9 Cringey Design Trends We’re Kissing Goodbye in 2024

The end of the year is a time to reflect and reassess. On the best music we listened to, on the meals we’ve enjoyed, and yes, on the design trends we either participated in or decidedly avoided over the past 12 months. Because it’s been on our minds, we decided to ask a group of seven of our most trusted design professionals what trends they’re hoping the world will have moved on from by the time the clock strikes midnight this New Year’s Eve.

While 2025 will certainly bring its own generous crop of design trends we agree and disagree with, in this moment of reflection, let’s take a moment to identify those we hope to never glimpse again. See their icks below—plus a few of our own.

Fridgescaping

People have been decorating their refrigerators for decades, but 2024 was the year the concept really took off on our social media feeds thanks to “fridgescaping.” Seemingly out of nowhere, people started prettifying the inside of their ice boxes with fresh flowers, succulents, and other decorative trinkets and sharing their “fridgescapes” online. We’re all for personalization and expression in the home, but fridges are the one area in the kitchen you don’t want to become cluttered. If using extra cute containers makes you happy, knock yourself out, but most of us will be sticking with the less-than-aesthetically-pleasing storage containers and half-used jars of condiments.

The big light

Like many, many TikTok creators who lament the presence of “the big light,” the designers at Los Angeles–based design firm Laun are tired of an over-dependency on overhead lighting. “We want to provide pools of warm light, dappled light and even dim lighting, not overly bright fields of light,” says Molly Purnell, co-founder of Laun. The firm’s advice for getting away from your codependent dynamic with overhead lighting? “Start with floor lamps and table lamps before committing to hardwired fixtures like sconces or pendants,” Purnell says. “You can now also buy lots of great plug in sconce and pendant options which will let you try different variations in your rooms.”

Similarly, Leah Alexander, founder of Atlanta-based design firm Beauty is Abundant, is hoping that she’ll never have to see another large puck light after 2024. They might provide a bright environment, but they add little in the way of personality to your living space. “A one-inch recessed downlight or, even better, a 10mm tiny pin recessed downlight, sticks it to ‘the big light’ while providing discreet, chic ceiling lighting that is second fiddle to thoughtfully procured decorative lighting,” Alexander tells AD, explaining her ideal alternative. “Don’t forget the dimmers—on everything!”

The “color of the year” concept

As the co-founder and creative director of a paint company, there are few people more inundated with the concept of a “color of the year” than Natalie Ebel. It’s been around since 1999, but with the intensity of the discourse growing each year, this is the one trend that Ebel wants to see change course. “Color is incredibly personal, and people feel different ways about different colors depending what space they’re putting in, how they’re going to live with it and the application,” she says. “I think it’s more interesting to talk about [paint] trends and how you apply the paint differently, rather than ‘this is the color to paint right now.’”

Flat-painted walls

Yowie founder and creative director (and all around design tastemaker) Shannon Maldonado wants 2025 to be the year our walls are a whole lot more textured. While moving beyond typical paint can take more time and money, she’s sure it’s worth the extra effort. “Everyone can have a white wall, but not everyone can have a terracotta or soft blue wall with the beautiful highs and lows of limewash,” she states. “Let’s bring back soft ’90s textured plaster walls while we’re at it!”

Being obsessive about styles

In recent years, the proliferation of viral styles and “aesthetics” has gone overboard. Where we used to have a somewhat simpler list of design styles, and a common understanding that it was OK to blend them, we now have inventions like the “dark academia” and “modern grandma” aesthetics, each one more esoteric than the last. With all of these distinct terms comes the pressure to decorate in line with one particular style or trend—a concept that the founders of LA-based textile company Morrow Soft Goods would like to do away with.

Both Stephanie Cleary and Michelle Toney think that the concept of decorating all in one style isn’t in step with how most people actually live. They both adorn their spaces over long periods of time, rather than in one fell swoop, to make sure they’re finding the pieces they truly like the most.

Impersonal abstract art

We may be past the height of the wiggle trend, but what has managed to die off in object-form has held strong in artwork. In cafes, in hotels, and in homes across the country, these pasted-colored, Canva-core prints continue to dominate. “I’m a huge fan of abstract and modern art but I’d love to see more personal and even weird art in 2025 and less of the simple abstract mass-produced works that have become the standard for decorating,” Maldonado says. “There’s also artwork at every price range once you start looking.” Etsy, eBay, flea markets, antique shows, and estate sales are all great options for finding pieces on a budget.

Extra-tall ceilings

The designers at Laun are also hoping to wave goodbye to extreme ceiling heights this year. Double height rooms are nearly impossible to make feel comfortable and cozy. “High ceilings change the proportions of a room so that the space feels like a canyon,” says Rachel Bullock, cofounder of Laun. “I think it [once] felt really grand and expensive, but now it’s sort of become the developer special… It is also not a sustainable solution—you are adding that much more air volume to heat or cool.”

Bouclé everything

The bouclé trend has proven to be quite resilient, holding strong for at least the past four years by our count. Maldonado is among the designers crying out for a change of pace from the fabric that some adore as a textured neutral base. “I think there are more and more striped and textured options that act as a ‘pattern non-pattern’ and can add so much personality but also ground and center your space,” Maldonado explains. “I love a wide tonal stripe or a soft texture and I love bringing a new life to vintage styles through reupholstery. I’d highly recommend Kvadrat’s Hallingdal 65, which is in my top three fabrics ever. It’s so rich in detail and comes in both classic and unexpected colors.”

Color-changing LEDs everywhere

Color-changing LED bulbs can feel miraculous, and indeed, they have the ability to completely transform a room at the flick of a switch on one’s smartphone screen. Not all LED bulbs are bad, but more and more this year, our TikTok feeds have been overcrowded with living spaces that feature a twisted symphony of colored bulbs all illuminated at once. Blue light on the side table, red light emanating from behind the television, orange light coming from a sconce—it’s all a bit dizzying. There’s no need to leave the Hues behind in 2024, but leave the full suite of colored LEDs in the club.