Money can buy marble, gold and custom furniture – but it can’t buy taste.
The Daily Mail has rounded up the celebrity homes that have gone viral for all the wrong reasons – leaving designers and fans alike cringing – and asked an interior expert why some styles repel rather than impress.
So what exactly makes an interior ‘cringe’? Design expert Francesco Bilotto says the biggest mistakes tend to come from over-theming and rooms designed to look good on camera rather than feel good to live in.
‘Spaces that look like they were designed strictly for Instagram or a Zoom call background were another cringe look,’ he told the Daily Mail.
One celebrity who knows her home divides opinion is Bethenny Frankel. She had clear instructions for her interior designer working on her Miami condo: ‘A padded cell with some warmth.’
‘I don’t want any color. I don’t want any personality,’ the reality star told Architectural Digest.
And she nailed it.
The internet was quick to comment on her cringeworthy chevron walls, croissant–looking coffee table and faux–fur upholstery following a tour the former Real Housewives of New York cast member gave of the home.
Online users were quick to ridicule the design choices in Bethenny Frankel’s Miami condo
The reality TV star had clear instructions for her interior designer working on the property, which turned out to look rather sterile, much like a doctor’s waiting room
Frankel was quick to respond to trolls, saying she will resell the condo for a huge profit
‘This looks like it could be an Airbnb outside of Vegas,’ commented one. Another wrote: ‘Is this an early April Fool’s joke?’
Frankel explained her decor choices in a follow–up Instagram video. ‘Let me give you a little education on architecture, on real estate and on business,’ she said.
‘I design homes with a very specific intention: as an investment. Now I love to live there and then make them exactly what I want them to be, but they’re designed as investments.
‘And everybody else, when I make my $3million on this house, maybe I’ll invite you for a latte.’
Many may admire her real estate prowess – and the reason for the sterile doctor’s office decor. For others, it may be a case of bad taste.
Design expert Bilotto explained what makes a home cringy, and why it turns off the masses.
‘Start with wall decor and objects that say “gather,” “eat,” “live, laugh, love,”‘ he told the Daily Mail.
‘Also, theme rooms that have a desire to have a coastal or beach look, but people hang anchors, place striped pillows everywhere, and have seashells on every surface and glass vase they own.’
The mother–of–one recently had her house featured in Architectural Digest and clapped back at commenters who criticized her aesthetic
Frankel commented back, posting a video to Instagram explaining her decor choices
‘Let me give you a little education on architecture, on real estate and on business,’ she said
One of the bathrooms features marble–style tiling, Frankel’s TikTok video shows
‘For example, bold, floral peel and stick wallpaper with a flimsy bookshelf placed in front, adorned with fake plants and a budget candle from the discount store,’ he said.
He said one more mistake in design is overkill when it comes to matching sets and too many lookalike pieces.
‘One boucle–covered chair is enough, per household, if you must,’ he said.
‘You don’t need a full dining set, sofa and bench in this fabric. It’s dated and had its moment.’
Singer JoJo Siwa’s home has famously caused a lot of cringe with its candy–colored palette and dizzying interiors, which include a life–size unicorn statue, a bedazzled grand piano, and a fish tank dining table.
The house is also scattered with mannequins sporting some of her most iconic looks over the years.
Siwa, 22, installed colorful spinning chairs and changed the bar into a candy bar, with Sweet Tarts, gummy bears, Hubba Bubba gum, Airheads, M&M’s and more in giant jars.
To be fair, the singer bought the Mediterranean–style dwelling in December 2019 when she was just 16.
Another mistake in design is said to be overkill when it comes to matching sets, like the all–white style in Frankel’s Miami condo
‘And everybody else, when I make my $3 million on this house, maybe I’ll invite you for a latte.’ said Frankel after online commenters bashed her interior designs
Frankel said she purposefully did not add personality to her Miami condo because she wanted to keep it simple for resale
Burlesque star Dita Von Teese has managed to personalize her home with taxidermy and a full pin–up aesthetic
JoJo Siwa’s home has caused a lot of cringe online with its pops of color and dizzying interiors
The property is also scattered with mannequins sporting some of her most iconic looks
The singer bought the Mediterranean–style dwelling in December 2019 when she was just 16
The property is designed with an over–the–top rainbow color palette
Many online have noted that the interiors matched the pop singer’s personality
Last year, Siwa was forced to tone down the crazy colors to sell the house, which she did, turning a profit. But that’s not always the case.
