Chair of the BBC Interior Design Masters judges’ panel, Michelle Ogundehin warned that there are some design details that can “make a home look seriously dated”.
“I see all these hackneyed trends over and over again,” said the interior designer angrily. “That means you probably have no idea what a bad impression they leave.”
Some interior features have to be thrown overboard for good, says Michelle, such as the term “splash of color.”
Michelle explained: “I hate that phrase so much it makes my hair stand on end. I don’t know when it started, but now I hear it a lot, as if it’s the cure-all for all beauty problems. It’s not.”
In an article for the Daily Mail, Michelle elaborated on this, explaining that she wanted a sense of flow throughout the house rather than sudden splashes of color that would be disruptive.
Michelle is also against tasteless accent walls and niches, preferring to flood a room with color.
To add color to a room, the walls, baseboards and sometimes the ceiling must be painted the same color.
“Whether it’s paint or wallpaper, whatever you choose needs to cover more than one wall, ideally at least three,” says Michelle – and the ceiling counts as a wall.
Michelle is also not a fan of having carpet throughout the house – it should only be used in bedrooms and on stairs and nowhere else.
The colour grey is a no-go and seems to have conquered most residential buildings in the last decade.
Michelle said: “It’s just a newer version of boring. A non-colour. It’s completely unflattering. On walls, it steals the energy from the room.”
All pictures, including the children’s drawings on the walls, must be framed so that they look stylish. “But only wooden or metal frames, please,” Michelle asked.
This may sound controversial, but Michelle is not a fan of open floor plans either. “They are drafty, dusty and difficult to decorate.”
Pillows that are the same material, color, and texture can look pretty boring—“and woe betide you if you karate chop them down the middle like a fabric fortune cookie.”
Michelle said: “Cushions are an opportunity to indulge in the wonder of prints and patterns, textures and tactility. Use anything from wool bouclé to embroidered velvet, embellish with tassels and ribbons and mix and match linen, satin and silk.”
Michelle recommends limiting yourself to one color palette (maximum four) and only varying the color intensity.
“In other words, if one of your colors is pink, you can use pale pink to fuchsia, whether patterned or solid,” she said.
Outdated trends make your home look old-fashioned:
- Splashes of color in random color
- Accent walls
- Carpet everywhere
- Grey walls
- Unframed pictures
- Matching cushions
