10 ideas to avoid beige flags in your home
In dating, red flags generally set off major alarm bells or at least give you the complete ‘ick’. But a new trend is completely taking over our TikTok streams – the beige flag trend.
Movie choices, eating habits or hygiene: TikTokers share their partner’s or potential love interest’s beige flags online. But beige flags are everywhere; there are even beige flag interior design memes. Carry on reading to learn about beige flags in interior design and how to avoid them in your home decor.
What is a beige flag?
A beige flag isn’t potentially something to run from. But it could be a sign that a partner or potential partner is boring, mundane or lacking personality. A beige flag isn’t quite a signal to run away, but it could make you question your compatibility.
Home decor says so much about us. So, it’s no surprise that this new interior design trend transcends the magical world of interior design.
Beige flags in interior design reflect furniture, homeware and general home decor choices that sit on the fence; they are neither good nor bad. Beige flag interior designs scream mediocre, uninspiring, lacking in creativity, and so bland that they don’t cause a reaction.
Spotting beige flags in interior design
A beige flag can ruin a kitchen, living room, bedroom, or home’s aesthetic. You may even have beige flags of your own. Knowing how to spot these beige flags is a starting point in turning those beige flags into green flags.
Here are the most common beige flag warning signs to watch out for.
Over styling
Home decor choices as they’ve just been transported from a furniture showroom are among the most apparent interior design beige flags. There’s nothing wrong with taking inspiration from magazines or interior design blogs.
However, when no pops of personality exist, potential love interests may think your character is as bland as your home decor.
Don’t impulse buy generic furniture or homeware to stuff into a room. To fill your home with character, you can curate carefully chosen personal belongings that reflect who you are, even if this takes some time.
Trend obsessed
Implementing every new design trend without considering whether it will fit into your home could set off beige flags for a potential love interest.
Of course, utilising popular interior design trends is okay if they improve your home, but be sure it adds value to your home and isn’t a fad.
Block colouring
Even bold green, pink or blue colour schemes can be lifeless if everything is matchy-matchy. Nothing will stand out. Choosing paint, furniture and home decor in only one colour often leads to an unexciting home.
Similarly, home decor in a single-toned colour scheme with no breaks or splashes colour can be a clear beige flag.
We have some excellent interior design ideas if your living room decor needs a revamp.
Bland colour schemes
Don’t be fooled; the colour beige doesn’t need to be anywhere in sight for a home to give beige flags. A beige living room or bedroom can be stylish, exciting and full of character, but only when done right.
A beige flag in interior design is evident when someone uses an all-neutral colour scheme with a monotonous result.
10 ways to turn your beige flags into green flags
Even beige homes that scream ‘beige flag’ can turn themselves around. Check out our best tips on turning beige flags in interior design into green flags.
1. Brighten up a bare wall
Nothing says creativity more than adorning a bare wall with an artistic gallery wall. A colourful gallery wall effectively adds colour to plain, white, or neutral walls.
Look deep inside when decorating your bare walls. What do you want to see there every day? What shows your personality? Some great choices include:
- Simple, coordinating frames full of family photos or attractive prints – try black and white for contrast
- Gallery walls full of interesting art that you love to see every day
- A wall of shelves adorned with your favourite plants, books, ornaments, or more photos
- Create a bright, contrasting accent wall
2. Personal touches for personality
Rather than ransacking the shelves in the same shops as everyone else, carefully curating a collection of personal items is the easiest way to add individuality and personality to your home.
The goal is to make it clear that exciting and creative people live in this home and not a showroom. Some popular personal touches include:
- Framed photos
- Souvenirs you’ve collected on your travels
- Homemade, one-of-a-kind ornaments or furniture
- Plants you’ve brought black from the brink of death
3. Add history
A new home with all-white appliances, white walls and bare floors can feel clinical. But it’s still possible to turn a beige flag into a green flag by mixing the old with the new.
Try adding vintage or antique pieces to your home. Whether that’s an inherited grandfather clock or something you’ve found at a car boot sale or antique store, mixing the old and new can create a versatile and interesting space.
4. Incorporate your hobby
Do you play the piano or guitar? Do you love painting or crafting sculptures? Would all those vintage cameras look amazing on your living room mantlepiece? Adorn your home with those special pieces that show off your hobbies and are unique to you – it’s a great conversation starter.
5. DIY a piece of furniture
With YouTube and Google, learning how to DIY furniture is easier than you might think. Why not learn to upcycle a piece of a worn set of drawers into something genuinely bright and unique to you?
6. The beauty of coloured wallpapers
Adding bold and intricately designed wallpaper to bathrooms, halls or accent walls in living rooms and bedrooms is an easy way to give your home ‘green flag’ vibes without a complete decor upgrade.
Black and white florals with pink, teal and yellow flourishes can look stunning with a neutral grey colour scheme. Like the one below, green botanical designs pair beautifully with hints of pink.
7. Avoid white everything
A home utterly awash with white is an absolute major beige flag. Many new and even rental homes come with a standard plain white colour scheme to allow people to add their stamp.
Time and finances permitting, the first thing you want to do when you move in is instantly add colour or traces of your personality in any of the ways listed here.
8. Embrace the quirks
Old properties often boast bare brick walls, wonky walls, door frames, or uneven tiny doors. Don’t try and fix these things. Embrace them and find a DIY way to make them your own.
Similarly, if you live in a period home, don’t remove or cover intricate coving, old iron fireplaces, and vintage tiles. A modern, potentially bland home can be wholly reinvigorated with period features.
9. Add non-traditional lighting
Getting your lighting right is the perfect way to turn a beige flag interior design into a green one. Avoid harsh spotlights unless they run on a dimmer switch; opt for various light sources in soft shades.
Carefully curated table lamps with attractive bases and shades, floor lamps, and interesting bulbs are another way to eliminate those beige flags.
We always recommend using a qualified, quality electrician to replace light fittings. Here is a helpful guide to finding a local electrician.
10. Build a capsule collection
Any decent interior design meme will tell you that sometimes, less is more. Don’t overfill your space with excessive generic furniture pieces. Aim for a capsule collection – a variety of careful pieces of furniture and home decor that are so stylish, unique and high in quality that they will never go out of fashion.
Limited edition and vintage furniture pieces are a must.
A capsule collection usually transcends all seasons, is functional and fashionable, and demonstrates a natural eye for design.
Where to start
If you feel like your home is one big beige flag, why not start with the living room? This tends to be the room where you’ll entertain most visitors to your home, it’s a great place to start.
You can use any good interior design blog or magazine for inspiration, or if you have a budget to spare, using an interior designer is a great option. They can transform your home into a green flag in no time.
If you’d like to revamp your home, find a quality trade here on Checkatrade. Whether you need a kitchen fitter, joiner, builder, plumber, or painter decorator, we have someone who can transform your space.
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