I frequently love bright, pops of color in my home decor finds on my blog but for my actual apartment, they are far and few between, and I gravitate towards subdued colors (greys, muted blues). Although I always admire bright colors in home design, for my own life, I prefer my home to be calm and serene!

I was unaware of karate chop pillows until I read all of the design pet peeves. I have no art or anything else on my walls so I suppose that is my confession. If pressed, I'd probably go to Bed Bath Beyond and get one of those "Live Laugh Love" hangings, but I choose instead to leave the walls bare.

I've never been afraid of breaking a few rules and making an apartment my own... nothing is worse than a bare white dorm-like apartment with posters puddy'd up to the walls to avoid a few holes and patchwork. After painting and hanging things all over the apartment I invested about 250$ into building a potrack from reclaimed wood and plumbing pipe. I spent two weekends constructing it and now that it's done I can't muster the nerve to touch the ceiling. Nothing in my lease states anything about touching the ceiling but I can't overcome my self-inflicted paranoia!

While I love, love, love Mid Century Modern in all its glory, I am finding I'm gravitating towards more the Mod modern of the 60's and 70's, the supergraphic element that was so popular up through the early 80's as well.

I also tend to be of the type that if I like it, I'll make it work, even if it isn't exactly modern in style so my actual design is decidely modern in a vintage way, it is also eclectic.

I am finding that bold artwork is going to be part of the interior landscape, I have one piece my sister did in college as an assignment that is unusual, and big but want a few more.

And I agree, never say never as there will always be a place for just about everything, but what makes it bad is when it's all the time, just because, whether it is needed, or not.

I'm impatient with other people when it comes to design choices. It pains me when people do things that don't make sense, like buying furniture or artwork that is completely contradictory to their house decor and they aren't changing the house decor, they're just buying things they happen to like without respect to how it fits, design wise. Or insisting that kitchens have kitchen-related art or bathrooms need bathroom-related art. What's up with that?

I have an AWESOME home office (I work from home), but spend no more than 10 minutes in it at a time because I just prefer working at the kitchen table or on the couch. Anyway, I always feel guilty using up a whole room on an office that gets no real use.

Yikes, which confession to make???

I buy and sell vintage modern on craigslist (and also sell in an antique mall booth @ The Green Shag Market in St. Louis Mo.) so I buy what I can - when I can. It's a strike while the iron is hot kinda thing. But...this has lead to the "stock" spilling over from the very full three car garage into the living space...the very full living space. I'll be honest. It's a shameful disaster area. The good news is that we are having a party soon and I've GOT to clean it all out! Let's see if I can be good and not re-populate the living areas after the party season.

I always complained about any design that was described as "contemporary," since it sounded like (and usually looked like) "generic." That said, I know I've used "contemporary" once or twice in my Google searches when I was looking for furniture...

Also, I like to think that I'm not judgmental, but clearly (see above), I am.

I have always hated brass. Brass fixtures? U.G.L.Y. It always seemed so tacky and cheap and generic. I would continually say how much I hated brass. It hurt my eyes. Who could possibly choose, brass? Urgh. Etc.

Now, I am finding myself in love with brass, in particular brass lighting. (I cannot believe I am putting that in print.) But, look at the lights in these pictures http://www.dwellstudio.com/bedding/duvet-cover-and-sets.html. Love.

I want my house to look more contemporary, clean. Think West Elm/ Pottery Barn, yet I somehow ended up with quite a few antique and traditional pieces. They feel easier to decide on whether I like them, than choosing the right contemporary piece.

Now it's your turn; what's your confession? Do you pretend to like trendy MCM, but in fact still love shabby chic? Tell me!

Yep, that's me to a T. I actually do like trendy MCM accessories, but I'm over the furniture. My home is filled with what I really love - mostly rugged antiques, comfy couches (although not overstuffed) and funky thrift store finds.

