The laws of home decor often derive from personal opinion, varying depending on which “expert” you ask. In an effort to uncover the most serial interior design crimes of our time, technology giant Samsung turned to the British public.
In a public vote of 2000 UK adults, Samsung asked participants to vote on the worst interior design trends of the past 50 years. The results are as controversial as they are varied, with a total of 25 trends spanning half a century, and leaving no room intact.
From bidets to beaded curtains, waterbeds to wallpaper borders, we set out Samsung’s findings below on the worst design trends in living memory. Have they missed something?
Toilet rugs/furry toilet seat covers (44%)
Taxidermy (39%)
Avocado bathrooms (32%)
Floral ‘chintz’ furniture (28%)
Waterbeds (25%)
Artex walls and ceilings (25%)
Carpeted bathrooms (25%)
Rag rolled walls (23%)
Tribal carvings, masks and wall hangings (23%)
Stone cladding (19%)
Animal print anything (19%)
Inspirational quote art stenciled on the walls (19%)
Carpeted or textured walls (19%)
Beaded curtains (19%)
Living room bars (19%)
Bidets (17%)
Round beds (17%)
Professional family portraits (15%)
Shabby chic anything (15%)
Shag pile carpets (14%)
Wicker furniture indoors (12%)
Wallpaper borders (12%)
Curtain pelmets (11%)
TV cupboards (11%)
Stenciled walls or decals (11%)
To add a note of positivity, Samsung also asked the British public to vote on the best interior design trends from the same time period, with open plan living triumphing with 66% of the vote, followed by rustic furnishings with 49%.
