Design Choices That Left Us Asking, “Oh Boy, What Were You Thinking?”

DIY home projects, remodeling, and redecorating have always been a trend since furniture first hit the market – after all, who doesn’t want to make their home tailored to their own style and taste? But over the past year and some, people have spent ample time at home – probably a lot more than they’re used to – and it has given them the chance to analyze every nook and cranny in their homes. From the staircase that could use a paint job to the bathroom that needs redoing, people who have nothing else to do are deciding to just get up and get started. Sometimes, making modern and unique changes is great, but sometimes, one has to wonder what on earth was going on inside a person’s head – and if the result was actually planned or a very poor error! Especially with these questionable design choices, we have compiled for you below. Enjoy!

Mind your head

In this home, very tall people will no longer have to worry or mind their heads when walking under the ceiling fan – because this household has found a solution for that! They strategically placed the fan inside the ceiling itself!

It’s a pity that science is not on their side though, seeing as air circulation doesn’t quite work that way, and the fan might as well just be for decoration. Maybe the tall person who came up with this idea hit their head a little too hard.

Stairway to nothing

The person who was put in charge of this layout must have really wanted this staircase to stand out by splitting the top step to accommodate entry to both rooms, but we think that there could have been a simpler solution than this.

The plus side is that at least the contractor covered these steps with carpeting that looks well-padded enough to avoid what could be a very painful fall should somebody miss-step and tumble to the bottom of the staircase. Hey, we are trying to see the good things!

Spread them legs

Easy access is always a great thing to aim for when remodeling, but this… this doesn’t even make sense. Why would anybody want the toilet paper roll sitting right between their legs when using the bathroom? And if you’re a man who misses their aim, that’s a whole roll wasted!

How does one even go about getting their hands on a toilet seat with these extra specifications? Was this seat made to order, or are there companies out there actually promoting these wacky seats and actually making money off them?

Talk about a “no doors closed” policy

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as being too comfortable – even with family. Now, we don’t know about you, but we’d rather keep our doors closed when going to the bathroom for privacy – especially if it’s a number two!

We understand the need for simplicity, but we are not sure that simplicity is needed when it comes to bathroom doors. This layout makes us wonder what the doors in the rest of the house are like – if any doors exist at all!

Pretty (ugly) in pink!

This looks like the result of a poorly made promise to someone’s pink-loving 5-year-old Barbie lover. When the kid said that they wanted everything pink, they really did mean everything! They could have simply painted the walls pink if this was the case.

The pink tiles may have been a nice touch in moderation, but covering literally every wall and surface was just plain overkill. Like we said before, we understand the need to be unique, but there is a fine line between ‘unique’ and tacky.’

Another bathroom disaster

Now, if this one wasn’t a design error, then the person who put this flood-in-the-making together really needs to take a relook at their career because there is no way any water is going to drain from this shower unless someone stands there with a bucket and shovels the water up into the drain.

If we were looking to rent or buy this house, the first sight of this would have us running for the door. If the shower is like this, we wonder what the rest of the house looks like. We sure hope these homeowners got a refund from the constructor of this epic failure.

Why, though?

One can only imagine how many times a trip for some snacks or a cold drink from the fridge has ended up with somebody tripping over this sink causing their snacks to go flying everywhere! This entire layout begs the question – how did one let this happen?

Did the contractor simply quit on the job when he got to the kitchen sink, and had to make another plan – or was this an intentional mishap? If it was planned, why? For aesthetic reasons? Because it just looks odd to us!

Too many layers

We’ve all seen some elaborate archways before, but this one takes the cake. It looks more like somebody was trying to cover up an error or bad paint job on the ceiling instead of trying to be creative or build a unique design.

Whatever the reason was, the result looks quite unpleasant. The amount of layers over here looks like it can cause one hell of a headache if a person stares at it for a little too long.  They can try counting all the layers if they get bored even.

Windows – really?!

This homeowner clearly has no idea what ‘sense of privacy’ means because they clearly chose a very strange door for a bathroom! It looks more like a kitchen door that would lead to the backyard. Maybe these doors were on sale?

The windows might have a frosting effect on them, but it is still very easy to see every little thing that’s going on inside that room! Who would actually think to install this as the door to their bathroom, or door to any room, actually?

