5 living room features that give interior experts the 'ick' – avoid these decor pet peeves to ensure a stylish, relaxing space
From lighting to accessories, you'd never catch the experts using these
Our living rooms may be one of the most fun rooms in the house to decorate, with usually little other functional purpose than relaxing and socialising - but that doesn’t mean our decor choices can’t be subject to a bit of light-hearted criticism.
Reams of stunning living room trends have surfaced over the years; be it cosy dark colours or natural texture accessories, to name but a very few. But there are some living room decor trends and features out there that have even the experts running scared, and we've made it our mission to uncover them.
As interior experts, the professionals we spoke to have seen it all - and time and time again, there are a couple of living room interior choices that seriously give them the ‘ick’; a shorthand way of saying they give them a visceral feeling of cringe! Of course, everyone is entitled to their own decor choices - but if you have made any of these choices in your living room, you might want to understand how these ‘icks’ can be *ahem* improved upon, from an expert’s point of view…
1. Perfectly matching furniture sets
Though it is often a practical choice with regards to your time and money, one of the biggest living room icks for Katerina Tchevytchalova, founder of K’Arte Design, is all-matching furniture, often seen in the picture-perfect homes of social media. 'When everything matches too perfectly, a room can end up feeling more like a showroom, rather than a home. It reads as flat and overly uniform, rather than considered. Ick!' Katerina explains.
There’s no need to throw out your (likely expensive) three-piece suite, though. In fact, according to Katerina, the best way to improve your living room seating if you have all-matching furniture, is simply to edit and add unique pieces to the space as the weeks, months, and years go on.
Katerina suggests, 'the fix is to layer the room over time. Introducing one or two distinctive items, perhaps a sculptural coffee table, a vintage armchair in an unexpected fabric or a statement light, immediately adds personality and gives the room a focal point.
'Mixing chunkier, more substantial pieces with lighter, more delicate ones also helps it feel collected rather than bought in one go, adding warmth and a sense of individuality.'
2. Oversized tech in a media wall
Large media walls in living rooms have become a hugely popular living room trend in recent years. But for Rachal Hutcheson, interiors expert at Sharps, large and complex technology overpowering the living space is a huge 'ick'.
'There are a few decor choices in the living room that can feel off to me, and the most common would be when a media unit is dominated by oversized tech. A living room should be a place to unwind and connect, not just somewhere you are constantly aware of tech cables and plug sockets,' she says.
For Rachal, living rooms shouldn’t be all about screens. 'When media becomes the focal point, the room loses that essential feeling of warmth and welcome. You stop noticing the textures, the lighting and the pieces that tell your story.'
To fix this ‘ick’, Rachal reiterates the importance of boosting the character of the room elsewhere, to create a balance between tech and personality. 'Introduce confident colour to restore personality and thoughtful contrasting finishes to add depth that naturally pulls the eye away from screens. And with smart combination storage, you can also tuck tech discreetly out of sight, and have space to showcase the more treasured items.'
3. A small rug in the middle of the room
Though rugs are a great way to instantly create a feeling of comfort in a living room, there are ways to do it wrong. 'One of my biggest living room "icks" is a rug floating in the middle of the floor, with none of the furniture touching it,' Jessica Barrett, interior designer and founder of Jessica Simone Designs, says. 'It makes the rug feel like a little island and can leave the whole area looking disconnected.'
To avoid this ick in your living room, it’s all about positioning a rug, as well as the size. Jessica explains, ‘a rug should help anchor the furniture and bring the living room together.
'Ideally, it should be large enough for at least the front legs of the sofa and armchairs to sit on it. If you’re unsure, mark out different rug sizes on the floor with masking tape before buying. More often than not, going up a size will make the room feel more generous and considered, not smaller,' she says.
4. The wrong lighting
Choosing the wrong lighting in your living room is an ick that some interior designers just can’t get past. Jessica says, ‘one living room “ick” I feel particularly strongly about is a ceiling peppered with spotlights, as is common nowadays. There is absolutely a place for practical lighting, but a living room does not need to be lit like an airport runway! It can make even the loveliest room feel stark and completely remove the atmosphere.’
Tom Raffield, founder of Tom Raffield Lighting, agrees that one solitary lighting source is a similarly big ick for him. 'One of the most common design mistakes is relying on a single overhead light to illuminate an entire room. Not only can this feel harsh and uninviting, but it also flattens a room and lacks ambience.'
As an alternative, the interior experts suggest layered lighting is a no-brainer for creating a sense of calm with your living room lighting ideas. 'I would always rather layer lighting at different heights,' Jessica suggests. 'Combine a ceiling fitting with floor lamps, table lamps and, where possible, wall lights. Position them close to the places you actually use: beside an armchair for reading, on a console or in a darker corner that needs a little warmth.
'This creates soft pockets of light that make the space feel cosy, inviting and somewhere you genuinely want to spend an evening. No big light, please!’ she says.
5. All-grey living rooms
Once the talk of the town and one of the biggest interior trends around - all-grey living rooms (or all-beige living rooms) are actually one of the biggest ‘icks’ for the interior designers we spoke to, these days.
'I love using neutrals, but an entirely grey or beige living room with no contrast, texture or colour is a definite “ick” for me,' Jessica shares. Interior designer and founder of At Home by Design, Helen McClure agrees, explaining, 'a blanket of grey can flatten a room and make it feel lifeless. Colour should respond to the light, the orientation of the room and the atmosphere you want to create. Even subtle colours can bring warmth and character.'
If your living room is full of grey, you don’t have to entirely redecorate to avoid this ick. 'You don’t need to fill the room with bright colour instead,' Jessica suggests. 'Start by introducing one deeper shade, such as olive green, rust, chocolate brown or muted blue. Then layer in natural timber, aged brass and tactile materials such as linen, wool or velvet. The key is contrast.'
Are you guilty of any of these living room 'ick's?
