It’s wild how fast home trends change. What felt fresh last year now has me wondering, What was I thinking? As we head into 2025, I’ve been itching to refresh my living room and steer clear of styles that designers say are officially outdated.
It’s not about chasing trends but creating a space that feels current and genuinely you. So I did some digging into what the pros are loving (and ditching), and wow, there are some fun, bold ideas to try.
If you’re ready for a mini makeover, these tips might just spark your next living room glow-up.
1. Word Art Signs That Say ‘Live, Laugh, Love’
Those mass-produced phrases have become the punchline of interior design jokes. You know them—hanging in kitchens everywhere, reminding you to ‘Gather’ or ‘Bless This Mess’.
Professional designers cringe when they spot these generic sentiments. Words like ‘Blessed’ and ‘Farmhouse’ plastered on walls feel more like a design crutch than thoughtful decor.
Plus, they’ve become so common that they’ve lost any personal meaning they might have once had.
2. Try Instead: Personalized Art With Meaning
Why not display something that actually tells your story? Original artwork from local artists brings unique energy that mass-produced signs never could.
Family photos arranged in a gallery wall create conversation starters. Kids’ artwork framed professionally adds personality and charm while celebrating creativity that’s meaningful to you.
Even vintage travel posters from places you’ve visited make for more interesting wall decor that sparks genuine joy and memories.
3. All-Gray Everything
If your home resembles a grayscale filter, designers want you to know it’s time for a change. The all-gray trend that dominated the 2010s has officially overstayed its welcome.
Those gray walls paired with gray furniture atop gray carpets create spaces that feel cold and impersonal. Even HGTV shows have moved beyond this monochromatic obsession.
Sometimes called “greige” when mixed with beige, this safe but boring choice lacks the warmth and character that makes a house feel like a home.
4. Try Instead: Warm Neutrals With Pops Of Color
Warm, earthy neutrals create the perfect backdrop for personality to shine through. Think terracotta, camel, oatmeal, and soft whites that feel inviting rather than clinical.
Add vibrant accent pieces in colors you love. A burnt orange throw pillow or emerald green vase can transform a space without overwhelming it.
Natural materials like wood and rattan bring texture and warmth that gray simply can’t match, making your space feel lived-in and welcoming.
5. Fast Furniture That Falls Apart
Flimsy particleboard pieces from big box stores might save money initially, but they’re terrible for both your home and the planet. These items often break within a year or two, forcing you to replace them.
Wobbly tables and dressers with drawers that stick closed aren’t just annoying—they’re wasteful. Many designers point out that these disposable pieces contribute to landfills at alarming rates.
Low-quality furniture also tends to look cheap, bringing down the overall appearance of your space.
6. Try Instead: Quality Second-Hand Pieces
Vintage and second-hand stores offer solid wood furniture built to last generations at prices often lower than new fast furniture. These pieces bring character and history into your home.
Online marketplaces make finding these gems easier than ever. Look for solid construction and good bones—even if the finish isn’t perfect, quality pieces can be refinished.
Mixing a few quality investment pieces with budget finds creates a curated look that appears more expensive and thoughtful than an all-new room set.
7. Barn Doors On Tracks
Those sliding barn doors that seemed so clever a few years ago have quickly become an interior design cliché. Often installed where they make little sense functionally, they’ve become the mullet of home design—trying too hard to be both country and modern.
Practical issues abound too. They don’t seal properly, offering zero sound privacy and often letting light bleed through gaps.
Most designers agree that unless you actually live in a converted barn, these doors feel forced and theme-y rather than authentic to your home’s architecture.
8. Try Instead: Architectural Pocket Doors Or Statement Hinged Doors
Pocket doors offer the same space-saving benefits as barn doors but disappear completely into the wall when open. They’re clean, architectural, and timeless in a way barn doors never will be.
For a bold statement, try painted interior doors in unexpected colors. A rich green door against neutral walls creates focal interest without feeling themed or trendy.