Playground of doom?

This makeshift-looking slide doesn’t even touch the ground, and the ground is concrete! These parents must have become extremely bored during lockdown, or they just really want to teach their kids the lesson of “when you fall down, get back up again!”

Who on earth thought this would be a good idea for their kids, and do they even have the permits required to build such a catastrophe? We doubt parent’s of children don’t let them come here for play dates after school!

More windows again, really?

There’s nothing like a room with a view, but not when the view is seen perfectly from your toilet! Windows are a great addition to any bathroom, but usually, they aren’t placed where outsiders can see you clearly inside!

Imagine the shock from your neighbors when they realize their evenings have two moons in them – one of them being in the sky. What’s unfortunate is that the bathroom and window both have a nice modern feel, but they simply should not have gone together! 

Fire hazard

Pleather has become quite a fashion statement in bedrooms, closets, and on couches and other furniture around the world. However, why on earth would someone put something as flammable as pleather in a kitchen, especially one with a gas stove!

Sure, it might create a comfortable effect, but surely this effect would serve one better in a bedroom, bathroom – or anywhere else that doesn’t have fire as closely placed to it? Can you imagine the stains that would show up from all the cooking and heat?

A for effort

Now, for a nature lover, this must be a dream – using stones and shells for the surfaces in your bathroom. Even the floor is a great concept in theory. But we aren’t so sure it’s very comfortable to sit on. Have you ever sat on a pebble beach? It’s not as soft as it looks.

Also, one can only imagine the cold feeling of this toilet in winter. Stone isn’t exactly the warmest of things to sit on as well. Why didn’t they take it a step further and add fake grass to the floor? Then it would really feel like a natural enclose.

The “I don’t have kids” statement piece

The fact that only people of a certain height can even reach the toilet – with or without the little step – tells us that there are probably no kids in this household, and there probably will never be any. Either that or the owner of this house wanted a bathroom guaranteed to be just for themselves. 

We also really would like to know just how many times someone, who really needs to throw up, has completely missed the toilet because of the obstacle course involved in getting to it in time. And don’t forget the how struggling it must be to clean.

That’s brave

The person who is brave enough to carpet an entire bathroom must really have a major problem with tiles or really obsessed with carpet. Perhaps they simply despise cold floors or are terrified to slip on wet tiles in case they really hurt themselves?

Regardless of the reason, we don’t want to be the ones using that bathroom when the carpet starts to smell like damp moss and mold. It will easy become infected with bacteria. And we definitely do not want to be around to clean it either.

Talk about a super-fan

We’ve heard of rooms themed after a person’s favorite Fandom, but have you ever seen something quite like this? Somebody tiled their floor with over 8,000 Magic: The Gathering cards. The years of collecting and hoarding the cards finally paid off when their brilliant idea to reuse them as their floor came to mind.

Now this is a whole new level of commitment to a Fandom, that’s for sure. We sure do hope this homeowner doesn’t get over their love of this magic card game any time soon. Although, with this floor, this might just be a possibility!

What is even going on here? 

What we really want to know is, why couldn’t both the stove and hood be evenly placed against one wall, instead of the stove awkwardly being placed diagonally, rendering the range utterly useless, except for display. It’s not like that couldn’t be done here.

This entire design just defeats the purpose of even having the hood in the first place! How can the steam from the stove be caught if it’s rising up into the ceiling and not the hood? We really hope they get this fixed before their ceiling gets damaged.

You walked right into that one

We’re not entirely sure if this placement was intentional to save space in what must be a studio apartment, or if there’s a germaphobe living here who won’t let any guests use their actual bathroom to shower. Or even worse, a germaphobe who makes their guests shower upon first entry!

Let’s just hope they remember to lock the front door before they shower, or both the person showering and the person coming in will be in for a slippery surprise! Props for originality though. We sure haven’t seen something like this before!

Moldy tiles 

We sure hope these people aren’t planning on entertaining many guests. If this is a kitchen, you definitely won’t be catching us coming in for a bite. Who on earth would want tiles in their home that look like they haven’t been cleaned in literally years?

