The human eye is weird; as soon as someone walks into your home, your brain knows if it feels authentic or if it feels like a hospital.
Blanket ladder
Similar to greenery hung improperly, leaning a farmhouse ladder against the wall just to show off your folded blankets is a colossal trend born from Pinterest. In real life, it is unbearably stiff.
If someone visits your home and there are three folded blankets perfectly smooth and wrinkle-free on your ladder, they subconsciously know not to touch anything. They won’t grab one to warm their legs because they don’t want to mess up your fragile set-up.
Bringing those blankets off the ladder and putting them in an adorable woven basket on the floor goes from looking sterile to instantly welcoming.
Coffee table styling
We recommend investing in books you want to read rather than using art catalogs as functional risers.
Using books as pedestals for decor, especially ones clearly unread, instantly undermines the impression of a home filled with genuine life. And your guests will instantly get the sense that your home was decorated by some generic online template rather than someone with genuine interests.
Books should be conversation starters, not just decorative risers.
Cold glow
Entering bright interior lighting after standing outside in the dimness of dusk is bad enough. But entering your house and immediately subjecting guests to intense, 5,000-Kelvin white daylight bulbs is punishing to the nervous system.
Intense, cool light tends to flatten out your home’s architectural details, throwing deep shadows and making furniture look washed out.
Lighting experts agree that a welcoming ambiance is created with layers of warm lighting reflected from lamps and dimmers, not one blast of severe overhead light. By maintaining your bulbs around 2700 Kelvin, you’ll ensure your entry welcomes guests into a relaxing retreat.
Fake brass
There’s certainly a time and place for authentic unlacquered brass and polished gold accents. Flaky faux brass does nothing but cheapen the look of your home.
Cheap modern pieces are often spray painted with ultra high-gloss yellow paint that immediately resembles plastic when it catches light. Constant handling and dusting will chip away their paint, exposing the base metal and giving the fixture a tarnished, grubby appearance.
Instead, consider matte black, brushed nickel, or true vintage hardware to keep your cabinets and doors from appearing like they’re from a costume shop.
Showroom style
Buying an entire room set that includes sofa, loveseat, arm chairs and side tables all upholstered in the same fabric and finished in the same stain kills all dimensions in a room.
Yes, it may seem like an easy way to ensure everything in your home matches, but experts advise against creating a matchy-matchy home. It will make your house lack personality and the beauty that comes from a home evolving with time.
And also it might make guests think you furnished your place straight from the first catalog you flipped through. A well-styled home incorporates a variety of textures, wood tones, and eras.
Faux greenery
Greenery indoors is a great way to add some life to your entrance. Fake brown-twig dogwood trees? Not so much.
Artificial plants are often easily spotted by their plastic-y leaves and wonky textures. Those fake fiddle leaf fig or palm leaves often look unnaturally shiny, and their branches are stiff and perfectly symmetrical, not at all like a real tree from nature.
Also, because you can’t toss them in the sink to get clean, plastic indoor plants attract and hold onto layer upon layer of dull grey dust that your guests will notice from 10 feet away.
If you don’t have sun in your entry, go for gorgeous ceramic pots filled with dried flowers, branches or even quality preserved flowers.
Lettered spaces
Okay, so the trend of oversized “Live, Laugh, Love” signs are probably over. But why are our walls still dominated with literal typography telling our room to “Eat”, “Sit” or “Relax”?
Literal, word-based signs dictating a room’s function feel pretty cliché. Your home’s atmosphere, coziness, and purpose should be conveyed through its fabrics, layout, and illumination, not basic words nailed to the wall.
Frame a picture you took on your travels, a cool map of the city you live in, or support local art by buying something unique.
Designer vibes
Trying to look like you belong in Versailles by throwing logo-covered pillows everywhere will have the opposite effect.
Furniture that’s too loud with its logos and branding on pillows and cushions comes across as shallow. Your guests will instantly spot that those designer pillows are out of sync with your home, making the whole room feel like a prop.
Try subtle luxe textures such as linen, bouclé or wool.
Shoe clutter
The entryway should be practical, but a pile of sneakers, boots and sandals piled neatly (or not so neatly) by the door is instantly stressful to look at.
Even with open shelves, an abundance of sneakers and sandals can easily turn your entryway into a cluttered mess, ruining its clean appearance. Not only do guests have to tiptoe around shoes just to remove their coats, but it makes your entire house feel smaller and cluttered.
Switching to a closed-door cabinet or a concealed storage bench keeps daily junk out of sight while maintaining a functional walkway.
Bold veins
While quartz countertops are a durable and sensible option, selecting styles that have large, dark artificial veins trying to replicate exotic marble can be tacky.
Bold veining on a standard-sized kitchen or entryway table simply doesn’t work scale-wise and ends up looking artificial. Get too close, and the artificial nature of the repeating pattern becomes obvious to anyone nearby.
Choose a quartz with subtle veining or a natural stone slab for a more balanced look.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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11 simple gestures often linked to helping guests feel welcome
True hospitality lies in the details. Guests may remember how they felt more than what was served. Thoughtful actions like offering a favorite drink or sharing a local tip show care and attentiveness. Professionals in guest experiences say these little gestures often leave the strongest impressions. Here are 11 ways to make your guests feel at home instantly.
11 simple gestures often linked to helping guests feel welcome