I confess that, though i wondow shop a lot, I don't have a design style. My house looks like a college student lives in it. Decorating with my boys is a pointless endeavor. My husband tries but he's almost as destructive as the 6 year old! I managed to marry one of the least graceful people ever. As my husband always likes to say when I lament trying to find a small sofa that can withstand his flops, "We can't have nice things!" That said, I absolutely draw the line on my great grandmother's tea pitcher. I WILL use it and it WILL stay beautifully intact. Or else...

If I see a certain item or look on more three blogs I immediately dismiss it as being too trendy and for people that can't make their own design choices. Yet I have a "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster and proudly display it. In my laundry room where I'm the only one that ever sees it....

Yup, shabby chic and I wouldn't mind a room painted all pink with super girly stuff. One room, though. Just one.

Yeah, I wondered about that "pet peeve". Chopping is housekeeping. A way to reshape pillows after someone used them. It happens on sofa cushions and not bed pillows because sofa cushions can not be turned upside down after someone has sat on them and all the fluffing has moved to the bottom because they have a large zipper on the bottom. So to keep them from having a sandbag look people chop them to move the fabric down.

My design confession-I hate Martha Stewart and what she did for the modern home. Too much clutter, too much organization and too much to keep track of. Our homes need to be simpler with about 1/3 of what they currently have in them. I hate "show" homes.

Confession part 1: I'm a huge snob. I totally judge cheap/tacky decor, especially DIY that looks cheaper than the initial tacky parts. (No, I don't care of you made that garland from dollar-store ugly-as-hell Christmas ornaments to "brighten up the room". Now it just looks like crappy ornaments glued together, ugh.) That said, DIY and learning new skills is incredibly helpful (old brass lamps need 5$ worth of pieces from the hardware store to be functional again!)

Confession part 2: I hatehateHATE pictures hung up on the wall too high. Especially small pictures. EYE-LEVEL, people, especially if the picture is smaller than my head, unless there's a full wall of frames!!

I like "man cave" stuff (and I'm not a man) like framed rock n' roll and movie posters, and old street signs. I even like Laz E Boy sofas.

I love this comment.

@Meghan O'C: I am soooo with you on this!! But I think it's because for years, there was so much "fake" brass...like the towel racks and door knobs from home depot type of look where it's shiny/coated plastic made to look like brass. I've realized that I love actual brass and in fact just bought this lighting fixture from Serena & Lily: http://www.serenaandlily.com/Decor/Decor-Lighting-Ace-Double-Sconce-Hand-Rubbed-Brass
As I used this in redecorating my bathroom, i then felt compelled to have the fixtures brass to match this, and this has led to my recent brass affinity. But again, real brass that is more subdued, not that bright shiny kind.

My design confession: I like fairy lights. There, I said it. Now off to find Christmas lights that I can use all year 'round. ;)

My worst confession is that I sometimes match my art to my decor. :S

I'm echoing what Explore Handmade said above......color. I love it when I see it. I love those rooms decorated with bursts of red and yellow and orange and blue and purple.....I say "I'm going to get a purple chesterfield!" Then I get brown or grey or taupe or beige or sand or.......as much as I love seeing those wildly bright rooms, I'm completely distracted by it in my own space. I'm a color phobe. :(

I find myself drawn to the very bare and simple rooms I see on pinterest that are usually very monochromatic. But when it comes to my own space I can't help but clutter with no rhyme or reason. Most people describe my apartment as 'homey' but we all know that's just a nice way of calling me a hoarder. So I guess I'll just keep using my excuse of "well someday when I get a house it's going to look so..."

Not a design confession, but I showed up at my brother-in-law's business with a magic eraser because I can't stand how dingy (to me) the bathroom door is. I gave my sister bunch of I-will-paint-your-house birthday coupons because I can't stand white walls, she's probably fine with white walls .... dingy bare white walls lacking art of any kind... Must. Not. Secretly. Paint. Her. House. While. She. Is. Away.

Just realized what an annoying sister I am.

I love strands of white Christmas lights for year round use. Love them!! I have a string of white Christmas lights running above the picture rail in my house. Some may call it tacky, I call it perfect ambient lighting for parties and watching TV (especially when you rent).

