Gallery of horrors: 24 home mistakes that you absolutely must not do

Betti Hunter – homify Betti Hunter – homify
AYNA , Asortie Mobilya Dekorasyon Aş. Asortie Mobilya Dekorasyon Aş. Couloir, entrée, escaliers classiques
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What a horror!

Who knows how many times a day we exclaim this sentence when we stumble across a particularly awful picture on the internet. When browsing interiors, we all too often come across something that lacks any style or elegance, two rare quality even in the furniture world. You have no idea how many horrors we end up sifting through before finding the projects that truly stand head and shoulders above the rest. 

Learn from the best is a good motto to live by, but we can also learn from other people's mistakes. That's why today we'll be showing you some of the worst home projects we've encountered – some people just really lack taste! 

Here's everything you should NOT be doing at home… help! 

1. A kitchen with dead colours

homify Cuisine moderne Contreplaqué

Whoever chose this kitchen must be colourblind. Shiny plum fittings paired with a dark countertop and glossy puke-beige walls… we shuddered!

2. A carriage in the bedroom

high end house interior, Vinyaasa Architecture & Design Vinyaasa Architecture & Design Chambre moderne

This is a nightmare, right? No, unfortunately this bedroom actually exists. Where they will put the castle? 

The room doesn't seem to be large enough to accommodate this mysterious object. And what about those random LED lights on the wall?!

3. A very sad wall tattoo

Residence., Rita Mody Joshi & Associates Rita Mody Joshi & Associates Murs & Sols modernes

Love India? That's all well and good, but the owners of this house took it a little too far. After less than 3 months they will be heartily sick of that colour and pattern mash-up. Never paint your wall like this!

4. The velvet walls

AYNA , Asortie Mobilya Dekorasyon Aş. Asortie Mobilya Dekorasyon Aş. Couloir, entrée, escaliers classiques

Padded velvet walls? Horror! They aimed for 'chic', but ended up with 'high class Victorian mental institution'…

5. A heavy classical style

ESTE KLASİK YATAK ODASI, Asortie Mobilya Dekorasyon Aş. Asortie Mobilya Dekorasyon Aş. Chambre classique

We are not in seventeenth-century France! A style like this is ill-suited to modern life – leave the flouncy details to Marie Antoinette. We do not live in the past: say no to bulky wardrobes and Baroque style beds.

6. The purple / orange / green walls etc. etc.

Interior painting, Abdul Bros Abdul Bros Murs & Sols modernes

No, no and no! These colors weigh down the room, depriving it of light. Yes, they may technically match up on the colour wheel – but that's no excuse for splashing these shades all over your walls.

7. The complex and colourful ceilings

homify Chambre moderne Lits & têtes de lit

A real horror – even interior designers with no experience should cringe. Black and white ceilings should never be attempted – you'll just end up with a psychedelic Beetlejuice interior like this. Who knows how many headaches this room has caused!

8. An old bedroom bridge

homify Chambre moderne

Yes, we know, retro trends from the 80's and 90's are making a comeback… but not in your home! This kind of decor is best left in the past where it belongs.

9. A bedroom without consistency

homify Chambre moderne

The future of design? Certainly not in a bedroom like this! Too many colours and shapes fight for your attention, with no consistency. 

10. A checkered floor

METROKENT BURSA, Niyazi Özçakar İç Mimarlık Niyazi Özçakar İç Mimarlık Couloir, entrée, escaliers modernes

Another headache-inducing example of black and white decor gone horribly wrong. If you opt for chequerboard tiles, keep them small, matte, and confined to one area.

11. A kitchen with random colours

homify Cuisine asiatique

Yellow, dark green, and another shiny black countertop. Actively designing a kitchen like this takes a lot of courage… or perhaps madness?

12. A bathroom with extravagant fittings

Despande's Residence, Nuvo Designs Nuvo Designs Salle de bain moderne Pierre

The shower is fine, but what happened to the wall and the sink ?! They seem to be made out of newspaper… this is an excellent example of what happens when a designer takes a pretentious arty concept too far.

13. A bedroom mired in confusion

Спальня на Кавалерийской, MARIA MELNICOVA студия SIERRA MARIA MELNICOVA студия SIERRA Chambre originale

Inexplicable colour choices. We have no words.

14. When DIY goes wrong

Prabhadevi , Elevate Lifestyles Elevate Lifestyles Couloir, entrée, escaliers minimalistes

Perhaps the intentions were not so bad, but the end result is questionable: we have no idea what this tangled mess is, but we wouldn't want it in our home for more than an hour.

15. A kitchen with sparse decoration

4BHK Rangoli Garden, Shape Interiors Shape Interiors Cuisine moderne Contreplaqué

Purple, black, white, and dodgy floral wall tattoos – can I hear you say tacky?

16. A sofa with a split personality disorder

Subtle Harmony, Sneha Samtani I Interior Design. Sneha Samtani I Interior Design. Salon moderne

The designers probably thought this was cool and kitschy. They were wrong. Stick to one idea, please!

17. A television far away from the couch

homify Salon moderne

Most people like to watch TV without having to squint at the screen #justsaying. 

18. A dead carpet

homify Salon moderne

One of the freakiest home trends of the past few years. Who wants something that looks like a poor animal dead on the floor? Horror!

19. An animal rug with a table top

bungalow on boat club road pune, Mind Studio Mind Studio Salon moderne

… even worse than the first!

20. Two chairs that no one will ever use

homify Couloir, entrée, escaliers classiques Bois Effet bois

Do you want to decorate the entrance? Do not do it with useless chairs that no one will never use – they'll just become an extension of your coat stand.

21. What are those chairs all about?

Phaselis Konutları Antalya, Mimoza Mimarlık Mimoza Mimarlık Salon moderne

This room could have been a dream, but those chairs turn it into a knock-off Versace nightmare.

22. Eh?

House Of Colours, Ansari Architects Ansari Architects Couloir, entrée, escaliers modernes

Did these guys really think that an unimaginative print and three tiny statues would be enough to jazz up this stairway? This just doesn't look good.

23. A too-bold bedroom

Residence interiors, Akaar architects Akaar architects Chambre moderne

A mural so big and impressive can really ruin everything. A shame, because this bedroom could otherwise look quite chic.

24. Way too far out

Яркая гостиная на Кавалерийской, MARIA MELNICOVA студия SIERRA MARIA MELNICOVA студия SIERRA Salon original

Same applies here. There is potential in this room but the colours on the wall could quite frankly blind literally the inhabitant. The pink of the other walls is questionable. But fair play, the furniture is pretty nice!

If you liked this article, check out: 12 common bedroom mistakes that are easy to avoid.

Translated and adapted from an original article by Eugenio Caterino for homify IT

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