If you’ve ever felt like designing your home is a sequence of trials and errors, you’re not alone. Light carpet in the living room? A white couch with kids and pets? Some lessons have to be learned to be truly understood. Most of the time, design regrets have to do with form versus functionality.
Even interior designers, with their trained eyes and vast experience, make design decisions in their homes that they eventually regret. According to interior designer Andy Weier, each ‘regret’ can be considered a valuable lesson learned.
“It’s an honest look at lifestyle and tolerances…weighing the pros of the aesthetic against the cons of whatever associated upkeep follows,” he says. “Just because something looks good online doesn’t mean it stands up to how you want to live!”
Are you interested to see what the pros would do differently? We spoke to three interior designers to get the scoop on what they regret in their homes. Here’s what they had to say.
Meet the Expert
- Andy Weier is the principal designer and co-owner of Rockledge Design + Architecture, a full-service interior design and architecture firm based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- Nureed Saeed is the owner and creative director of Nu Interiors, a full-service interior design and remodeling firm serving California and New Jersey.
- Julia Newman is the founder and principal designer of Julia Adele Design, a full-service interior design firm based in Los Angeles, California.
Open Shelving in the Kitchen
Tony Anderson / Getty Images
Open shelving has been one of the most enduring and controversial kitchen trends of the past few years. While it looks pretty and photographs well, in reality, open shelving in the kitchen often needs more upkeep than homeowners expect.
“When I advise my clients about open shelving in the kitchen, I often tell them that I have some open shelving in my kitchen and the glassware gets dusty and needs to be [washed] regularly,” says Nureed Saeed of Nu Interiors. “So unless the items on the shelf are used every day, be wary of the dust and cleanup involved [with] open shelving,”
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Black Grout in the Shower
Interior designer Andy Weier and his husband and business partner, Patrick (the creative duo behind Pittsburgh-based Rockledge Design + Architecture), recently renovated their en-suite bathroom. After living in the new space for a few months, Weier admits he has a couple of small regrets.
First is the black grout in the shower. While he says that it was the right choice aesthetically, and both he and his husband love how it looks, the upkeep and maintenance are more than they anticipated.
“It’s a lot of work to keep it clean and combat the efflorescence,” he says. “The scrubbing saves me a trip to the gym.”
Waxed Limewash Walls in the Bathroom
Another bathroom-related regret from Weier is the limewash walls. He and his husband added two coats of wax sealer to ensure the limewash held up in the humid bathroom environment.
While this was necessary to protect the walls against moisture, the waxed finish presented an unexpected downside after they began to use the bathroom regularly.
“If we don’t remember to close the toilet lid each time we flush, there’s eventually some droplet splatter that collects on the adjacent wall,” he says. “It wipes away easily but is just a not-so-great visual reminder of what a flushing toilet adds to your bathroom atmosphere. At least you don’t see it with regular paint or tile… although maybe that’s even worse?”
Ultimately, they still love how the walls look, and we’d have to agree. Beyond a slight nuisance, they’re taking waxed limewash walls in the bathroom as a design lesson learned.
Fluted Accent Wall in the Bedroom
Weier admits he has another cleaning-related regret: the fluted accent wall installed in the guest bedroom. Visually, the wall is stunning, creating a strong focal point in the space and beautifully anchoring the arched built-in bookshelf-slash-side table.
However, dusting the accent wall is more laborious than anticipated. Unfortunately, bedrooms tend to be one of the dustiest rooms in the home, meaning this chore is a regular on his to-do list.
Living Wall in the Backyard
Plant walls have become a big trend, offering a great way to literally add some life to any bland interior or exterior wall. However, the design and setup of the wall can make or break its ultimate appeal and functionality in the long term.
This backyard living wall is one of Weier’s biggest regrets in their recently renovated backyard space. While it’s a beautiful backdrop for outdoor meals and perfect for Instagram selfies, Weier says the cost and daily upkeep required to keep it lush is way more than they bargained for.
“The major downsides are planting hundreds of tiny felt pockets each spring ($$$), then diligently watering it all summer long so the flowers don’t immediately fry in the sun,” Weier says. “It requires using a long garden hose with an extension wand and slowly watering plant by plant. If the stream is too intense, it just rinses all the dirt from the pockets and/or damages the delicate plants. Still waiting for this daily water ritual to feel zen and not like a major chore!”
Large Leather Sofa
Carlina Teteris / Getty Images
Lastly, Julia Newman, founder and principal designer of Julia Adele Design, says that buying a large leather sofa tops her list of design regrets in her home.
“It was expensive and not functional,” she says. “Leather is hot and sticky in the summer and freezing in the winter.”
Instead of buying leather for your primary seating area, consider it for an accent chair or ottoman if you want to add texture and character to your space. Then, choose something more comfortable and functional for your larger sofas. Functionality first!
