower patterns on them make the room look dated. Tiles should be used only where the water might be: in the shower cabin, near the bathtub and sink, and around the toilet and bidet.

Designer, Alesya Nestyak writes in her blog, “Only recently, the idea of decorating the bathroom without using tiles seemed crazy. But now we are finally free — it’s okay to not use tiles now! It used to be so hard because it all had to be calculated specifically and the tiles were easy to damage. Now, the floor is covered with special concrete which is really practical and this surface has no seams. The walls can be painted and it’s okay. There are modern paints that repel water and are okay with aggressive cleaning agents. If you don’t want paint, you can use decorative plaster. If you put a water-repellent on it, it’s a great replacement for tiles.”

Is there any furniture or some design idea in your apartment that you regret?