When it comes to home renovation ideas, a lot of homeowners look for inspiration on various websites. However, looking up online for home design inspirations can be a double-edged sword since not everyone has the know-how about home interior and exterior trends. Some of the ideas you can get online were never in vogue but they keep coming back as so-so trends in someone’s blog. While taking inspiration from decades past can make an elegant vintage style at times, some interior fads have already had a good run and may need replacement. 

For this piece, we talked to professional designers about some outdated home design ideas that you may want to avoid in 2022. We also looked at a few ones to try this new year that can add value to your property. Read on! 

Design ideas to avoid in 2022 

Theme Rooms 

Theme rooms probably seemed like a good idea at first. Who doesn’t love to walk into a store or mall and see an awesome-themed display of your favorite movie character? Doesn’t it then make sense to want to transfer that look to your house?  

The problem is that your house isn’t a store or a mall. Themed rooms tend to become outdated very quickly because pop culture changes very quickly as well. Whereas a store or mall can change their rooms to the next big craze within a month or less, it won’t be as easy for you. Storing, selling or throwing away your themed collection for another one is going to be expensive, not to mention, wasteful.  

If you really want to salvage something from the idea, add some of those design elements to a regular room. For example, if you’re a car enthusiast, you can incorporate a car-inspired desk or pool table in your living room. 

Pure White on White  

Years ago, white on white was a very fashionable home design trend. Some people use homemade concrete dye but now we use paint as a basis to style kitchens and bathrooms to get that clean pristine look.  

Most draftsmen say that the approach is long outdated. Besides the fact that the approach demands continuous cleaning maintenance, it has other issues.  

Pure white interiors only work well if they’re well-illuminated by natural light. You can’t appreciate what you can’t see, after all.  

Pure white also promotes that commercial showroom look. Nice to look at, but not there to actually be used. Certainly not the ideal home environment style you’re looking for, especially if you’re staying home most of the time because of the pandemic. 

Experts say that white still works, but it has to be mixed with warm colors like wood tones. 

Matchy-Matchy Furniture and Decor 

Some ideas are never technically in style but still keep coming back regardless. If you’re wondering the reason why, it’s probably just typical buyer compulsion.  

Matching sets of furniture pieces and colors are good examples. When you’re out shopping for your home decor, buying matching sets sounds like a great idea. You’ll have several furniture pieces and/or decor that you know are of good quality that happen to match. Sounds good, right?  

Unfortunately, this tends to create a very bland and unattractive setting. When you have the same dark furniture sets with the similar-colored dark wallpaper, it will look quite dull. 

Go for contrast and layers instead. Add texture and personality. Buy unique furniture pieces that can still look good together. Or buy a different decor and then space out your matching furniture in different areas of the house. 

Popcorn Ceilings  

Popcorn ceilings were a popular design choice from the 1950’s all the way to the 80’s. People loved them for reducing sound, covering up flaws in the ceiling and being cheap to add.  

Unfortunately, they’re also visual eyesores that have a lot of problems behind them. From moisture issues to the fact that they gather up dirt and cobwebs like a vacuum, there is no limit to the proven downsides of these ceilings.  

Many of these ceilings still hang around in old homes and showrooms. Part of the reason they’re still around is because it can be expensive and a bit of a health hazard to remove them. The really old ones were known to hold asbestos.  

While the newer popcorn ceilings are asbestos-free, you’re better off avoiding them altogether. 

Honey Oak Cabinets 

When talking about outdated designs, you can’t get more outdated than good o’l honey oaks. There was a time when honey oaks cabinetry was all the rage, around the 80’s to 90’s era. Since then, honey oak wood cabinets have gone out of style. In their place, you see stuff like white and gray cabinets gaining more favor from homeowners.  

A quick web search will give you all sorts of tips for how to update your honey oaks cabinets. Painting and refinishing are usually the go-to options. But if you don’t currently own any, we recommend you just stay away and let honey oaks get their golden retirement. 

Design ideas to try in 2022 

Biophilic Designs – Biophilic designs are all about bringing the beauty of the outdoors into your home. Many real estate experts agree that this nature-based interior design trend is one of the top trends for 2022. Thus, expect to see more plant-friendly and indoor/outdoor living designs pop up very soon. In connection with this, natural materials will also be very much in high demand. 

Vintage Pieces – Building designers agree that vintage decor is going to be more popular than ever. Vintage furniture pieces reflect a unique, one-of-a-kind appeal that your neighbor’s house isn’t going to be able to replicate. At least not in that exact same combination. Each piece’s unique style would be both complicated and expensive to imitate if someone tried. Another big thing going for it is that vintage finds promote upcycling rather than consuming. 

Multifunctional Spaces – Multifunctional spaces continue to rise in demand. Ever since the onset of the global lockdowns, the need for transforming home spaces has become undeniable. Children, teens, and adults need spaces where they can work from home more efficiently. Such spaces that can double up as rental space for potential renters are only getting more popular. Even if you have no need to work from home, there’s a ton of undeniable potential behind the idea. 

Folding Screens – Speaking of post-2019 necessities, folding screens are yet another must.  With everyone working from home, there’s a need to create useful partitions. Partitions between your work environment and everything else. Folding screens afford you the convenience of doing just that without walling off a room or adding a door. The screens separate your workspace without blocking off natural light or ventilation. Just set them up anywhere and you’ll have an instant private workspace. 

All-time Minimalism – In line with the growing work-from-home approach, minimalism is also tagging along.  People want to clear out all unnecessary elements from the home space and reclaim it for their own uses. In a minimalist setup, every furniture piece needs a practical function. The pieces may be striking but have to be simple in design. Everything needs to add value. Comfort and usability are more important than visual appeal.  

Conclusion 

If there’s anything to learn from these two lists, it’s that:  

1) You have to know what you want out of your home’s interior design.  

2) Once you know what you want, you can research on what options can fit your preferences for your dream space and then 

3) See if those options are in vogue, while also assessing if combining those designs will make sense.  

4) Lastly, try not to chase after a trend just because everyone you know is doing it. Consult an interior designer or two first before making your final decision. Like we said, some of the worst outdated trends come from ideas that were never in style, yet people have kept repeating and imitating them for no reason at all.