Interior Designer Reveals Living Room Trend She Wants You To Ignore

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Interior Designer Reveals Living Room Trend She Wants You To Ignore

A video of an interior designer sharing an “unpopular opinion” about a common trend around alcove spaces has gone viral on TikTok.

The video was posted by Bee (@diaryofahomedesigner), who is an interior designer based in London working on luxury residences, she told Newsweek. The clip has garnered over 110,000 views since it was posted on January 2.

A caption shared with the post reads “Unpopular opinion: your cupboard/shelving alcove duo is a little boring.”

Bee, who did not share her full name or age, says in the video: “If you were about to spend £3,000 [around $3,700] pounds for some base cabinets and some shelving on either side of your chimney breast…don’t let me stop you without showing you that you can be more interesting than this…you can do better.”

The video goes on to show alternative ways to design an alcove, including doing “nothing at all,” she says. “Just let it be the architectural feature it was meant to be in your home.”

“Tell me what freestanding furniture has ever done to wrong you,” she says, noting that adding some beautiful antique pieces to your lounge is “such a nice aesthetic.”

Interior designer Bee against living room backdrop.
A screenshot from a viral TikTok video shared by Bee (@diaryofahomedesigner), an interior designer based in London, sharing an “unpopular opinion” about alcove spaces.

@diaryofahomedesigner on TikTok

Asked why the idea of leaving an alcove space as it is can be so divisive, Bee told Newsweek it’s “because people need storage and people like to follow trends, as much as they may not like to admit this. Sometimes, doing something new or unusual is uncomfortable and against the grain.”

For those who need storage, Bee suggests incorporating floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

“Why do you need that cabinet? Open storage will allow you to be really aesthetic and make it really beautiful and cute,” she says in the video.

“Or if you want to go full out library, then go for it, I am in your corner,” Bee says. However, she suggests flipping and reversing the design. “Go for enclosed storage on the top and open storage on the bottom—that’s different.”

Showing an image of a shelf with closed storage on the bottom and open storage on top, Bee says “I don’t know why this configuration has you in a chokehold.”

Noting that “asymmetry is fun,” she later suggests having some open storage on one side, adding a little sitting area to it, and keeping the other side “as it was destined to be,” as the clip shows an example of this setup.

“Look how much fun it is when things don’t have to match—be interesting,” she notes.

For those who can’t part ways with symmetry, Bee suggests having some curvature or another interesting shape. The footage shows a living room setting with two arched minimalist alcove spaces along a wall, decorated with just a couple of lamps. “This is beautiful, chic and unique,” the designer says.

Bee is also a fan of floor-to-ceiling closed storage design, as “this actually feels far more calmer than really busy cluttered library shelves do in a lounge.”

For alcove spaces that don’t match in width, Bee’s “biggest pet peeve” is when you put “a single cupboard in one and a double in the other—why are you forcing that tiny alcove to have a cupboard inside it?”

Considering “shaker base cupboards,” which are characterized by a basic, functional look, and built-in shelving above it as the only option is also a pet peeve of the interior designer.

“It looks great in some spaces—I have fitted this in my clients’ homes—but there are so many more fun ideas to try,” the interior designer told Newsweek, adding that “too many shelves is another pet peeve—your space can so quickly feel over crowded.”

For “design-forward and experimental people,” Bee loves the sliding artwork panel idea, as the clip shows a television hidden behind a piece of artwork sliding along a wall. “You can still have enclosed storage and open it up when you want and you can also hide the TV away very easily,” she notes.

“If you’re going to do built-in storage, then at least make it multifunctional,” Bee says.

Do you have an interior design-related video or story to share? Let us know via [email protected] and your story could be featured on Newsweek.


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