A matter of taste or bad taste: controversial decisions in interior design

The era of free-thinking, flexible trends, and individuality has come in interior design. You no longer need to strictly adhere to the framework of a particular style, you can mix, rebel, and experiment on the verge of kitsch. Or do none of this, choosing practicality and minimalism, and still stay in trend. How not enter the territory of bad taste in times of lack of a clear interior framework? Let’s use the example of 5 controversial decisions.

Winter and summer…

A common belief says that interiors decorated in related shades of the same color can evoke boredom and evoke associations with hotel rooms, hospital wards, and even prison cells. In a word: bad taste. This opinion is not always correct.

You have to be able to work with color. On the basis of one color, talented designers can build interiors that, instead of boredom, will cause a wow effect.

You can enrich a plain interior with the help of “seasonings”. The shade looks different on different textures, use more elements of different textures, and the mono-interior will no longer be faceless. An expressive solution will be an ornament in the same shade. The basic white color, delicate metallic or black accents will help to beautifully dilute the monochromatic color scheme: fittings, furniture legs, lamp details, picture frames, and other contrasting trifles.

Monochromatic interiors are not on the list of anti-trends. Today, fashion is more diverse than ever: interiors decorated in one color are as popular as contrasting combinations and explosions of bright colors. Even the long-suffering beige color, which at one time was banished from interiors as a ghost of the European renovation era, has returned to fashion and feels great in designer interiors with and without contrasts.

Conclusion: putting an equal sign between bad taste and the monochrome interior is unjustified if you have worked with textures and accents.

In creepy roses

Ruffles, pink, a canopy over the bed, busting with a floral print and other manifestations of infantilism – they belong in dollhouses, and not in human habitation. Or not? Such elements were commonplace during the days of the popularity of candy shabby chic and romantic Provence. And even then it was possible to overdo it with them, turning the interior into a parody. Today we need to be even more careful.

In this case, the dosage is important: if your romantic nature gravitates towards flowers on wallpaper and ruffles on textiles, you should not refuse it. Combine such elements with neutral minimalist or serious classic solutions.

Example: Traditional British style respects floral prints and valances, but doesn’t seem infantile, 

because florals and swirls sit side by side with solid, solid dark wood furniture.

The pink color is also not banned, and its dusty and juicy barbie version is also in fashion. But not all at once: the combination of pink walls and a sofa with floral upholstery can be a fiasco. But even it will not be too cloying if you choose a sofa set of a minimalistic shape, without additional decor, and dilute the color scheme with neutral shades.

What a lie!

Natural materials in the interior are an unbending trend and have a good tone. So their imitations are a bad form and a manifestation of falsehood? This is true only with respect to gross “fakes”, but to call any imitation of natural textures bad taste is unfair. Moreover, ceramic tiles with imitation of wood and porcelain tiles masquerading as marble have been firmly on the list of trends for several years now. And let’s not forget about laminate and acrylic stone countertops, which can be regarded as interior classics. And deservedly so: such materials are aesthetically not inferior to their natural counterparts while demonstrating unpretentiousness and wear resistance. For example, vig furniture can present you with a wide assortment of stylish furniture pieces made from materials that imitate natural ones.

Yes, you will most likely understand that this is porcelain stoneware and not natural marble, but if the natural pattern is skillfully conveyed and the material is used wisely, it will not look cheap.

Another thing: awkward copies of designer pieces of furniture, an attempt to portray baroque with synthetics and polyurethane, sham columns and pilasters, sudden stucco molding… But even here everything is not so simple: plastic columns and reproductions of Rubens can be present in an interior gravitating towards kitsch, as a game ironic element. However, this is a rare case. In all the rest, the rule of propriety will help to be safe from bad taste.

Stucco looks good on high ceilings in spacious rooms but raises questions in small ones, also it can be applied to loft-style brickwork. Gluing photo wallpapers depicting Parisian streets on the walls, when the sleeping area stretches outside the window, also seems like a dubious undertaking. But if you really want…

Madness color kitchen

Modern minimalist kitchens are dominated by matte facades, muted natural shades, and light wood. Saturated colors are often feared because they are reminiscent of the recent past: bright glossy facades in acid yellow, dazzling orange, violent purple, and aggressive red, which coexisted with fruits, flowers, and cities printed on kitchen backsplashes. Photo printing + bright glossy facade + high-tech claim = last century. But no one imposed a taboo on the use of bright colors in the kitchen.

Pair rich hue with matte surfaces and neutrals.

I’ll put on my best

And if you decorate the interior, according to all current trends? What can go wrong? Firstly, with this approach, individuality drops out of the equation (paradoxically, because individuality is the main interior trend), and secondly, trends are not eternal, and many get so bored that after some time they get the prefix “anti”.

By assembling our wardrobe, we can try on fashion trends every season. But the interior is not a closet. Few people have the strength, time, and opportunity to regularly “change clothes” living space. Therefore, as in a wardrobe, the interior should contain basic things and universal solutions that will never fall into the “bad taste” category.

Blindly following fashion… not in fashion. But you don’t need to be afraid of trends, just choose those that your heart responds to. There are many of those? Let there be a lot. Maximalism is also relevant, the main thing is not to forget about individuality. Trends from the mass market can be diluted with unique handmade items and vintage finds. Any obsolete trend and a controversial decision can be rethought in a relevant way if an experienced designer takes on the job. There are no strict rules that should be followed, it is just important for you to feel good in your ambiance and your life accordingly.