The comments in this post are such an awesome balance to the comments about pet peeves!
Confession: I roll my eyes whenever I see a chevron pattern in these blogs, and yet I find myself drawn to things with chevron ALL THE TIME.

I have a "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster that I bought years ago before they were oversaturated (had to ship it from London). Red is my favorite color, I love the clean lines and it's placed in such a way that it's the first thing I see in the morning.

I love it, it's perfect for me in the context it's in, and I don't care.

Hahaha! I remember that post quite well because I was happy to see someone finally speak out about the dreaded "v" in the pillows. Shamefully I have to admit that I too fell victim to the karate chop... like you there was no stopping it once it was in motion. Hahaha! It was neccessary what can I say... Hi-yah!

I actually do some things the Martha Stewart way. I know, I used to mock the idea but dangit ... she has some good ideas & things that really WORK.

My design confession is that I'm over 40 and about to start buying "real" art for the first time ever. Not a poster, not an antique map, but actual art that was made locally by a person. I'm starting small (art high school and art college student work) but it's terrifying. How did I get to be 40+ and just now be dipping my toe into this activity? I see all these house tours with TONS of art and the homeowners are like 21 yrs old. I feel very much "behind the curve" on this ...

I'm more of a minimalist, so most of my house has furnishings, a few accessories, and that's it. I don't have anything stored in my attic because I figure if I'm not using it, I don't need to hang onto it.

That being said, I also have a kitschy tiki bar in my basement rec room. It is PACKED with tiki mugs and memorabilia from my travels. It the opposite aesthetic of the rest of my home. That's what I love about it being my home... I can embrace my design choices and be a contradiction in my own living space! I have no shame about my love for the tiki stuff.

I hate when people don't respect the scale of a room. (Ie, too big furniture in a too small space.)

I first started buying my furniture in the early 80's. My house was filled with chintz and English antiques. My taste has always been for traditional interiors. Over the years my taste has come to include many Asian pieces and Pan-Asian carved wood artwork. I recently downsized to a small, very modern condo. I moved in and squeezed in everything I couldn't bare to part with. I have been here a year and I have been selling many pieces of furniture that really didn't work in this space.After 35 years of swearing I would never buy anything modern. I have purchased a long low modern sofa. I am beginning to select modern accessories and place them among my antiques. I am finding the change pleases me. I still draw the line at plastic furniture. Nan Kemper once quipped: The only plastic in my house is plastic surgery.

I love the idea of buying vintage pieces of modern furniture that I love (Knoll etc.) But, on more than one occasion, I've broken down and just ordered the piece new because I'm too lazy to keep searching.

I love this thread!

@blackdaisies & @ThePrimCrow - I love the small twinkle fairy lights and do the exact same thing. It's the only way we survive the crap cold Canadian winters!

Confession: I love IKEA and have tons of it in my home...but I wish I could afford something other than IKEA in my home b/c it's starting to look like the catalogue.

My confession is this: I saved up for years to buy my own house, and at long last, I have one! Which is great, except...well, I managed to make a few wall color and construction decisions and painted most of it before I moved in, but now that I have an essentially blank canvas with no landlord restrictions, I'm almost comically paralyzed by indecision.

It's been four months now and I swear I spend more time mulling decorating options on Pinterest or pretend-shopping on Overstock or Amazon than I do unpacking the actual boxes in my own basement or making a few basic, necessary purchases, never mind doing any of the zillion DIY or craft projects I've been waiting what seems like forever to do. Yes, budget is a factor, but I have more than enough stuff to make a good start. What is my problem??

I haven't even managed to hang my art yet (and I have more than enough of that), or figured out where things will go in at least two rooms, so things are still in boxes there too. It was so much easier to decorate the pretend house in my head all those years than the real one putting a roof over my actual head now.

I love pegboard, and would cover my walls with it. Unfortunately I am renting, and cannot make any changes to the apartment.

Ooh, another confession that I have is that I really like "cute" things. When AT posted that picture of the toddler's rolling luggage bag, I admit, I spent some time thinking whether there was a way to integrate that into my home. But alas, I'm a single male with no kids.

On a related confession, I kind of want children just so that I have an excuse to buy these things.

