From mushroom lamps to crushed velvet curtains, the home makeovers we regret most 

Furnishings have always had the nasty habit of making our homes appear the ultimate in chic one day… only to give them a very naff look a year or two down the line.

And design experts say the process is speeding up, thanks to a ‘throwaway’ design culture – with people slavishly copying social-media influencers’ interiors, only to quickly regret their choices.

Giving your abode the type of makeover beloved by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, host of TV show Changing Rooms, nowadays often sees people decking out their homes with items favoured by influencers celebrating a retro look. And many quickly rue their decisions.

Geometric rugs and crushed velvet curtains were among the trends dumped by UK adults

Design experts at the Ideal Home Show asked 2,002 UK adults which interior design purchases they regretted the most.

Almost one in ten people despair at the expense of their crushed velvet curtains, along with five per cent who ended up throwing out their once must-have 1960s-style hanging egg chairs.

Cream and black geometric rugs were dumped by four per cent, and five per cent had grown tired of that 1970s classic – the mushroom-shaped lamp.

Giles Perry, event director at Media 10, the Ideal Home Show organisers, said: ‘Our findings show that what was chic and trendy yesterday can be tomorrow’s design disaster. 

The research emphasises just how much of an impact social media has on people who seek to copy influencers when designing for their own home. 

It has changed the way people purchase products and they are no longer focused on the longevity of an item.

‘Instead, they are engaged in a throwaway home-design culture based on what is in style at that moment with little thought for how long it will continue to appeal.’

Mushroom lamps also found themselves thrown out once the novelty wore off