Shag, Beads and Taxidermy: 18 Worst Design Trends of the Last 50 Years

Stencilled wall patterns were quite trendy in the 2000s – and 11 per cent of respondents to the survey believe this is the worst design trend of the last 50 years.
Related: Scott McGillivray Ranks the Worst Home Trends of the Last 10 Years

Once all the rage, wallpaper borders are now passe. In fact, 11 per cent of those surveyed have decreed this particular design trend to be the single worst of the past 50 years. Want to know what has been hot and trendy this year? Check out the top home decor trends for 2020, according to Pinterest.

Wicker furniture – usually white – was a staple of groovy 1970s interior design, usually accompanied by beaded curtains, wall-to-wall carpeting and plenty of macrame. Times have changed: 12 per cent of those surveyed consider indoor wicker to be the worst design trend.

Related: 10 Ways to Decorate Your House Like the 1970s Without Making it Feel Dated

The shabby chic trend – blending intentionally distressed furniture and junk found at flea markets – took a foothold in design for a few years before slowly dying away once people realized their decor was really just… shabby. Fifteen per cent of respondents agreed.

Related: These ’90s Bedroom Decorating Ideas Will Make You Feel All the Nostalgia

Wall-to-wall shag carpeting was so ubiquitous in the 1970s that entering a home with hardwood floors felt old-fashioned and kind of weird. While the feeling of walking through deep-pile shag carpeting in bare feet is indeed soothing, it’s also a dated look that’s loathed by 14 per cent of respondents to the survey. For (current) design inspiration, find out how to decorate with area rugs.

A round bed only makes sense if it’s within a circular room. That’s why 17 per cent thought round beds were a bad design trend. Instead, consider one of these canopy beds that will elevate your bedroom to the next level.

Beaded curtains were cheaper than doors and became the ultimate room divider that declared you were cool, bohemian and not that concerned with privacy. But if you’re still using beaded curtains and you’re not a fortune teller, there’s a good chance you’ve been living in a hippie commune since 1971 – and likely won’t care that 19 per cent of people in the survey do not share your sense of style.

Carpet was everywhere in the 1970s. When people ran out of floor space to carpet, they started putting it on the walls, too. Textured walls were also big, as was wood panelling, a staple in every finished basement (or, in the parlance of the era, “rec room”). The memory of carpeted/textured/panelled walls was apparently painful enough to spur 19 per cent of respondents to cast their votes for this particular design trend as the worst.

Elle magazine recently declared that animal-print decor will be “forever chic” – just don’t tell that to the 19 per cent of people surveyed who voted it as the worst design trend. Instead, check out the best uses for wallpaper that don’t involve walls.

Unless you’re a 1960s advertising executive or a medieval monarch, what’s the deal with stone walls – especially in a condo or bungalow? This mid-century mod design trend was pretty prevalent back in the day, yet it raised the ire of the 19 per cent of respondents who felt it was the worst design trend of the past five decades.

This painting trend was huge in the ’90s. For those who didn’t experience it firsthand, rolling a paint-soaked rag over a perfectly fine, freshly painted, differently-coloured wall may seem more like an act of vandalism than a cool design feature – which, in retrospect, is a view shared by 23 per cent of respondents.

Go figure why anyone thought it would be a good idea to put wall-to-wall carpeting in a bathroom – maybe because it was comfy and not as cold as tile or linoleum on bare feet? In any case, 25 per cent decreed carpeted bathrooms to be the worst design trend – but hey, at least that carpet gave mould, mildew and toxic spores a place to hang out.

Textured popcorn ceilings were found in most houses in the 1970s. However, since many of these ceilings were made out of asbestos, they kind of fell out of favour once that stuff was banned. These types of ceilings were actually said to offer better acoustics and sound absorption, but that didn’t prevent 25 per cent of respondents from declaring them to be the worst design trend of the past 50 years. Find out how to remove a popcorn ceiling.

Having a waterbed was the ultimate teenage status symbol in the 1970s – unless seasickness was an issue. These days, sleeping atop a rubber sack filled with H20 has gone the way of pet rocks, platform shoes and TV antennas. According to the survey, 25 per cent thought these aquatic beds were the worst.

Related: You Won’t Believe These 30 Bizarre Beds Actually Exist

If these floral-patterned chairs conjure up visits to that ancient great-aunt with the dish full of dust-covered hard candy that the decades had fused into one giant sugar rock, then consider yourself among the 28 per cent of respondents who deemed this particular decor trend the worst. Personally, when it comes to printed patterns, we prefer these floral wallpaper designs.

Nothing screams ’70s decor disaster louder than avocado-coloured sinks, toilets and tubs in the bathroom. Why manufacturers went all-in over avocado is a mystery lost to the ravages of time, although Sarah Archer, author of The Midcentury Kitchen, offers her theory that it had to do with jumping on the back-to-nature trend of the era. A whopping 32 per cent of respondents saw this as the worst design trend.

Related: Are Modular Kitchens and Bathrooms the Future of Housing?

Believe it or not, dead animals used as decoration was identified as the second-worst decor trend of all time by 39 per cent of respondents. Go figure! Who wouldn’t want to wake up every morning and see this looking directly at you from the nightstand?

Those shag-rug covers topping toilet seats, with matching rugs surrounding the commode’s base, were once wildly popular. Not only were they hideous to look at, but they also made using the toilet hazardous and messy. Carpeted toilet seat covers have the dubious distinction of being voted the absolute worst home design trend of the last 50 years, with a whopping 44 per cent of respondents identifying this as the number-one worst trend to be inflicted upon our homes.