This is not a joke, but it sounds like one. 🤣
Q: “How can you make Jess use a face palm emoji?”
A: “Show her thousands of people ‘liking’ a bad idea on Pinterest!” 😅🤦🏻♀️
Some people love to say “There are no bad ideas!” but that’s a myth…
- Bad Idea #1: Driving into oncoming traffic.
- Bad Idea #2: Curing rheumatism by climbing into a whale carcass for 30 hours. (That one’s from 1896!)
- Bad Idea #3: Ham & Bananas Hollandaise.
Just three to prove the point that there are bad ideas out there, and we need to keep our wits about us, you lovely readers!🤓 😉
Honestly, I’m never trying to be critical as I’m shown various home ideas, designs, and organizational ideas through the algorithms on social media…
…this is really more of my Public Service Announcement in hopes to save some of you from these “Look Good On the Outside Buuuuuut…” Ideas!
Here they are!👇
BAD HOME IDEAS
#15: Bad Kitchen Outlet Ideas!
There are SO many better ways to deal with hiding your electrical outlets that do NOT waste space like they did here!
They should have done a drawer here! (Get familiar with my list of 5 reasons drawers are better than cabinets!)
SOLUTION:
See what we did in our kitchen for our appliance power!
BAD HOME IDEAS
#14: Closet Mistakes All Over!
Putting drawers BEHIND the closet doors is a nightmare!
I go into this in more detail in THIS post about storage mistakes everyone makes, but here’s a quick overview:
Every single time you just want to pull some socks out of your drawer, you will first need to
- step back
- open one (or both!) of the closet doors
- then you can pull open your drawer.
I’ll also show how these kinds of drawers work terribly in your kitchen further below…
SOLUTIONS:
- Do THIS and save yourself hours of time, effort and headache over the years!
- If you must have closet doors that swing out, don’t put drawers inside.
- Stay away from THESE closets (they’re fantastic at marketing them to so many people but they’re awful).
BAD HOME IDEAS
#13: A Bad Idea for Bookshelves!
We discuss this in great detail in The Complete Bookcase Design & Build Guide, but corners in your bookshelves is rarely a good idea.
SOLUTION:
They should have just kept the bookshelves running straight, thereby avoiding corners in both their bookshelves AND the cabinets below. How annoying that’s going to be when you’ve spent so much time getting such gorgeous bookcases.
If you’re looking for the best way to not only build but design your bookcases, we’ve created THIS to help you.
BAD HOME IDEAS
#12: Speaking of Bad Corners…
The above is NEVER a good idea in your kitchen cabinets!
PS: I’ve got “What TO Do in Your Kitchen Corners Instead!” on my list! 🙂 To be the first to see when it goes live (or just not to forget to come back and check because goodness knows we’re all busy!), join our Insider’s List for a friendly lil’ reminder note.
BAD HOME IDEAS
#11: When In Front of Windows…
This banquette seating design itself is gorgeous, but you should never block your windows if you can help it! Not only does it look strange from the outside but if your windows are so low that you could lean back and hit one with your upper back or head, it’s time to rethink that room layout.
Note: I also have children in my home so any ways that bring glass closer (when they’re doing things like standing up, climbing in, and all manner of accidents that adults would never dream of) is a red flag.
BAD HOME IDEAS
#10: I Love Drawers, But…
Why someone thought it was a better idea to do their drawers this way rather than simply all from one direction will have to be explained to me…
…because usually I can see (such as with the banquette) why the people felt that was their only choice, but I honestly have no idea why these people felt this was their only choice 😆 (and to have to buy DOUBLE the amount of drawer faces on top of that)!
BAD HOME IDEAS
#9: Speaking of Drawers…
This is truly one of the worst “drawer organization solutions” that is trying to gain traction…
The problem with these is threefold:
- You have to do twice as many motions hundreds to thousands of times per month as you would have had these simply been two well-planned drawers from the beginning.
- Your cost for this inconvenience is exactly the same as simply doing two drawers openable in one motion.
- THINGS GET STUCK in these types of drawers! In a beauty shot, no. On the display floor, they look perfect. But in REAL LIFE, every single person who’s had these in their kitchen says THINGS GET STUCK more often in these than in regular, single drawers.
So don’t do it, my friend. Just don’t do it.🤗
SOLUTION:
If you already have these drawers and would like to convert them back into two drawers, we show you how HERE!
BAD HOME IDEAS
#8: Paper Towels Under the Cabinet Like So!
Here’s a super-popular pic I’ve seen on Pinterest…
What no one shows you is inside the cabinet above it!
Yes, you are LOSING that storage in the cabinet above!