French doors with glass panels bring light between rooms while maintaining separation. They work in almost any home style from traditional to contemporary.
9. Shiplap On Every Surface
Joanna Gaines has a lot to answer for! The farmhouse trend brought shiplap into suburban homes across America, often in spaces where it makes no historical or architectural sense.
Those horizontal wooden boards started appearing everywhere—bathroom walls, kitchen islands, even ceilings. What began as an authentic feature in certain home styles became an overused shortcut to “character.”
Unless your home has genuine farmhouse or coastal roots, designers say this trend feels forced and is already looking dated.
10. Try Instead: Textured Wall Treatments With Substance
Limewash paint offers subtle texture and depth that changes with the light throughout the day. Unlike flat paint, it creates dimension without the theme-park feel of shiplap.
Venetian plaster brings European elegance and tactile interest to walls. Available in countless colors, it adds sophistication that won’t look dated next year.
Even simple techniques like color blocking or two-tone walls create architectural interest without relying on trendy materials that will mark your home as “so 2020.”
11. All-White Kitchens
Those pristine white-on-white kitchens that dominated Pinterest for years are losing their appeal fast. While they photograph beautifully, they’re proving impractical for real life.
White cabinets show every fingerprint and food splatter. The clinical feel often makes these spaces feel more like laboratories than the heart of the home.
Most designers now view all-white kitchens as a missed opportunity to inject personality and warmth into one of your home’s most-used spaces.
12. Try Instead: Two-Tone Kitchens With Natural Elements
Two-tone kitchens with darker lower cabinets and lighter uppers create visual interest while hiding dirt where it matters most. Navy, green, or wood-tone lower cabinets ground the space beautifully.
Wood elements bring necessary warmth to kitchens. Try open shelving in natural oak or a walnut island top against painted cabinets.
Colorful tile backsplashes offer personality and practicality. Hand-made ceramic tiles with slight variations feel artisanal and timeless compared to stark white subway tiles.
13. Matching Furniture Sets
Buying the entire bedroom or living room set from the showroom floor is a shortcut that designers can spot from a mile away. These matching pieces lack the collected-over-time quality that gives rooms personality and soul.
When everything matches perfectly—the nightstands, dresser, bed frame, and mirror all in identical wood—spaces feel flat and uninteresting. It’s the decorating equivalent of wearing a head-to-toe outfit from a mannequin.
Plus, these sets often fall in and out of style together, meaning your entire room looks dated simultaneously.
14. Try Instead: Thoughtfully Curated Pieces
Mix different furniture styles that share common elements. A vintage dresser can live happily alongside a modern bed if they share complementary colors or hardware finishes.
Varying wood tones create depth and interest. Forget the old rule about matching woods—mixing walnut, oak, and maple in one room feels collected and sophisticated.
Focus on proportion and scale rather than matching finishes. Different pieces that fit the space properly will create harmony even when their styles vary.
15. Overly Themed Rooms
Beach-themed bathrooms complete with seashell soap dishes and anchor motifs have sailed past their expiration date. Similarly, those Tuscan kitchens with grape motifs and faux-finished walls feel stuck in the early 2000s.
Heavily themed rooms often feel like you’re trying too hard. They lack subtlety and can make your home feel like a themed restaurant rather than a sophisticated living space.
Most dated of all are rooms where absolutely every item reinforces the theme, from the artwork to the throw pillows to the cabinet knobs.
16. Try Instead: Subtle Nods To Your Inspirations
Incorporate your love of the beach through color palette rather than literal objects. Soft blues, sandy beiges, and white create the feeling without the tourist-shop accessories.
Use texture to evoke a feeling. Linen fabrics and natural jute rugs can suggest coastal vibes without a single seashell in sight.
Limit themed items to one or two special pieces with personal meaning. A single beautiful piece of coral collected on a memorable trip makes more impact than 20 mass-produced beach items.