Experts suggest avoiding these styles when shopping for furniture.
Retro designs are trending right now, but there’s a fine line between vintage-inspired and plain old outdated. Trends change and our lifestyles change, both of which can make the furniture you’ve owned for years suddenly look dated. Whether it’s an orange-stained pine kitchen table or an overly bulky recliner, there are certain furniture styles that instantly date your home by years—or even decades.
To learn what pieces belong in a former era, we asked interior designers to share the tell-tale signs of outdated furniture. Their answers include everything from overly-formal pieces to matchy-matchy sets that look like the calendar still reads 1992. If you want to give your space a refresh, here are the the furniture styles the pros recommend staying away from.
1. Overly Formal Furniture
Our world is much less formal than it was a generation or two ago, so it’s no surprise that formal furniture is a thing of the past. “In general, furniture that feels overly formal and stuffy—think, a living room that looks more like a museum than a lived-in home—can feel very dated,” says interior designer Kathy Kuo, founder and CEO of Kathy Kuo Home. She says a living room should be a space that exudes comfort and invites gathering and warmth. “When the focus is on super-fancy pieces that look like they can’t be actually sat on and used, that sort of harkens back to a different moment in decor,” she says.
2. Orange-Stained Pine Tables
When it comes to wood furniture, it’s not just its style that can make it look dated, the tone of the wood stain plays a significant role, too. “Orange-stained pine, often used in American country style homes, will result in a dated look,” says Cynthia Masters, founder and creative director at Panageries. You’ll often see orange-stained pine used in pedestal dining tables. While it may have infused homes with warmth in decades past, it’s a sure way to make your space look dated today.
3. Furniture That Prioritizes Function Over Form
Whether it’s a bulky recliner, an oversized entertainment unit that is meant for a boxy TV, or a glass-top dining table with metal base, furniture that prioritizes function over form instantly dates your home according to Evan Clabots, vice president of product development at Cozey. “They can make a room feel visually heavy and out of sync with the lighter, airier palettes that are popular today,” Clabots says. He recommends swapping in pieces with slimmer profiles, neutral fabrics, or natural materials like wood, linen, and cane for a more updated look.
4. Super Trendy Furniture
When it comes to furniture, designer Janette Ewen says nothing dates faster than super trendy furniture, especially now that trends and micro trends change at warp speed. “Think of how quickly the mob-wife or coquette core came and went; Imagine you selected your furniture around this aesthetic and now your home feels trapped in late 2024,” Ewen says.
5. Millennial Gray Wood and Upholstery
Colors that are synonymous with a decade or a generation will instantly date your home. A great example is millennial gray—the cool tone associated with millennials and the 2010s. Mike Fretto, creative director at Neighbor, says what makes your home look dated is when your furniture leans too millennial gray. “Gray cushions don’t always have this effect, but when it has other gray-toned materials like wood, it can,” Fretto says.
6. Matching Furniture Sets
Matching furniture sets are an immediate red flag according to Jennifer Jones, principal designer at Niche Interiors. “Specifically, bedroom sets with matching bed and nightstands or living rooms with coordinating armchairs and sofas,” Jones says. The matchy-matchy aesthetic has been replaced with layered designs that prioritize mixed materials and textures for a more personalized and unique look.
7. Red-Toned Cherry Wood Bedroom Sets
In addition to orange-stained pine, Lindsey Zborowski, design manager for Wayfair, says red-toned cherry wood bedroom sets are not the hot trend they used to be. The overly matchy look combined with the heaviness of the red-toned stain on cherry wood looks tired and falls flat design-wise. “These pieces often lack the visual contrast and layered textures that feel current today,” Zborowski says.
8. Overly Ornate Tuscan or Old World Styles
“Overly ornate Tuscan or Old World styles, especially those with heavy scrollwork, dark cherry finishes, or faux-distressed elements, can immediately age a space,” Clabots says. He explains that these designs were once synonymous with luxury in the early 2000s, but don’t fit in with today’s aesthetic which favors clean lines, natural textures, and more minimalist silhouettes.
9. China Hutches Filled with Unused Dishes
Wood furniture that has been passed down to you by a family member can pose a stylistic challenge—while it may remind you of precious childhood memories, it may not necessarily fit your taste and current lifestyle. Jones remarks that nothing says ‘I haven’t touched my dining room in 15 years’ like a china hutch or curio cabinet in the corner. “These pieces are usually passed down from Grandma, but unfortunately serve no real purpose in our current times besides collecting dust,” the designer says.
10. Ornately Carved Victorian Pieces
Whether it’s a dresser with an attached mirror or a heavy bed frame, Masters says ornately carved Victorian-era furniture is sure to make your home look dated. “Ornately carved Victorian pieces complete with vines, ribbons, bows, and heavy red stains is a specific style that will date an interior every time,” she says. If you own a piece like this and it happens to be a family heirloom, tone down its highly adorned design and visual heaviness by layering it with more streamlined pieces, lighter colors, and soft textures.