I could have written this!!!

when I started blogging I refused to go the trend "make your own cards, wall art, chalkboard wall" route and yet over time I've found myself writing more diy posts. Being a part of the blogosphere influences my blog in more than I'd like to admit!

I am a corporate interior designer, doing many projects a year all for the same client. I confess I dont allow people I work with to see my home (even photos), because at work I must be transitional neutral, but at home I am ecclectic rustic. As a designer, I fear being judged by my own personal style, and people assuming I cannot design for their style - not true! Any good Designer is capable of designing to their client's wishes & tastes!

I would rather show my portfolio which appeals to many different styles, than my home which appeals just to me. Sometimes my close friends & family are shocked to see photos of my recently completed projects, because they are so different from my home.

I confess I really like Vertical Blinds. (GASP . . . CHOKE)

They are very handy for the 12 foot windows in my living room, they don't gather dust like curtains or sheers, and they can be angled for just the right amount of light.

I know I'm hopeless, but I like them.

Shameful confession - behind the firescreen on my hearth, which is not up to code for use and cannot be madeso, sits an electric Duraflame LED log set, which I operate with a remote control :)

Gosh where should I start?!

I just painted my fireplace last night. Been wanting to replace the ugly dirty old wood finish from the 70s since we moved into the house. Took me THREE whole years to conjure up the energy to actually do it. Took me three hours to paint it!! I felt so anticlimactic!

My major pet peeve is the decor style you find in Bed, Bath & Beyond and the likes. Such as those signs of "Peace, Love, and Faith" on an ugly brass frame, or the mass-produced abstract painting of nothing in ugly shades of red and brown. Yet the other day while I was browsing through Ross, I caught myself looking at these things. And for a few seconds, was actually considering if they will fit the house.......

This is so funny, I hate the opposite of this. I find it horrible when people redesign their homes and just buy things that match the aesthetic without regard for the little personal items that make a home a home! Something always feels off, and everything feels slightly forced.
Though, I completely agree that kitchens with kitchen-art or bathrooms with bathroom art is ridiculous.

I have that poster, too! Coveted it for months and somehow didn't realize it was a "thing" that was already cliche long before I could finally buy it. But you know what? It's displayed in my office cubicle, and it makes me happy. If anyone says anything I will calmly bop them with my snowglobe paperweight.

Confession: "Live Love Laugh" makes my eyes roll because apparently I'm a hypocrite. No offense meant to the person here who mentioned they wanted it. I remind myself, to each their own. You like what you like, and that should be ok. Your home should be a safe space for you with things you love, and you can merrily chase naysayers out with your DIY'd shabby chic karate-chopped brass pot rack.

YES. I'm so there with all the fairy light posts! Magic.

I like my environment to be simple, clutter free ...but I am guilty of over pillowfication. I love pillows! I could easily live in a room with a ton of pillows and no sofa.

I am totally grossed out by any representation of a dead animal in decor.

I adore house tours featuring a clean, uncluttered & neutral Scandinavian decor style- but my own home is decorated with gypsy pops of bright color, random stacks of books & tchotchke groupings, and life. There's lots of life in my home. Sometimes I wish I had multiple homes, so that I could have fun decorating each one in a different style. Then I laugh, and just buy things that I enjoy:)

Vacationland, that is me to a T--only it's been 2 years here. I'm still really ENJOYING all the mulling, but it's also getting embarrassing that I haven't really pulled any room properly together.

Decisions quickly spiral into things too big to contemplate...painting the bathroom brings up don't I want to retile it which leads to don't do that if before you put in a 2nd bathroom if that is something you will ever do which runs head first into really major change like reconfiguring walls...repainting the (exotically striped) hall launches the scary do i PAINT ALL MY WOOD TRIM question (rhetorical! no answers requested!)...paralysis.

I've lived in my apartment for three years and nine months, and have yet to put up my family/friends photo wall. I've framed exactly two photos, which are hanging in a shopping bag from the framing store in a closet. Worst part is, I hung up one small piece of art to anchor the photo wall -- and it's too high on its own, since it was supposed to be the top of the arrangement.