‘Bad taste can definitely lower the price when it comes to resale,’ Bilotto said.
‘Always keep in mind you want to showcase your home’s best features, not draw focus away with bad design choices and trendy clutter.
‘Staging a home is about editing your space more than it is decorating it. Clean surfaces and freshly painted walls and trim are the minimum you can do for a maximum return when you go to sell your home.
‘Add fresh, neutral hotel bedding and towels. Never leave out cheap hand soap bottles on the sink or personal items of any kind. That goes for that dirty dish towel hanging off the stove.
‘Please stop the madness.’
In Columbus, Ohio, actress Debby Ryan and Twenty One Pilots drummer Josh Dun designed a fantasy tree house full of cringeworthy, eclectic and maximalist design.
There are giant mushroom murals in the atrium, mossy textures throughout and a 26–foot–high ‘cathedral room’ used for art.
Actress Debby Ryan and Twenty One Pilots drummer Josh Dun designed a fantasy tree house
The home is full of eclectic designs, including giant, brightly colored murals in the atrium
‘Bad taste can definitely lower the price when it comes to resale,’ interior designer Francesco Bilotto said
Frankel chose flamingo wallpaper for her entryway since she is in Miami, but experts say you should keep it neutral, especially if you are planning on reselling
The couple installed a colorful recording studio and oversized fruit stools, including a cabbage stool, and a bust of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
A drum room, screening room and graffiti–tagged gym also cater to their design whims.
Burlesque star Dita Von Teese has managed to personalize her home with taxidermy and a full pinup aesthetic.
Because of a ‘phobia’ of white walls, she painted every room a deep jewel shade that is suited to a very particular taste.
Her dining room features turquoise–blue walls that contrast with the vibrant red chairs and doors.
In the living room, a taxidermied tiger wearing a crown is the bold statement piece, along with a rabbit sitting on a high chair, wearing a tailcoat, an ostrich, and a pheasant wearing a pearl necklace.
Donald Trump’s famous go–to is gold.
His New York penthouse is widely described as gaudy, with heavy use of gold, marble, glass, enormous chandeliers and tacky furniture.
Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo at Trump Tower in New York. The President’s Manhattan home is filled with gold touches
Trump has made many design tweaks in the Oval Office, adding gold detailing
Frankel said she plans to resell the condo, so she does not want to add too much personality
Von Teese has managed to personalize her home with taxidermy and a full pinup aesthetic
The interiors at his multiple pads have been described as reminiscent of overt displays of wealth at Versailles.
He even applied some self–described ‘Trump touches’ to the Oval Office, with critics saying it looks like a professional wrestler’s dressing room.
He once explained to visitors how difficult it is to make gold paint look like real gold.
‘Money does not equal taste,’ Bilotto said.
One case in point is Kim Kardashian, who designed her home in a wabi–sabi style, a Japanese interior design aesthetic that embraces a home in its most natural, raw form. That’s one way to put it.
Kardashian, who some say went too far with the idea, lives in a mansion that resembles the inside of a mausoleum.
Meanwhile, Kanye West’s other ex, professional muse and author Julia Fox, lives in a Manhattan apartment that looks home to a perpetually hungover college kid.
Elsewhere in New York, Cynthia Nixon shocked fans online after revealing she has a rather dated kitchen.
Kim Kardashian decorated her California home top–to–bottom in a wabi–sabi style
Kardashian and her ex–husband, Kanye West, worked with Belgian designer Axel Vervoordt to get their home styled to their taste, which is a minimal, neutral–toned palette
Julia Fox revealed the corridor of her Manhattan apartment was littered with clothes and toys
Fox’s kitchen was filled with shoeboxes, bulk supplies, hats, books and bright art
Fox called her own two–bedroom abode ‘underwhelming’ and said she sleeps in the living room
Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon’s dated kitchen came as a surprise to many online
The Sex and the City star went viral last May after the room in her Hamptons property appeared surprisingly humble.
Bilotto said everyone can have a nice home by just keeping it simple.
‘Don’t faux luxury overload, it’s a real problem in this world,’ he said.
‘Cheap gold everywhere, high–gloss everything and an abundance of metallic leather headboards and mirrored furniture used excessively reads trying to look expensive rather than actually delivering a refined style.
‘Lean towards neutrals like stone, cream, mushroom, tobacco. Select real wood, linen, plaster and marble. Accessorize with modern art, large–scale book and architectural objects with history.
‘And your placement of furniture and finishing touches should look right.’