The Most Horrifying Home Design Trends: 2025 Edition

It’s that time of year again when we dive into the most “frightening” home design trends of 2025—the ones that could spook potential buyers, clash with current tastes and even potentially hurt a home’s resale value—that is, if you’re not careful.

 

Throughout the year, designers, real estate professionals and consumer surveys have all weighed in, sharing their disdain for certain looks, layouts and décor choices that can feel outdated, overdone or completely impractical. From furniture faux pas to paint color missteps, we’ve gathered the worst of the worst in countdown fashion. Find the trends that make designers cringe, buyers roll their eyes and homeowners question what they were ever thinking.

 

10. Fiddle Leaf Fig Trees

Once the “it” plant of Pinterest boards everywhere, the fiddle leaf fig is officially passé. Interior designers now call it the houseplant that locks your home into the late 2010s. Sure, it’s bold and sculptural—but it’s also earned a reputation for being fussy, difficult to keep alive and viewed as a cookie-cutter accessory. The New York Times first called out the “death of the fiddle leaf fig tree” in 2022, and others have since followed suit. Homeowners are seeking more variety in their houseplant choices. Looking for alternatives? Try snake plants, rubber trees or oxalis for less maintenance and more personality. 

 

9. Red Brick Exteriors

 Red brick has slid down on curb appeal charts, with just 2% of designers calling it the most desirable in 2025, falling in at last place on the preference list. Off-white, natural wood and deep gray dominate buyer preferences nowadays, according to Fixr.com’s “2025 design and trends color report.”pdf Red brick still holds its charm in historic homes—but lately it has read more as dated, particularly as more homeowners favor lighter, versatile finishes that better match modern tastes.

 

8. Gray Flooring

 The gray flooring craze continues to cool. Surging in popularity from 2018 to the early 2020s, the look can now make spaces feel cold and washed out. Warm, natural wood tones are taking over, seeking to connect interiors more to nature. Still love your gray floors? Contrast them with bright, colorful accents to help balance things out—just don’t expect them to be the star of your space any longer.

 

7. Mindless Maximalism

Maximalism has gone wild and cluttered “granny chic” versions are out. The anything-goes, pile-on-everything approach has left too many homes feeling chaotic. Lately, it’s about embracing “maximalism with meaning”—bold colors with layered textures and eclectic finds that tell a story. After all, if buyers can’t see past the zebra rugs and neon wallpaper, you likely are doing a home a disservice.

 

6. Smart Toilets

Just when you thought home tech couldn’t get any stranger, along comes a growing sector of smart toilets. Ambient lighting, app and voice control, music, health monitoring—do we really need our toilets doing all that? Smart home expert Brandon Doyle, a real estate pro with RE/MAX Results and co-host of The Technical Difficulties Podcast, calls the smart bidet “one of the most over-the-top devices. “Your standard bidet is interesting enough for Americans,” he said on a recent episode of Real Estate Today, “but when you layer on sensors and automations, it gets kind of weird—it’s a good conversation piece but it’s definitely goofy.” Like other flashy smart gadgets, these toilets may be more spectacle than practical upgrade—attention-grabbing, yes, but horrifyingly overengineered.

 

5. Lawn Paint

Yes, people really are spray-painting their lawns green! Lawn paint can disguise brown patches for a quick sale or backyard party, but it’s a cosmetic fix that doesn’t solve soil or watering issues. And used deceptively, it can cross an ethical line in real estate when you’re using it to cover up serious lawn issues. Today’s buyers value honesty and sustainability—not painted turf. A healthy lawn—or even drought-friendly landscaping—can beat a painted quick-fix.

 

4. Red Wall Paint

Red … again?! This time for the walls, not the exterior. More than half of real estate agents surveyed by Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate called red walls an instant buyer deterrent. Red also popped up high on Fixr.com’s 2025 survey of the most off-putting interior colors for home selling, which also included lime green, bold pink, purple, orange and mustard yellow. What colors should you use instead? Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate’s poll found that “new neutrals” reign—colors like soft greens, warm grays and nature-inspired tones. They note that buyers crave calm, move-in ready spaces, not bold personal statements they’ll have to cover later. So, save those fiery hues for accents—not your entire dining room wall. 

 

3. The Cookie-Cutter Kitchen

All-white kitchens have had a solid run, but they’ve become predictable and a kitchen cliché. Today’s homeowners want warmth and personality. Two-tone kitchens—mixing painted uppers with wood or darker lowers—or colorful kitchen islands add dimension and character without a full remodel. White is still classic, but combining it with natural or wood tones and nature-inspired hues can keep a kitchen feeling fresh, modern and far from cookie-cutter.

2. Floating Stairs

They may look sleek and modern on Instagram, but floating stairs are high in cost and low in practicality. Without risers or sturdy supports, they can feel more like a safety hazard than a design win. Plus, they’re not cheap, and that’s money that could be better spent creating a dream kitchen. Buyers and homeowners likely will appreciate safer, more functional stair options. (Note: In my experience, a buyer's physical inspector may call out stairs with no railing in the physical inspection report.)

 

1. Bubblegum Pink Home Horror

What once felt playful on TikTok has officially turned terrifying in 2025. Homes drenched in hot pink—from walls to furniture—now part of the fading Barbiecore craze read as overwhelming and juvenile. A few pink accents are fine, but full-on candy-colored décor is chaotic and dated. Designers are retreating to earthier, grounded color palettes—soft greens, warm neutrals and natural textures—leaving Malibu Dreamhouse-style interiors and the bubblegum craze stuck firmly in the past … and back in the toy aisle where it all began. 

