When someone welcomes you into their humble abode, you never know what to expect. Will their house be full of adorable décor that would inspire many Pinterest boards, or do they have a photo of a cow plastered across their entire fridge, “home décor fail”? Only time will tell…
If you’re interested in the less-than-aspirational home design choices, let us introduce you to “Please Hate These Things” on Instagram, a page dedicated to shaming and celebrating the most ridiculous and hilarious design choices homeowners have ever made. Enjoy viewing the following design crimes and upvoting your favorites, and keep reading to find conversations we were lucky enough to have with interior stylist Kel Harmer and writer and blogger Stacey Sheppard!
01. Lots Of New People Here- So Here’s A Throwback To Ceiling Boobies
02. One Martini Away From Ankle Surgery
03. Follow Me For More Time-Saving Life Hacks
The Please Hate These Things Instagram account is dedicated to “absurd, ugly & just plain stupid things in home design.” The account has amassed an impressive 571k followers and has shared over 900 photos of questionable decor and designs. We can’t all be Nate Berkus; many of us need help in the interior design department. And while Please Hate These Things might not provide practical tips or factual support for those struggling with our homes, at least it allows us to sit back, relax and laugh at other people’s design choices.
If you live for watching HGTV or silently judging your friends’ homes when you visit them, we hope you love Please Hate These Things. And perhaps you’ll find some inspiration for what not to do in your home! Channel your inner Joanna Gaines, and enjoy! From rooms that look like they were built without an architect to light fixtures that would make interior designers shudder, this page has it all.
04. Honey, It’s Getting Warm In Here. Would You Mind Cracking A Testicle?
05. You Can Checkout Anytime You Like, But You Can Never Leave
06. Doing The Most And The Least All At Once
It’s pretty easy to end up with a home with questionable design choices, so to learn more about interior design, we reached out to Kel Harmer of Oh So Kel, who was kind enough to chat with us. Kel is an interior stylist and the owner of Oh So Kel, the source of Inspiration for Beautiful Living, ‘Best Home Blog,’ and ‘Amara IBA Shortlist for Best Design Inspiration.’ She’s been described as the ‘queen of accessible style & unique chic decor,’ so we wanted to know what she loves most about interior design.
“I love interior design because it’s a way of expressing yourself, reflecting your personality, and using creativity in a way that is unique and individual to the homeowner,” Kel says. But she’s open-minded when it comes to whether or not there is such a thing as bad design. “I think there are certain design principles, color pairings, and room layouts that work better than others, but I do also think that design is an art form which is subjective too,” Kel told us. “We don’t all have the same tastes or opinions on what makes good design, so there will always be varying ideas and debates.”
07. Pandamonium
08. Even Your Cat Is Breaking His Leg
09. This Is Fine. Everything Is Fine
We also asked Kel if she has any big “don’ts” that she tries to avoid or recommends that others avoid in their designs. “I try not to follow through on bold’ trends’ when making more permanent, expensive decisions such as kitchens, flooring, or large pieces of furniture,” she shared. “These I try to keep fairly neutral and classic, which creates a foundation from which you can build, bringing in personality and more bold statements through pieces that can be easily changed if you change your mind over time. Items such as cushion covers, art prints, and wallpaper are examples.”
10. Brick Oven Pizza, Anyone?
11. Enjoy Your Eye Twitch
12. In Case You Want Some Stitches With Your Night Time Face Routine
Kel also shared one of her articles on 5 Steps to Define Your Home Style to help others know where to start when designing their homes. Her tips include saving everything you love on Pinterest, noticing trends that appeal to you, defining your style, referring to your Pinterest boards whenever you lose sight of your vision, and keeping your home cohesive. “Even if you’re not completely redecorating or buying everything in one go, it’s worth ensuring you have the entire space planned out to stay cohesive,” Kel writes. “It may mean you have a mix of styles while you’re in the transitional period of old and new, but stay true to the board, and it’ll be worth it when you get to the result!”
13. You Are Hereby Banned From The Scrap Yard
14. They Didn’t Have To Do Bessie Dirty Like That
15. There’s Crossing Streams, Then There’s…
Finally, we asked Kel what the most important thing to keep in mind is when designing a space. “It’s a function,” she revealed. “How will you use the space, and how can you design it to meet those needs? Think about how you want it to look and feel, then combine those ideas to create a functional yet beautiful space that reflects your personality and fulfills your needs.”
If you’d like to gain more tips from the expert, be sure to check out Kel’s website Oh So Kel right here!
