Some over-50s’ homes get stuck in one decorating decade, and it’s about time they threw away their tackiest items.
The pretend snack
Image Credit: Shutterstock.People once thought artificial fruit bowls were classy. Not anymore. Now, they wonder why there are dusty plastic grapes next to the mail. Why are the fake bananas so yellow? Why are the apples so shiny?
The truth is, fake fruit makes kitchens feel staged. They don’t look lived in. Real fruit changes, but fake fruit stays there for fifteen years and gets damaged by the sun.Â
The window drama
Huge swags and puffed valances used to make a living room feel finished. So did layered curtains. So did shiny fabric. But now? These items make a room feel way darker. Yes, oversized window treatments age a space because they block the light.
They also crowd the ceiling line. Homeowners might not notice them. However, guests immediately feel like they’ve traveled back to 1994 when they notice them.
The greenery trail
Fake ivy above kitchen cabinets managed to survive for decades. It shouldn’t have. You’ll find vines stretching across curtain rods in some houses. It sometimes snakes around the tops of cabinets. However, the plants themselves aren’t the issue.
It’s the gray dust that makes everything look ancient. It’s the long, plastic ivy that starts drooping in random directions. No, the kitchen doesn’t look cozy. It looks like the waiting area of an Italian restaurant in the ‘80s.
The giant chair
Everyone knows about this chair. It’s the massive leather recliner one. It’s usually dark brown and shiny from years of use. It takes up the same room as a loveseat. However, that bulkiness means the chair overpowers smaller rooms, and the oversized padded arms don’t help.
Then there are the extra-thick back cushions. The chair takes up the whole room, and it’s been a permanent resident of the house since 2003. That’s not a good thing.Â
The little bathroom hat
Toilet lid covers were once everywhere. So were the matching fuzzy sets. You’d see them on the lid cover and the toilet rug. There’d be a tank cover, too. Maybe a fabric tissue box cover as well. It used to be coordinated decorating, but not anymore.
No, it reminds most people of old motel bathrooms. Or maybe heavily carpeted powder rooms from the seventies. Worst of all, most of these covers don’t sit flat, so they make the toilet look slightly crooked.Â
The frill line
Sure, some bed skirts look normal. But then there are those with the giant ruffles and the lace trim. The ones with shiny fabric. They look like they should be on a wedding cake. It’s these ones that designers hate, especially when they go alongside matching floral comforters.
Bed skirts used to have a purpose. They hid your under-bed storage. However, they’ve somehow turned into gigantic pieces of fabric hanging to the floor. They make even a clean bedroom seem heavier.
The rental strip
You hear them before you see them. Vertical blinds have a very specific sound, a kind of loud, plastic clanking. They’re not an issue. It’s the older ones, the ones that bend or yellow, that make a house look tacky. It’s worse when the slats go missing.
Designers say they’re tacky because they remind people of offices. They remind them of rental apartments. Vertical blinds are cheap and practical, but they don’t make a home feel warm. They make it feel temporary.
The tiny lace habit
Doilies used to be everywhere. There was one under the lamp. There was one under the clock. Don’t forget about the one draped around the back of the chair for absolutely no reason. A lot of them are handmade. That’s why people held onto them.
However, there’s a point when a room stops looking homey. Doilies look like they’re telling someone not to sit there. The television doily is one that younger people really don’t get. Nobody ever explained that one.
The beach corner
Seashell bathrooms usually started with good intentions. Someone returned from Florida with a decorative shell. Then the whole room changed over ten years. You’d have rope knots hanging on the wall, and little glass jars filled with sand.Â
The whole room’s covered in blue and green. But themed bathrooms date a home. They lock everything into a specific era, and it’s specifically the nineties. People loved beach colors back then.Â
The couch chorus
Throw pillows stopped being pillows. They became announcements, greeting people with messages like ‘Family’ or ‘Relax.’ There were never two of them. No, there were eight, maybe eleven, maybe enough to cover half the couch.
But designers say they’re tacky. They say that word-heavy decor creates clutter and makes a room look way too busy. You don’t need every cushion to share a life lesson with anyone who walks past.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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