1. Faux Plants that Look Cheap
“I’m not a huge fan of using faux plants unless it’s a very high-quality tree or a very realistic potted plant that makes you do a double take,” says interior designer and DIY expert Fariha Nasir. If you can’t keep real plants alive but want to add greenery to your space, it’s worth investing in a high-quality artificial plant rather than settling for a collection of faux plants that cheapen your space. “If your shelf is sporting a plasticky looking succulent, replace it with something else that looks more natural on a shelf,” Nasir suggests.
2. Stark All-White Spaces
After many years of stark, all-white interiors dominating the scene, designers say it’s time for a change. “Say goodbye to stark white walls and trim, all-white kitchens, and white furniture that lacks contrast or texture,” Davis says. She comments on the recent design shift toward warmth and depth, which makes all-white spaces feel cold in contrast. “While these spaces photograph well, they don’t wear well over time,” Davis adds.
3. Cane Overload
Furniture and decor featuring caned details can add a great textured detail, but cane-everything? It’s best to leave generic cane chairs, decorative trays, baskets, and vases in 2025. “I really don’t like seeing cane everywhere, especially on midcentury-style armchairs that look very generic,” Nasir says.
There are ways to thoughtfully incorporate detail through high-quality pieces, but using a plethora of trendy cane items will only make your space look dated. “Cane is a beautiful organic material that I love incorporating where it makes sense, but not if it’s used as a trendy accent piece,” Nasir says.
4. Fast Furniture and Generic Home Decor
Designers say overly trendy “fast furniture” and generic home decor are another trend to avoid. “Oversized boucle chairs, cheap curved sofas, and uncomfortable accent chairs purchased purely for scale or look, rather than comfort and timeless style, are a thing of the past,” Davis says.
The designer explains that these pieces dominate a room for a season before quickly feeling outdated. “Boucle-everything is falling out of favor—a piece here and there is lovely, but when the entire room is covered in boucle, it just feels wrong,” Davis adds.
The same goes for generic home decor, whether it’s generic abstract art canvases or bookshelf accents. “Also, mass-produced dough bowls with spherical fillers like moss balls,” Nasir says. “You can thrift an actual dough bowl and fill it up with fruit you’ll actually use."
5. Matchy-Matchy Decor
People often think that bringing in matching furnishings and decor will ensure they get it right, but designers say it only makes a room feel clinical and formulaic. The pull toward less matchy-matchy spaces and more layered, intentionally assembled rooms will continue to grow in 2026.
“Don’t try to match all the colors of accent pieces and decor; try to find something from your home that doesn’t necessarily belong and throw it in the mix,” Nasir suggests. The designer notes that even matching wall colors to wallpaper can feel a little outdated at this point. “Instead of finding an exact match of the colors in your wallpaper, try to find something complementary or even slightly different in tone but in the same color family,” she advises.
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6. Overly Minimal Decor
“Overly minimal and personality-free spaces are being replaced with collected and curated spaces that have depth and character,” Davis says. She shares that rooms that are stripped of art, books, layered lighting, and personal items are becoming less and less popular. “Homes that are expressive and feel collected are what we are seeing as popular in 2026 and moving forward,” she says.
7. High-Gloss Paint Finishes
There was a time when high-gloss everything was the trending aesthetic, but Nasir recommends varying paint finishes to avoid a dated look now. “I love high-gloss paint, but when all pieces of furniture and/or cabinetry are high-gloss, it instantly timestamps it to the 2000’s,” the designer says.
8. Cool Gray
Color palettes and decor trends have been leaning toward warmer hues and will continue to do so. Cool gray may have been the it-color for over a decade, but it’s time to rein in its overuse.
Nasir says gray kitchen cabinets paired with stark white countertops and matte black hardware are a look that is officially outdated in 2026. “Cool-toned gray flooring and gray everything really makes a house look dated, too—I’m still working on replacing the millennial gray from our builder-grade home,” she shares.
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9. High-Contrast Black and White Schemes
High-contrast black-and-white color schemes, whether in bathroom tiles or room decor, were a longtime go-to look, but experts say that’s changing. “Graphic black and white tiles and finishes can feel harsh—soft, layered contrast is replacing this look,” Davis shares.