I like and use valances with my window treatment. I don't like the rod exposed. I like layers and layers in window treatments...valance, sheer, curtain/drape, and maybe a shade to close it all up at night.

fairy lights + shabby chic + pinterest DIY = happy, dorky me!

I really love advertising posters. Still.

My husband has a large collection of tacky beer mugs from around Europe. I finally relented and let him put them on the "plant shelves" in our kitchen. I secretly hope the cat will climb up there and break them all. Maybe if I put some catnip up there?

These are so funny!

I'm still using the old Martha Stewart trick of every room a different color - playroom-lemon, girls' room-ladybug red, master bedroom-ice blue, office/tv room-grey, living room-taupe and kitchen-white. I'm sorry, I still like it! My husband is totally on board too. When we were trying to decide what to paint the office, I suggested blue and he said, "But we already have a blue room!"

My $2 vinyl shades. Cheap, as yet undamaged by cats, light control, privacy, blend right into the walls when they're down. Tacky, but I love them.

I like to think that I am not influenced by trends, but whenever I start seeing something on a lot of different blogs, even if I liked it when I first saw it, I stop liking it. I try to be true to my own personal style, but maybe I would have loved chevron if it had never become trendy. Who knows? I'll never have it in my house now!

If I had my way, my entire house would be white: white walls, white floors, white appliances, white shag area rugs, acrylic and white leather furniture pieces. The only color would be from my books, my cats (although I do have one all white cat) and my wall art pieces.

Oh my gosh, @Mr. Modtomic Daily Blogger - I LOVE the Green Shag Market! I go there on almost a weekly basis. Which stall is yours?

Yes 100% on the pictures thing!

I abhor hunting and the over-use of antlers, taxidermy, and animal skin rugs in home decor. But I buy vintage fur coats and make pillows and throws out of them. I also find butterfly collections really beautiful and own a vintage butterfly wing collage. And I oogle over the cowhide purses at TJ every time I go.

I would never, ever tell them, but when I go to a friend's house (or anyone's for that matter), I often mentally "redecorate" it. Sometimes I imagine it with their furniture, but other times I imagine how I would place my own stuff in their space. It isn't jealousy or envy, because I absolutely love my place. It's just a weird compulsion I have to arrange spaces. Sometimes a friend will ask for advice on rearranging, and I'm in heaven! I'm a classroom teacher and change things up a few times a year, just to keep it interesting.

I have a couple of pieces of fan art prominently displayed in my home. They're both not obviously fan art and attractive in their own right, so they let me show off my geeky side without falling prey to the still-too-common airbrush aesthetic of so many of these things. Even other fans have failed to recognize them as such until they take a long look, and non-fans just think they're cool art prints. Secret nerdery!

A move last spring is no excuse, but I can't get into putting up curtains instead of just miniblinds. Mainly don't want the effort of figuring sizes, picking colors/patterns and the $ of getting rods etc.

Sneaking in a peeve; dirt, dead bugs in light fixtures; homes or public buildings; I want to get a ladder and clean them out.

@teachermom57
I think it's pretty common. I do it also to pretty much all houses I step in. It's not that there is something wrong with how they are currently decorated, but just other, budget free, possibilities.

I'd like my home to be comfortable and inviting, nicely decorated. Instead, I got The Minimalist Home. It seems to be welcoming, because people I invite stay a long time and seem to have a good time, but when I look at it, it feels barren and impersonal. I have a few very personal pieces that I love and totally represent what I am, but I am unable to display them in a layered look: I make the big pieces stand apart, alone, and can't make a beautiful group of smaller pieces. I can't find a rug that I like, so I have only one in my son's room (love it though !). When I'm tired or depressed, I clean and make huge bags of things to give to charity... it makes me feel good inside to clean my house on the outside.
Seems I'm the only one out there to live in a functional, minimalist house and to envy the slightly cluttered houses !
Yet I keep on calling this "designed" and "curated"...

I always thought those sillouette wall clings were kind of tacky, but my roommate just got me some for my birthday. I put them up so his feelings wouldn't get hurt. And it turns out I actually like them.

