Five Things in Your Apartment That Reveal Bad Taste

You can spend a million on renovation, but one unfortunate detail will immediately reveal the lack of taste. Designers know: there are items that instantly 'devalue' even an expensive interior. We've figured out which items you should remove from your apartment if you don't want to be seen as someone with questionable taste.

Main points from the article:

• Artificial flowers and decorative fruits create an impression of bad taste;
• Furniture sets 'as a package' reveal lack of individual approach;
• Wrongly chosen curtains can ruin the entire interior;
• An abundance of decor and souvenirs turns a home into an antique shop;
• Cheap materials imitating expensive ones look worse than honest simplicity.

Item #1: Artificial Flowers and Decorative Fruits

Plastic roses in a vase, artificial orchids on the windowsill, decorative apples on the kitchen counter — these items instantly reveal a lack of taste. Even the highest quality imitations look lifeless and create a museum-like feeling.

Artificial flowers are an attempt to get beauty without effort. But beauty requires attention. A single living plant that you take care of is better than a bouquet of plastic roses.

Especially unpleasant are artificial flowers in transparent vases with 'water' — the fake is obvious immediately. Decorative fruits and vegetables on the kitchen counter create a feeling of a cheap dining room.

What to do instead: If you don't know how to care for flowers, choose low-maintenance plants — sansevieria, zamioculcas, cacti. On the kitchen counter, it's better to have real fruits in a nice bowl or even empty surfaces.

Item #2: Furniture Sets 'As a Package'

A bedroom where the bed, nightstands, dresser, and wardrobe are in one style, made of one material, in one color — a clear sign of bad taste. It looks like furniture store rather than living space.

Sets kill individuality in interior design. Good taste is the ability to combine different items, create stories, rather than buy a ready-made set.

Especially terrible are sets in 'classic' style with gold accents, carving, and 'marble'-like countertops. They turn an apartment into a set for a 90s Russian nouveau riche movie.

What to do instead: Buy furniture one piece at a time, combine different materials and styles. A vintage dresser can perfectly coexist with a modern bed.

Item #3: Interior-Killing Curtains

Heavy drapes with trim, curtains with lurex, curtains with large patterns — these textile monsters can ruin any interior. Especially if they don't match the style of the rest of the decor.

Curtains are like accessories to an outfit. You can wear a simple dress with expensive earrings — it’s stylish. But if you put everything on at once, it becomes tasteless.

A separate category of horror — curtains with photo prints: sunsets, waterfalls, animals. They turn the window into a poster of questionable quality.

What to do instead: Simple solid-color curtains made of natural materials — linen, cotton, silk. If you want a pattern, choose geometry or a thin stripe.

Item #4: Decorative Overload

Elephant figurines, magnets on the fridge, souvenirs from trips, artificial candles, decorative stones — when an apartment has too much small decor, it begins to look like a souvenir shop.

The principle 'more is better' doesn't work in interior design. Good taste is the ability to stop. Better three beautiful items than thirty mediocre ones.

Especially bad are themed collections — owls all over the apartment, angels on every shelf, cats in all variations. This reveals a person with obsessive ideas rather than good taste.

What to do instead: The principle 'one item per surface.' A beautiful vase on the nightstand, a stack of books on the coffee table, one painting on the wall.

Design: MyAtmosfera

Item #5: Imitations of Expensive Materials

Laminate mimicking parquet, plastic panels imitating stone, wallpapers mimicking brick — cheap imitations always look cheap. Even if from a distance it seems like the real material, up close the fake is obvious.

Better honest LDP than plastic mimicking wood. Sincerity in materials is the foundation of good taste.

Especially terrible are 'brick' wallpapers in the living room or plastic panels mimicking marble in the bathroom. They reveal an attempt to impress without means and taste.

What to do instead: Use simple but high-quality materials. Painted walls are better than brick wallpapers, plain tiles are better than plastic mimicking marble.

Why Bad Taste Is So Persistent

Bad taste often masks insecurity. A person fears looking too simple, so they add 'luxury' — gold, shine, decor.

Another reason is the desire to follow trends without understanding their essence. Seeing an artificial orchid on a blogger's site — buying the same one. Without thinking that for the blogger it might be the only accent in a minimalist interior.

Pay attention to the video: How to Develop Taste

Good taste is not an innate talent but a skill. It can be developed.

Practical steps:

• Study interiors in professional magazines, not social media;
• Visit museums and galleries — learn to see beauty;
• Buy less, but better — one quality item is better than five cheap ones;
• Remove the unnecessary — a good interior is always slightly under-decorated, not over-decorated.

Exceptions to the Rules

It's important to understand: in design there are exceptions to any rule. Artificial flowers can be appropriate in a windowless office. Decorative fruits have their place in an Italian restaurant. Material imitations are justified in a child's room or bathroom.

The main rule of good taste — understanding context. What is inappropriate in a living room may be perfect elsewhere.

The Simple Formula of Good Taste

In the end, good taste is not about expensive items or following fashion trends. It's understanding moderation, respect for materials, and honesty with yourself.

Better a modest but harmonious apartment than a luxurious but tasteless one. After all, home reflects the inner world. And let it be sincere.

Cover: MyAtmosfera Design Project