I was speaking recently to a potential client who was struggling with their new home build. They were lamenting how difficult it had been to create a functional floor plan and they now wanted their house look great on the inside and outside, too. They were feeling the pressure of a huge investment and wanting to love the final result. This struggle to achieve functionality and visually appealing aesthetics is certainly a real challenge, even for people like me who do this all day, every day.
I’d like to believe that nobody sets out to create an ugly house or room. To be fair, I’m actually not comfortable categorizing an entire building or home as “good” or bad”. There’s a spectrum of well-designed to poorly designed spaces. Most homes have their good design “moments” and their bad ones. And, not every room needs to “steal the show”. Some rooms play supporting roles and that is OK. It’s the beautiful, cohesive “whole” that I’m most interested in creating.
Sometimes it’s hard to identify exactly what looks “wrong” or what the actual problem is. If you haven’t had me along for the ride since day 1, this is usually the time where clients issue a desperate SOS to get help figuring out exactly what the problem is and how to fix it before they get much farther in their home design project.
Maybe you, too, often drive around and wonder “what was the thinking there?”
Let’s talk about how this happens:
1. No Design Lead
Not every home will be built with the help of a design professional. It happens all the time. It’s not for everyone.
I’m talking to the people with the budgets who *should* be working with trained design professionals (architects, landscape architects, interior designers). Somewhere along the line you were convinced you can get more house without us. Sure, you might be able to afford more SF, but will it look as good as it could or should?
200% no.
This is how Mc Mansions get built, friends.
Your design professionals have the skill and extensive training required to create thoughtfully designed homes. Beautifully designed square footage is always better than low-quality, bland square footage. You just might have to have a little less of it.
If you want a 15′ corridor with a toilet at the end of it, your contractor might balk, but at the end of the day they’ll build you whatever ugly or ridiculous thing you want. This is an extreme example (of course!) but what I’m getting at is that your design team is going to save you from yourself.
There’s incredible value add to your investment by hiring design professionals. You’re investing too much in this project to let design be an after thought. You need a dedicated design professional overseeing the aesthetics and ensuring that the look and feel you’re hoping to achieve becomes a reality!
2. Budget & Design Expectations don’t match
This one really bites people in the behind. You want all the square footage, beautifully designed, within budget and you want it done yesterday.
I would love to give you all of that every time. I really would. But 99% of the time, we have constraints and we need to live in the land of reality. This is why it’s dangerous to run with a floor plan before you have some idea of what you want the interior to look like. If you are envisioning a high-end interior, but your builder is basing their numbers on a builder-grade interior, you’re going to have a problem on your hands!
Sadly, what often ends up happening is that the homeowner finds out much too late, that they are overbudget and they can’t afford the beautiful things they’ve envisioned. Too much square footage is hard to fix once construction has started. I talk a little about this in my post – Building Our Home: Lessons Learned.
The fix for this is a thorough design process (planning ahead!) and clearly understanding your design priorities prior to breaking ground. That way we can reduce or eliminate as needed before large expenditures have taken place.
3. Miscommunication
Contractors have a wide myriad of responsibilities that they are coordinating on your home-build. They’re spread extremely thin and there are an unimaginable number of details they are juggling between all the trades (plumber, electrician, tile installer, etc.)
Homeowners often don’t understand the order of construction and how early they need to communicate design elements they’ve been dreaming of. For example, if you want a gabled ceiling in your living room, that’s something you need to decide very early on – during the floor planning stage. This kind of miscommunication isn’t intentional, its just lack of knowledge.
Just today, I was communicating with a client about raising some windows in their primary bathroom so that it would clear their freestanding tub. These are the details that most homeowners miss before it’s too late and you either have to pay to fix it or live with it.
The magic happens when your design professional creates a design for you and then the design is clearly communicated in drawings and specifications to the contractor. Every detail is thoughtfully considered and these documents are the roadmap with all the information that the contractor needs to implement the design.
3. Pressure
Pressure (stress) will always lead to poor choices. I wrote about this phenomena in an Instagram post and I reshare that one often because it’s so true. (Click to read)
When you’re getting pressured to make decisions, what ends up happening is that you cease to care about design anymore. You just want the pressure to GO AWAY. So you make the decision that will give you the most relief, which is not typically the best decision for you in the long run.
The ugliest decisions are usually the rushed ones.
Patience and planning will reduce the pressure you feel while going through construction tremendously. I want you to make well-informed decisions, not spur of the moment ones!
6. Short-Term Thinking + Trends
People often ask me “what’s new” or “what’s in style”. I’m definitely paying attention to all of that, but I don’t spend excessive energy focusing on that because good design transcends trends.
Good design isn’t simply a game of figuring out what’s on-trend or what everyone is doing “these days”.
You’re not getting ahead of the curve with trendy selections. What you’ll get is a house that doesn’t stand the test of time and becomes indicative of an era and uglies out with time.
Check out my post about Timeless Interior Design for more of my thoughts on this topic.
In Conclusion: The Art of Avoiding Ugly Homes
Building a beautiful home requires more than just creativity; it requires collaboration, careful planning, and a long-term vision. Ugly homes are rarely the result of a single bad choice; they are the outcome of many small missteps, from budget limitations and poor communication to the pressure of trends and even construction deadlines.
As a professional interior designer, my aim is always to create spaces that are both functional and beautiful, with an eye toward timelessness. The next time you’re building or renovating a home, remember that a carefully considered design, a commitment to balancing aesthetics with practicality can help you avoid creating a space that feels ugly, dated, or uncomfortable. It’s not just about creating a home that looks good today; it’s about designing spaces that will continue to feel good for years to come.
Head to my Services Page to learn more about working together!