I absolutely love mid-century modern furniture (Eames, Saarinen, etc) and a good Frank Lloyd Wright home with clean lines...but when it comes to textiles, all I want is ruffles right out of the Anthropologie catalog! So my confession is that I bastardize Eames with a ruffled Anthro pillow :(

I'm a design addict, so I have a pretty specific mindset about the types of things I like to have in my space-limited apartment. With all the frequent compliments I receive on my home's style, I frequently am the recipient of gifts for the home..... gifts that don't match my home, gifts that have no utility in my home, or gifts that are sometimes just downright tacky. I have a few of these things begrudgingly displayed (how could I not?) but I've lately been seriously considering writing a list or spreadsheet that details who gave these gifts so that I can hide them in storage and only put them out when the gift-givers are coming over.

It makes me feel a bit like a jerk to even type that for a bunch of strangers to read.

When the refrigerator door opens the "wrong" way in a kitchen, like towards the prep space instead of towards the wall. Don't people know this can often be changed? Must resist the urge to fix it whenever I run across it.

This was supposed to be a confession. Does confessing a pet peeve count?

I also love my 'keep calm and carry on' poster. I have mine in the bedroom.

I feel much better about my studio being lit with fairy lights...

When I walk the dog around the neighborhood at night, I look into other peoples windows to see how they've decorated. When their curtains are open, obviously - and not with my nose to the glass, just from the sidewalk as I meander by. I simply cant help looking to see what they've done. AT helps feed my need to peek and has probably kept me out of jail!

I love white rooms with touches of either blues, pinks, metallics, neons or pastels...
but I just went out and bought an emerald green couch. Definitely not the color scheme I was planning on (so if I hate it in two years I will blame the bf).

Do it! You only live once!

My confession: I design for a living and yet... my own home is mostly Ikea furniture in black-brown because my husband and I can't agree when it comes to furniture, color, accessories. (we only agree on art, and thank goodness) Our house looks like a college apartment with no imagination. I have hope yet - a recent raise means "real" furniture shopping is going to happen! I also LOVE doing cute crafty DIY decor projects... for other people. And never, ever ever find time to do it for myself ;/

Crayon Art!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so sick of it!! But I kinda wanna try it. =)

my sister in law filled my brothers home with approximately 20 different "live, laugh, love" situations in under 20 days after she moved in. He has a wallpaper border in the living room (billiards) and i'm pretty sure there is a recliner (or 3) and a disproportionately large tv for the space. And a cat, which i love but am allergic to in the absence of housekeeping. So basically they filled their home with my biggest peeves...

In mine, I have lots of stuff. I am practical, and don't really over purchase or consume, but somehow it feels like I have sooo much even though I totally preach to others to not have 'stuff'.

I have tons of pillows all over my bed, couch, loveseat & leather chair. They are decorative and colorful and I switch them out every so many months. I buy them at Ross Dress for Less (best new-items thrift store ever), so they don't cost much and they change with my mood or, in the case of my bed, my comforter. I tell guests to throw them on the floor or to simply "scrunch all up in 'em." That's what pillows are for, decorative or not. I don't karate chop them.

I also have books in stacks with small vases on top of them resting on shelves in my Ikea Billy bookcases, but they aren't color coded - however, they have all been read. If you came over to my house and saw a book you wanted to read, I'd simply pick the vase up and hand it to you. I like the additional levels and heights this look creates and it makes for a more visually interesting bookcase. I don't hang art on my bookcases but I do have two small framed scarves, one framed Asian print and an very small Asian screen on the shelves.

And lastly, although I do not have any words or letters up on my walls, I plan to photo my road bike and create a framed "poster" with the words "RIDE YOUR BIKE" to hang by my door next to my bicycle key holder. Yes, I do need the reminder because I'm rather chubby at present. So, if I see those words every time I leave the house, it will inspire me.

I have pretty much the same confession. Left to our own devices, we would have a living room like Leonard and Sheldon in the Big Bang Theory, but with rock posters and a pirate flag. We just barely keep that decorating urge in check...