Not such a smart idea after all.
SOLUTION:
Personally, I prefer what we did to both 1) maximize our storage and 2) hide our paper towels!
I made a video clip showing it in action, but here’s a quick pic for you:
They’re behind our appliance cabinet doors and yet not taking up a lick of space in our glasses cabinet above!
(Plus there’s often “dead space” above appliances like this toaster oven, so it’s a perfect place for a paper towel holder!)
Speaking of appliance cabinet doors…
BAD HOME IDEAS
#7: How NOT To Do Kitchen Doors!
NEVER do this type of “hidden storage” behind doors like this in your kitchen!
Why?
Those folding bifold doors are awful in real life.
- They never stay fully closed and out of the way.
- They create a weird space behind them where things get pushed back (like in the photo above)
- They take up your counter space!
SOLUTION:
These need to slide back like THIS!
BAD HOME IDEAS
#6: Closet Shelves Like This!
I go into full detail on why these don’t work and what to do instead HERE!
You’ll appreciate reading
- Closet Corners Conundrum: 5 Key Mistakes to Avoid At All Costs!
- The 7 Closet Corner Solutions You Need to Know!
The best solution for closets like these is to do built-ins like THIS!
BAD HOME IDEAS
#5: Large Drawers Behind Cabinets!
Similar to the poor closet design shown above in #14, you NEVER want to do this in your kitchen!
You want to do DRAWERS here instead of cabinets!
Why?
- The 5 Reasons You Need to Do Kitchen Drawers INSTEAD of Cabinets!
- How to convert your cabinets into drawers The Smartest, Easiest Way!
- You also might enjoy seeing the 21 Kitchen Organization Hacks we did in our own kitchen!
BAD HOME IDEAS
#4: Ultra-Specific Internal Drawer Organization Attempts!
These plates are just one example of where I’ve seen this. Last year I saw a celebrity home where there was literally an exact cutout of every kitchen tool for her drawers…and it made me cringe.
The problem is SUCH a lack of flexibility! Sure, it works today but what about when a better tool comes out? When you eventually change your plates…or whatever else you’re storing?
You want to make your kitchen timeless! You don’t want to pigeonhole yourself like this.
SOLUTION:
For plates, we did THIS (it took me awhile to convince Matt to even let me try it!) and were surprised how much we genuinely loved it!
BAD HOME IDEAS
#3: When “Organization” Destroys Your Storage Capacity!
I’m a huge fan of trying to corral the pot + lid situation, but THIS is such a waste of cubic space! Do you see it?
SOLUTION:
I recommend you find the best place for your pots and lid storage — I teach you my method in our Complete Kitchen Organization Course!
BAD HOME IDEAS
#2: Laundry Racks Gone Bad!
Hang-drying is great…but how do you get to the rest of your laundry in the meantime?
There are a number of other solutions for this, my favorite of which is THIS drying rack idea!
BAD HOME IDEAS
#1: Cheap Shortcuts = Face Palm! 🤦🏻♀️
I see this all too often in my job…do you see it? Can you spot the problem?
The storage doesn’t go all the way to the ceiling and I can guess why she did it this way:
She used a cheap pre-made material for the cabinets above and they did not perfectly fit her room.
Result? Not only will
- her ceilings look lower (eye is drawn down with those low cabinets), and
- she’s wasted tons of potential storage space to make her home look less cluttered!
SOLUTION:
- Avoid EVER buying these pre-made items.
- Get familiar with the 5 Storage Mistakes Everyone Makes With Shelves & Cabinets!
- We show you how to extend cabinets to the ceiling!
Next…
You’ll love seeing the 21 Clever Kitchen Hacks we did in real life in our own kitchen!
Also, so you don’t lose track of us and when we post free design advice or open up free Design Consultations again, join our Insider’s List HERE (and get our Design Mini-Guide for free there too because we love our awesome readers)!👈
If you’re looking for the RIGHT way to do organization and storage around your home, you’ll love
- CLOSETS: Closet Built Ins: The Genius Way to Convert Your Basic Space for Max Storage!
- KITCHEN: Our Kitchen Remodel Made Life Easier With These Easy Changes!
- LAUNDRY ROOM: The Complete List of Organization, Storage and Design Ideas!
- BATHROOM: How We Maximized Every Inch of Our DIY Vanity! (You’ll love that one!)
- COMBO ROOM: We saved a ton of space in our office-guest room by doing THIS!
PS: See all our design advice + house projects HERE! ⬅️
PPS: If you’d like our help on your own home spaces, book a Design Consultation with us or check out our Design Guides & Plans!
