Designers Spill The Worst Design Advice They’ve Ever Seen on TikTok

We love how much interior design inspiration we find on social media these days, but for as often we see great insight and advice, we see plenty of cringe-worthy tips, too. While style is, of course, subjective, we thought we’d turn to a few of our favorite design pros to see what they make of all the advice floating around the internet these days.

These are the seven pieces of advice they’ve seen that make them cringe, so that you can hopefully avoid adding them into your own home.

Color-Drenching Permanent Fixtures

While color-drenching is very much on-trend these days, architect Cliff Tan fears people take it too far in the name of social media. Most egregious, he says, is when people paint over things like wooden floors, stone fireplaces, or antique furniture.

“While there’s nothing wrong with preferring white over brick, often paint gives a very plastic feel that can only look good through a tiny phone screen,” says Tan.

Tan predicts that these items won’t age well, and suggests they look like a fake film set. Rather than chase these trends and make mistakes you can’t undo, Tan wants people to embrace the natural colors and original fixtures.

“Work with them, even if it means changing your original imagined color scheme,” he says. “It might lead to surprising results.”

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Ignoring Color Theory

We’re all thrilled people are accepting color back into their homes, but designer Steven Graffam fears TikTokers are taking things too far. 

Fun, bright colors might look cute on your phone, but Graffam is sorry to say that neon green walls with purple furniture will absolutely clash in person.

“While bold color is great, it’s all about balance, not chaos,” he says. “Keep the harmony.”

Painting Rooms Dark and Moody

We’ve all seen a beautiful, darkly painted room and wondered if we can pull it off in our own homes. In some cases, maybe you can. But Tan fears it’s not as easy to execute as your screen might lead you to believe.

In fact, it’s possible your eye is drawn to these rich, dark colors simply because they feel so new and novel. They can also affect you from a feng shui perspective, Tan warns.

“In reality, dark walls will make rooms feel unbalanced and difficult to carry out daily tasks,” says Tan. “This is especially so in rooms that have a lot of sunlight which would make the contrast almost blinding.”

If you’re desperate to incorporate more color Tan encourages it, but maybe start slow and ease in with light shades. Don’t let TikTok encourage you to go from bright white walls to something dramatically dark.

DIYing a Space to Death

Unless you’re a well-practiced craftsperson, designer John Stivale says he worries social media has officially gone overboard with encouraging average homeowners to tackle DIY projects. 

“I’m a hard pass on the ‘over-the-top DIY’ videos, [such as] gluing glitter to everything and calling it chic,” says Stivale. “Sometimes less really is more, and you don’t need a hot glue gun to make something beautiful.”

Instead, he suggests people think twice before gluing anything down or buying into an instant transformation hack from TikTok. If it looks too good to believe, it probably is; you’re probably better off contacting a professional.

If you want to add a personal touch or take on a fun home project, start small. Don’t fall into the TikTok trap of believing a major room reno will be quick and easy. 

Taking Design Advice Without Context

On his own TikTok, Tan offers his followers plenty of design advice, but he’s very careful to answer specific questions with context and reasoning. He fears this isn’t always the case, and that unspecific advice can lead to a lot of misguided insights.

“I give very clear indications of why I decide the way I do,” Tan says. “It has nothing to do with taste, but [rather] rock solid design and psychological theories.”

Adding a Mirror to Any Room 

Yes, a well-placed mirror can imply a room is bigger than the reality, but it can’t actually create more space. Graffam says adding a mirror in the wrong place can actually make a room look worse. This is especially true when he sees the advice implemented in a crammed, small space.

“It’s already packed with furniture,” says Graffam. “I mean, how many mirrors can one room handle?”

Implying Unrealistic Timelines for Well-Executed Designs

We all know social media feeds are curated to give us the dreamiest aspects of people’s lives, but Tan worries that this can also set others up for unrealistic expectations when it comes to refreshing or redecorating their own homes.

“Even the best designers need to test fabrics and make mood boards to know how things look together,” says Tan.

Unfortunately because social media shows you a before and after in a matter of seconds, it can give the impression that designing a room is quick and easy. This removes all the mistakes and test-runs designers usually experience.

“Remember that these actually come together over years of slowly piecing stuff together,” says Tan. “It would be a demoralizing mistake to think that you can do the same from a day out at IKEA.”