 

 To see the entire article with completely descriptive photos, just click on the link -- 

 

The Most Horrifying Home Design Trends: 2025 Edition: Styled, Staged & Sold’s annual list of the worst home trends of the year—the design choices that can haunt real estate.

 

Sometimes sellers don't enjoy frank feedback from their listing agent, and sometimes it's not practical for construction design changes in order to sell, but an article like this one can help for preparation!

What Colors for Your Kitchen?

Colors to Fit Your Kitchen’s Orientation

Kitchen view with sunny orientation

 

Which direction does the kitchen face: north, south, east or west? 

A design expert says there’s the perfect color for each orientation.

Forty-one percent of homeowners regret their color choice for the kitchen, according to a survey from Moneywise.(link is external) They may not have factored in the direction of the kitchen and whether it’s north-, south-, east- or west-facing, says Jen Nash, head of design at Magnet Kitchens(link is external). She believes the orientation of the kitchen is a big factor in choosing the “right” color for your space.

Source: Magnet Kitchens

                                                     

North-Facing Kitchens: Warm Neutrals

“North-facing kitchens tend to lack sunlight, especially in comparison to south-facing kitchens,” Nash says. “A lack of sunlight can, in some cases, leave the kitchen space feeling a little dark and cold and also can make the kitchen look smaller than it actually is.”

She recommends warmer shades of a lighter color—like yellows and creams—for north-facing spaces. “The use of warmer, light colors will make the space appear more welcoming and inviting while also making the space look larger,” Nash says.

South-Facing Kitchens: Experimental

South-facing kitchens tend to get plenty of sunlight and natural light flowing in during the day. As such, color options are more plentiful, Nash says.

“Pale, soft tones work extremely well in south-facing kitchens, as they make the space look extremely airy and spacious,” she says. She also recommends considering whites and pastel colors, such as pale yellows and blues. South-facing kitchens also allow for some experimentation with darker colors: accenting a kitchen with dark greens or blues can add a sense of depth and warmth, Nash says.  

“While it may be tempting to use dark shades as a primary color in your South-facing kitchen, they are extremely bold and, if used excessively, can completely overwhelm a space regardless of the amount of natural light available,” she says. “With this in mind, when using a dark color, be sure to use it in moderation.” 

East-Facing Kitchen: Light Tones

East-facing kitchens tend to receive plenty of natural light in the morning, but as the day goes on, the kitchen space can become dark. Nash recommends opting for colors that will maintain a level of brightness throughout the day but also help balance the intensity of sunlight, particularly in the morning.

Soft shades of tans and beiges can “work extremely well in east-facing kitchens, as they create a warm ambience and work well with changing light throughout the day,” she says. Nash also recommends experimenting with light shades of green, blue and possibly even purple. “Such color choices complement the natural morning light and also help to maintain a bright, airy aesthetic throughout the day as the natural light disappears,” she says.

West-Facing Kitchen: Color Balance

West-facing kitchens tend to receive more natural light in the early evening as the sun begins to set, which can offer up a warm golden tone of lighting within the kitchen space.

“When choosing a color to complement this tone of lighting, you want to make sure you don’t overwhelm the space and opt for a shade that is too warm,” Nash says.

She recommends white or a cool-toned gray for west-facing kitchens. “Cool tones, like white and light gray, can balance out the warmth of the ‘golden hour’ lighting and create a very welcoming, cozy atmosphere without completely overwhelming the space,” she says.

 "Copyright NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Reprinted with permission."

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Choosing the Best White Color

Photo credit - C2 Paint

Have you noticed that everywhere you look in the neighborhood there's a house with white exterior paint  combined with black trim?  It's supposedly being going on for about 2 years, but now it's quite noticeable almost in every neighborhood.  The interesting  thing about colors is they seem to go with  certain architectural styles, for a long time pink stucco on older California Spanish Mediterranean was very common, and smaller bungalow houses were perhaps off-white, or painted an older traditional color as dictated by the local historic district guidelines. 

But now, regardless of architectural style, neighborhoods that don't have restrictions are popping with white, sometimes very very white, exterior--with black trim.  It doesn't always work, but colors go in trends, sometimes trends with a sharp popularity curve. 

MoodBoard - C2 Paint

And it's the same with interior colors.... did you ever go into a home where every room was a different pastel color? I saw one in another county recently, it's been on the market for ages, it didn't sell then re-listed with another agent, and still sat on the market. Too many colors disrupt the flow. And, colors are personal, and for that very reason, when a home is on the market, the seller needs to focus on creating as much wide appeal as possible so the viewer can focus on the property, not on the seller's taste.

How to choose the best white color? White tones range from very cool to very warm, some with a grayish undertone, or a blue one, stretching into warmer colors with taupe, cream or orangey undertones. 

The light will bring out those undertones, more light allows cooler undertones while less light needs warm undertones.

Warmer colors have a more welcoming feel in large spaces, cooler colors might be considered more energizing.  Both types blend best with other color groupings that match the warm or cool tones of the chosen white. 

Space and light are important to work with when choosing colors!  Trends may dictate to a certain extent the color choices, but you can't go wrong with more neutral pallets.

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker  http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #0118899