16. You Know, I’m A Bit Of An Oil Tycoon Myself
17. When That Third Roommate Hasn’t Paid the Rent
18. Happy Halloween’ish, Because This Is Terrifying!
We also reached out to writer and blogger Stacey Sheppard, creator of The Design Sheppard, to hear her thoughts on the topic, and she was kind enough to answer our burning questions. She shared what Stacey loves most about interior design: “Interior design, when done well, allows you to create an environment that is good for your mental health and well-being. In today’s very fast-paced, tumultuous, and unpredictable world, our homes and work environments need to be designed in a way that nourishes us and helps us to regulate our emotions.”
“Creating environments that are easy to use and make us feel good has never been more important,” she continued. “Interior design offers us a way to pull together schemes that bring joy and happiness into our lives by activating our senses in a way that replenishes us and allows us to find sanctuary while expressing our identity.”
19. Do We Have An Epidemic On Our Hands?
20. What Giant A*s Cat Lives In This Room? I Need To Know
Stacey also believes there is such a thing as “bad design,” but perhaps not in the way you imagine. “When it comes to aesthetics, design is, of course, very subjective and relies heavily on our own personal tastes and emotional response,” she told us. “What may be a dream interior for one person could be a nightmare for another. However, design is more than just aesthetics. A good interior should work well for its intended use. So if we’re referring to functionality, then absolutely there is such a thing as bad design.”
21. I Will Not Take No For An Answer
22. Hide-And-Go-Poop
23. The Biggest Inception Fan Ever
Stacey was also kind enough to share her most extensive design “don’ts” with us. “Don’t simply copy what you see in magazines and online without first giving it serious thought,” she noted. “Just because a certain color or material is trendy right now doesn’t mean you need it in your home. You need to inject your personality and style into an interior and adapt trends to work for you and your home. First, determine how you want to feel in your home and then see if the trends correspond to that. Don’t just blindly accept what you’re being told by the media and jump on the trend bandwagon. Have the confidence to follow your intuition.”
24. The Chiropractor’s Special
25. Custom Is A State Of Mind
If you’re interested in getting more into the design but aren’t sure where to start, Stacey recommends first taking a minute to assess every room. “Think about the activities that will take place in that room and decide how you want to feel in it. Should it feel calming and relaxing or vibrant and energizing? Once you have ascertained this, you will be able to get much more clarity on the colors to use and the materials and finishes you might want,” she shared.
“A great way to get clarity is to go to Pinterest and start pinning images that provoke the emotions you are looking for,” Stacey added. “Don’t put too much thought into it at this point. Just pay attention to the reaction in your body. Once you have pinned a good few images, you can look back at the board as a whole, and you should be able to spot the patterns that keep showing up. Maybe you’ve pinned lots of wooden kitchens or quite a few green bathrooms, for example.”
26. That’s Enough IKEA For Today
27. Same, Sink. Same
And when it comes to what the most crucial factor to consider when designing a space is, Stacey says, it’s you! “You are the person who will live or work in this space. So it has to work and feel good for you,” she told us. “Don’t waste time on what other people will think of your home; they don’t have to live in it. Fill it with pieces that speak to you emotionally and make you feel good. Then you really can’t go wrong. We spend far too much time worrying about whether things go together or fit into a certain style or trend, but as long as you appreciate everything that you have chosen and it reflects your style, that is all that matters.”
If you’d like to gain more design inspiration and tips from Stacey, be sure to check out her blog, The Design Sheppard, right here!
28. Alexa Play “Idk I Kinda Love It” In 3….2…1…
29. Mirror Mirror On The Wall
We hope we haven’t scarred you by introducing you to these painfully bad design photos. If you are designing a home of your own, A&D readers, remember that you are free to do whatever you like with it. But if you make questionable choices, you can’t be surprised when they end up online! Keep upvoting the photos you can’t believe exist in people’s homes, and let us know in the comments below what you think the worst design faux pas is. Then, if you’re interested in checking out A&D’s previous articles featuring Please Hate These Things, you can find them here and here!
30. What Is A Linen Closet?
31. Worst Magic Eye Puzzle Ever
32. Emergency Toilet For When The Taco Bell Hits On The Stairs
33. Hi Bye Part 2
34. More Beautiful With Tetanus
35. This Is Vicious
36. The Struggle Is Real
37. New Years Resolution: Use A Tape Measure
38. Control A, CTRL C, Control V. CTRL Z!!!! Control Z!!!
39. Vroom Vroom / Need For S(Pee)d
40. All Custom Everything
41. Stay On Your Side Of The Sink
42. Malicious
43. Light Switches Are For Losers
44. When You’ll Do Anything To Avoid The Upper Decker
45. That’s A Load Bearing Shelf
46. I’m Sorry, I Don’t Get Paid Enough To Care
47. Lookout Below!
48. I Can Show You The World. Shining, Shimmering Dust Mites…
49. Conscious Uncoupling At Its Best
50. Where To Begin
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