Are you sure your home isn't a branch of a landfill?
Open your eyes: there are probably things hiding around you that will ruin all your renovation efforts.
They collect dust, steal style and make a mockery of your taste. Designers are sounding the alarm: these items should have been thrown in the trash long ago, but you cling to them like memories of your first love. It's time to break the vicious cycle.
Plastic Flowers: Art That Died.
Artificial roses in a vase, dusty orchids on the windowsill, garlands of cherry branches above the sofa - all this is not "coziness", but a relic of the 90s. Plastic fades in the sun, gets covered with a layer of dust that is impossible to wash off, and screams: "The owner hasn't cleaned here since last year." Replace them with dried flowers in minimalist vases or high-quality silk bouquets that are indistinguishable from real ones. Or better yet, buy one live plant. Yes, you will have to water it, but even a cactus will add more life to the interior than a fake from China.
Rugs with the inscription: "Welcome" to hell.
A doormat with a cat and the words “Go away,” a “Home Sweet Home” mat in the hallway, a “Eat. Sleep. Repeat” doormat in the kitchen — these are not cute, but a desperate attempt to fill the void with cheap humor. Such things turn an apartment into a souvenir shop at a train station. If you want text, hang a poster with a quote from your favorite book in a stylish frame on the wall. But underfoot, there should be neutral carpets: plain, with a geometric pattern, or zebra skin. And yes, size matters. The doormat should be large enough to fit two pairs of shoes. Otherwise, it’s just a rag for wiping your feet.
Napkins on TV: a disgrace that can be seen from space.
Wiping dust off the screen is normal. Covering the TV with a lace napkin, as if it were grandma's chest of drawers, is a crime. This relic of the Soviet era turns your living room into a museum of retro life. If the technology seems too "naked" to you, buy a stylish cabinet with closed shelves or hang the TV on a bracket so that it floats above the floor. And leave the napkins for table setting - that's where they belong.
Cheap posters in plastic frames: art for the poor.
A store-bought painting of Munch's "The Scream," glued to cardboard and framed for a couple hundred rubles, is not an art object, but evidence of laziness. Plastic frames with glare, pixelated posters, and worn edges all create the aura of a student dorm. Buy one high-quality reproduction on canvas or an original work by a local artist. Short on money? Print a high-resolution photo and have it framed at a framing shop. Yes, it's more expensive, but in a year you won't wake up and think, "How could I have hung that?"
Chandeliers with plastic "crystal": light that makes everything worse.
A chandelier that imitates the palace of Louis XIV and was bought for pennies is not luxury, but a parody. Plastic pendants, yellow light and a bulky structure visually “eat up” the height of the ceilings. Replace it with a modern lamp with a matte lampshade or a track system with spotlights. If your soul requires shine, buy a chandelier made of transparent glass with a metal frame - it will not overload the space.
Author: Irina Tint
