Interior Design Icks: What I Can’t Unsee (And Why It Matters)
As an Interior designer, I look at homes for a living - which means I’ve picked up a few opinions along the way. Some of them are personal (sorry, recliners). Others are actually about the design principles that make a room feel right, even when you can’t put your finger on why it currently doesn’t.
Here’s my list of interior design icks - and the reasoning behind each one, in case you want to fix them rather than just nod along.
Trailing Wires
Nothing undercuts a beautifully styled room faster than a snake of cables running along the skirting board. It’s a small thing, but it’s the kind of small thing your eye catches before your brain even registers why the room feels unfinished. Cable clips, a cord cover, or simply rethinking furniture placement around your sockets can solve this in an afternoon.
Curtains That Are Too Short
Short curtains make a ceiling look lower and a window look smaller - the opposite of what most people actually want from their room. As a rule, curtains should graze the floor (or pool very slightly), and the pole should sit as close to the ceiling as practically possible. It’s a simple swap that makes a room feel taller and more considered without touching a single wall.
Rugs That Are Too Small
This is probably the most common one I see. A rug that’s too small “floats” in the middle of a room, visually shrinking the space around it rather than grounding it. The rule of thumb: front legs of your key furniture pieces should sit on the rug, not just beside it. It’s a bigger investment than most people expect, but it’s one of the fastest ways to make a room feel pulled together.
Family Photos on the Wall
I know - controversial. It’s not that I don’t think your family photos deserve pride of place; it’s that a wall of mixed frames, sizes, and photo finishes can read as clutter rather than curated warmth. My suggestion isn’t to remove them - it’s to be intentional: matching frames, a considered layout, and maybe reserving the far wall for it as its own feature rather than scattering photos throughout.
Art That’s Too Small
This one’s about scale and proportion - the two things that quietly make or break a room. A small piece of art on a large wall gets swallowed by the space around it. As a general guide, art should take up roughly two-thirds of the width of the furniture it’s hung above. When in doubt, go bigger than feels comfortable - it almost always looks better than you’d expect.
https://www.homesandgardens.com/interior-design/scale-in-interior-design
Plain Internal Doors
Doors are one of the largest surfaces in any room, and a plain, flat door can flatten the whole space with it - especially in period or characterful homes. A panelled door, a considered paint colour, or even updated door furniture (handles, hinges) can lift a room more than people expect from something so overlooked.
Cool White Lighting
Cool white bulbs (anything above around 3000K) can make even a beautifully designed room feel clinical and unwelcoming - more office than home. Warm white (2700-3000K) is almost always the better choice for living spaces, and layering your lighting - floor lamps, table lamps, wall lights, not just an overhead - does more for atmosphere than any amount of styling.
The Lazy Boy Recliner
This one really is just personal. I fully accept it’s comfortable, practical, and much loved by the people who own one. But from a purely visual standpoint, a bulky recliner in an otherwise considered room can throw the whole balance off. If you can’t part with it, look at how you can visually “soften” it - a throw, cushions that echo your existing palette, or placement that doesn’t fight your room’s sightlines.