8 Interior Designers Share Their Parents’ Biggest Design Mistakes—And How to Avoid Them

If can feel like parents are constantly saying, “I told you so,” but you know what? More often than not, they really do know best. It’s enough to make you wonder how they’re so right so much of the time, whether it’s about how to clean a vacuum or paying your taxes on time.

But sometimes, parents can miss the mark. According to these eight interior designers, their parents did not know best about design and decor. For some, their parents have clung to outdated trends; for others, they just don’t learn from their mistakes. Here are some of the biggest design mistakes interior designers’ parents have made, and how to avoid them:

“I actually credit my mom with developing my eye for design and style. Growing up, my parents always had antiques around the house, which helped train me on quality and craftsmanship. But my mom does have one flaw: She constantly buys the wrong sofa. Sometimes it’s the size that’s off, sometimes it’s the comfort level, and sometimes the color looks different in her house. It feels like she’s always buying and selling sofas to find the perfect one. I learned from her how to buy and resell furniture when you’re ready for something new!” —Alessandra Wood, interior design expert at vice president of style at Modsy

“My parents would have these fake horrible plants on top of their kitchen cabinetry. I remember seeing that in my friend’s homes, too! It was awful and the plants looked really fake and no one ever cleaned them, so the dusty fake plant look was not so good. Now, as a designer, if there’s a gap like that I just either create a soffit to meet the upper cabinets or double up on the uppers with smaller cabinets above for display.” —Linda Hayslett, owner of L.H. Designs

“Carpeting everywhere! And the carpet wasn’t soft and had strange patterns. Wood flooring was not the rage back then, but carpeting was. It was on the stairs, in every room, and sometimes in bathrooms. Now, nice wood flooring and good tile is much easier to deal with and clean over time, compared to carpeting. One spill and you can easily whip up the mess on wood and tile, however with carpeting, one spill and I remember when, where, and what year the stains were made on the carpets.” —Linda Hayslett

“As a second-generation designer, my house was always well-appointed and beautiful. However, I feel like my parents ‘lost’ a lot of livable square footage to formal rooms that were never or rarely enjoyed. My goal is to make rooms accessible to the whole family, and while I do love the idea of having a more formal space to entertain in, I like ensuring that each room is purposeful, too.

If you only entertain formally once a year, the majority of your livable square footage is utilized by the people living in it daily. Why create a house for a dinner you host once a year? What I learned was that I want all of my clients to use their main spaces in their day to day lives, instead of focusing on rooms that we set up for show.” —Jade Joyner, co-founder and principal designer at Metal + Petal

“Every single piece of furniture my parents purchased while I was growing up arrived as a matching set. It wasn’t that the furniture was ugly, but it looked like an uninspired furniture showroom. As a result, we are careful how matchy-matchy we get when working on furniture suggestions and layouts for clients. We prefer mixing styles, design eras, fabrics and finishes to create ‘soul’ within each space.” —Jean Liu, interior designer

“Previous generations had a one-stop shopping [strategy]. I wouldn’t dream of buying an entire suite of matching furniture for a room, and strive to create a collected, curated space that reflects my personality. I think design should be reflective of the person living in the space, not a space designed for other people with an impersonal cookie-cutter perfection.” —Danielle Rollins, interior designer

“I grew up in a beige and brown house and all the furniture seemed to be the same size. The house was missing some large items, which coincidentally help anchor a space and make it feel bigger, rather than smaller. The monotone brown and beige palette was not inspiring and I think triggered my love for color and the outdoors!” —Liz Caan, principal and founder of Liz Caan & Co

“Parents of millennials seemed to prefer overstuffed furniture and teeny, tiny prints (especially on wallpaper). Always make sure your furniture is scaled appropriately for your space, and remember that small prints carry more visual weight, which can feel chaotic if you have a lot of other stimuli happening around them. It’s all about balance and giving the eye both excitement and a break every once in awhile as it scans the room.” —Caitlin Murray, founder and interior designer at Black Lacquer Design

“I grew up in southern California and my mother, who I consider to have wonderful taste, got caught up in some sort of ‘southwest’ moment in the mid ’80s that I recall with a cringe.  She redecorated the family room with a cream leather sectional, some sort of cantilevered green glass and stucco coffee table and peach and teal pillows, but the pièce de résistance was a bow and arrow that hung above our sofa.  I am nearly certain that is why I became a designer; so I could right that wrong in design.” —Bella Zakarian Mancini, interior designer