Interior designers share the 10 worst bedroom trends they saw this year

Bold, vibrant wallpapers can add personality to a bedroom, but “high-intensity patterns” overwhelm a space, said Bree Steele, an interior designer and trade accounts manager at RJ Living.

Busy designs create visual clutter, which makes it hard to create a calm atmosphere for peaceful sleep.

Instead, try a simpler wallpaper design that can add flair to a space without overwhelming it.

Floating beds are popular in futuristic bedroom designs, but they aren’t practical, Steele told Business Insider.

This design choice relies on lights and specialized designs or bed frames to create the illusion that a bed is floating above the floor.

Although these beds are “visually interesting,” she said, they have “little-to-no under-bed storage and usually require specific room configurations and sizes to work effectively.”

Although an industrial look might fit other parts of the home, too many touches of steel and brick can make a bedroom feel cold and uninviting.

“Incorporating industrial elements like exposed brick and metalwork became popular in bedroom designs,” Steele told BI. “However, this trend sometimes went too far, leading to spaces that felt more akin to a warehouse than a cozy bedroom.”

Artem Kropovinsky, interior designer and founder of Arsight, told BI that neon lights aren’t a good fit for bedrooms because they’re “overly stimulating and not at all relaxing”

They said the high-energy lighting does the opposite of creating a calming bedroom atmosphere.

Monochromatic palettes that use one color throughout a space can create clean, simple designs.

But, Kropovinsky said, monochromatic designs aren’t always best for bedrooms. A lack of color variation can make spaces feel cold.

“While monochrome designs in bedrooms were stylish, they often lacked warmth and failed to inspire,” Kropovinsky told BI.

This year, modern-farmhouse looks with reclaimed wood and large furniture pieces that mix current and vintage styles were popular.

But Keely Smith, lead interior designer at JD Elite Interiors, said the style is losing popularity as people favor “less cluttered spaces.”

“While cozy bedrooms filled with pillows can be charming, many felt the overly padded, mismatching looks had crossed over into chaotic,” she added.

Smith said earth tones — browns, greens, grays — aren’t as desirable as they once were.

“Neutrals will always have their place,” the designer told BI. But after using so many taupes and earthy tones, people long for “bolder pops of color” in 2024.

Devin Shaffer, lead designer at Decorilla, told BI that maximalist trends have their place in a home but that the bedroom isn’t the best place for this “more is more” style.

“I feel that people took excessive maximalism design a bit far this year, especially in bedrooms, which I personally find to be the one spot in a home that is a sanctuary for rest,” Shaffer said.

He said the “overload of patterns, colors, and decor” of maximalism can quickly remove the peacefulness from a space.

Having your bedroom and bathroom in an open-concept space might seem fancy, but FLOOR360 interior designer Courtney Wollersheim told BI the lack of privacy can get annoying.

“Open concept from bedroom to bathroom may look enticing, but in reality, homeowners still prefer privacy over a design feature,” Wollersheim said.

She said she suggests adding screens or divider shelves between the bathroom and bedroom space if you have already made this mistake and want your privacy back.

Wollersheim said many opted for geometric wall designs this year, especially on walls that frame doors and headboards.

Unfortunately, as the year comes to an end, they’re probably realizing how hard these designs can be to work with.

“Painted accent walls can be distracting in bedrooms because they chop up the space and the feeling of the room, as does a large arch painted over your door or dresser,” she said.

She predicts 2024 will see the return of simple, peaceful wall designs with subtle patterns.