Avocado-green appliances, furniture covered in plastic, wall-to-wall shag carpeting, popcorn ceilings: Home design trends like these are best relegated to the past. A few styles now in fashion are just as regrettable. Here are my personal takes on the worst, within the broader categories of minimalism and maximalism.
Minimalist environments tend to be uncluttered and low in contrast. Awash in neutrals like white, beige and gray, they’re the aesthetic equivalent of porridge, bland respites from the cacophony of the outside world. Yet their spareness can feel cold. Minimalist spaces often seem uninhabited, devoid of personal effects and personality.
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Dictator’s mausoleum
One high-end minimalist variant is a style I call “dictator’s mausoleum.” Popular on the West Coast, these boxy modernist homes have soaring ceilings, as if they’ve been scaled to accommodate outsize egos. Inhabitants climb scores of steps, like video game characters in search of gold. And as with the pyramids of ancient Egypt, these tomb-like structures are replete with treasures, such as monumental amounts of marble and pricey works of modern art.
“Large-square-footage homes do not a home make,” says New York-based interior designer Vicente Wolf. “Decide — is it for living or showing off? Cavernous spaces are generally due to overly high ceilings. Frank Lloyd Wright once said rooms should never be taller than nine feet. Once you go beyond that, you start to lose the humanity.”
IQ test
Sometimes minimalist homes are sleek to the point of inscrutability. In what I deem the “IQ test” approach, designers hide appliances, handles and controls to avoid interrupting stretches of oak cabinetry and other surfaces. But like lab rats, visitors must navigate these unfamiliar environments, struggling to locate faucets, fridges and trash cans.
Dentist office
I describe a less-rarefied strain of minimalism as the “dentist office” style. Common in homes staged for sale, it’s characterized by gray and bright-white palettes. Furniture, floors, counters and other hard-edge surfaces gleam like teeth after a whitening procedure.
Occasionally, orange throw pillows or other vibrant accents are added to provide a pulse to these otherwise lifeless spaces. Los Angeles-based interior designer Kim Gordon describes this look as “doom and gloom prison chic,” noting its “industrial style, cement floors, toothpaste-white walls and aluminum foil appliances.”
Good vibes only
As if trying to compensate for this sterility, minimalist homes in beach towns and other vacation destinations can take a gimmicky turn. They accomplish this with wall signs inviting occupants to “Live, Laugh, Love” or “Relax.”
“Those signs are for people who don’t know how to shop for the good stuff at HomeGoods,” Gordon says. “Their heart is in the right place, I guess, and they need to fill that space with something. Trust me: Hang a mirror.”
Washington, D.C.-based interior designer Annie Elliott agrees. “That motivational signage that somehow passes itself off as art? It ain’t. It’s a cop-out, telegraphing to the world that you are unwilling — or unable — to commit to art,” she says.
Literally anything is better on your wall than words in the form of directions, belief statements or commands. You deserve better, as do the guests staying in your Airbnb basement.
Modern farmhouse
When minimalism meets rustic, it can become “modern farmhouse.” Like an invasive species, this aesthetic began sweeping the country after the HGTV show “Fixer Upper” premiered about a decade ago. Seemingly overnight, its trademark white homes with black-framed windows, shiplap walls and dark hardware popped up like mushrooms after a thunderstorm.
“Isn’t ‘modern farmhouse’ over yet?” asks Elliott. “It was a nice idea, with its soaring white spaces and natural wood finishes, but there’s a fine line between charmingly simple and boring. Unless you have spectacular art, fabulous antique rugs or sculptural furniture to spark some interest, farmhouse style is pretty forgettable. And do not get me started on those massive, rolling barn doors. They’re for barns. Outside. To corral livestock. They’re too aggressive for humans to live with.”
“I deplore the idea that nearly everyone who buys an old house — regardless of its period or architectural style — believes making it ‘modern’ requires installing black windows,” says New York-based interior designer Maximilian “Max” Sinsteden. “Nothing looks more emphatically of today, or already more dated.”
Some of the look’s features, such as interior sliding barn doors and open shelving, can also be impractical. Open shelving reduces overall storage capacity and requires curation and maintenance to avoid dust and clutter, while sliding barn doors can be noisy. “I loved ‘modern farmhouse’ when it first popped up,” Gordon says. “But the sliding barn doors do not give enough privacy, and that clankety-clank railing overhead is a bummer. Open storage is for Marie Kondo.”
Circles, and more circles
Another unfortunate spin on minimalism is a trend I call “circles, and more circles.” This style embodies a craze for curves. Think curvy couches combined with curvy chairs … and curvy tables. In its “2026 Emerging Summer Trends Report,” Houzz said that compared with 2025, user searches in 2026 for arched range hoods increased by 177 percent, arched pantry doors by 130 percent and rounded kitchen islands by 123 percent.
On the other end of the spectrum, circles and other geometric shapes are trademarks of maximalist homes. This busy, overstimulating style was ascendant in the 1980s and has been staging a comeback. Antitheses of minimalism’s serene sanctuaries, these vibrantly hued spaces demand attention and seemingly shout, “Fun and interesting people live here!”
Fast food restaurant
For the past few years, one maximalist variant has been running rampant in high-end design magazines. I call this style the “fast food restaurant” (though it could just as easily go by “hippie love shack”). Picture Ronald McDonald’s home if he lived in a rustic cabin in California.
Against an earthy base of wood floors and wall paneling, bold, graphic elements pop. These often include such geometric shapes as architectural glass blocks, circus tent stripes and checkerboard tile. Colors are saturated, as if a child with a starter pack of crayons picked out the paint. The combination of brown with vibrant colors (yellow, orange, purple, red, green, blue or all of the above) is befitting of a preschool.
“I love the colorful layered boho aesthetic and mucho maximalist eccentric homes that you imagine Iris Apfel would live in,” Gordon says. “But this is 2026, and we have to navigate around the poufs and cheetah statues and find a place to do yoga, so maybe crazy maxi can be confined to a little room where you also hang your child’s kindergarten pictures.”
Grandmacore
“Grandmacore” is a more mature spin on maximalism and proves the maxim “Everything old is new again.” Chaotic and cluttered, this style often features rattan furniture and an excess of patterned wallpaper and upholstery. Often, a gallery wall with paintings of ships, cats and floral arrangements gilds the lily.
“When I see a full-on grandmacore, or ‘granny chic,’ room — a cacophony of floral patterns, furniture with skirts, an acrylic crocheted afghan, possibly hung on the wall — I experience an intense urge to dig out the fabric attachment on my vacuum cleaner,” Elliott says.
“To free yourself from this tired trend, I recommend subtracting. Cut back on the accent pillows. Remove one piece of furniture from an overcrowded room. Clear dust-gathering tchotchkes from tabletops and let the surfaces shine.”
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