Did someone choose to buy these tiles like this or are they truly just extremely dirty? We hope that the owners of this home have since replaced these vomit-inducing tiles. These moldy-looking tiles need to go ASAP – whether this design was intentional or not.

Jaws
It seems that most of the mishaps on this list have something to do with the bathroom. Now, this is less of a design flaw and more of a decoration disaster, but it’s still on the list for a reason. This person is clearly a Jaws fan.

Somehow, we don’t see how the purple décor and lace, which is over the top on its own, matches the giant shark head sticking through the wall, but we are sure that the first-time guests leaving this home will have something to talk about!

The illusion

This optical illusion really must cause at least one fall a day. How can anyone, even the people living here, get used to such a confusing floor? These people better change their décor ASAP before somebody gets really hurt if they haven’t already!

This is a broken bone (or worse) waiting to happen. And to top it all off, the tiles don’t even seem to match the door, archway or walls! Its already a death trap, but it doesn’t even match the rest of the house anyway. Its gotta go!

Stairway to… pee?

This seems like it was definitely a makeshift bathroom. It eerily resembles something similar to the cupboard under the stairs that Harry Potter was forced to live in. But, it looks like he’s moved out, and there’s an empty crevice to remodel.

You’ll take more steps to the bathroom than you’ll be able to in this tiny room, but hey – at least this one seems to be a little bit more private than some of the other bathrooms on this list of oddities! And it’s not filled with carpet. That’s a plus!

When “dated” is the new black

We know that the “old-fashioned” look is often the modern way to go these days, and it tends to look very nice, but in cases like this, we beg to differ. These tiles just look grubby and old, and not in the fashionable, “dated” way, either.

These small white tiles also really don’t seem to match the rest of the modern looking layout in the already remodeled kitchen. Perhaps a more large and sleeker white tile would have looked better. And, maybe less dirty than these ones.

Choose your destiny 

Either you choose the path (door) that gets you into the house, or you run into the lovely barricade of steel staircase. Perhaps these homeowners wanted to turn their doorway into a metaphor of sorts. “When one door closes, another opens,” and all that jazz.

We can’t help but think that this was the contractor’s error though, and that perhaps he had to fix it on a budget? Maybe it was just cheaper to add another door rather than remove the other one and patch up the wall? Guess we’ll never know.

There are two types of people

You know those people who aren’t really all that bothered if a painting is a little bit askew, or if the rug is lifted a little at the sides? And then you get those people who would lose their OCD minds over these little things.

You can’t help but wonder, is this person just not bothered, or did they intentionally do this to drive OCD people up the wall? And if it was an accident, somebody has some explaining to do. But wouldn’t they notice this mishap as they are building? 

Turn a blind eye

Once again, we understand needing to be a little thrifty at times and make use of what we have. Times can be tough after all. But using blinds as a replacement for a shower curtain simply cannot end well, right? Or maybe we have it all wrong.

This person could have just been trying to recycle and upcycle, and kudos to them for being environmentally friendly, but this just looks like it will cause messy puddles on the floor, that they honestly might just be better off with no curtain at all.

Where’s the fridge?

How many times do you think a new guest wonders where these people keep their milk? Because at first glance, the fridge is not easy to find. There are so many questions about this one, first of all – why is the fridge just not against the wall (an existing wall, not this built-in oddity) like it should be?

Why is the structure built around the fridge diagonal and not inline with the rest of the kitchen? And most of all, the blazing question in all of our heads is… just, why?! We can’t think of a time where we ever saw something this odd in a house.

Is this the man cave?

Most men like to have a “sacred” room in which they keep their treasures such as game trophies, sports paraphernalia, special occasion, drinks, and more. Perhaps this man wanted his very own bathroom for privacy. Just a place where he can be alone and feel as if he is underground or in a cave.

Either that, or this is a very poor design choice, and should be fixed immediately with some actual tiles and flooring. Maybe they can start with putting the toilet back up against the wall where it belongs. Oh, and a sink to wash those hands too.

Mind your step 

What is it with these steps that seem to be purposely designed to make you fall over and hurt yourself? The painfully stubbed toes and slippery falls in this room must be a daily occurrence and we can feel the pain just sitting here!

What is even the purpose of this step, if not for cruel entertainment? Perhaps it was built to cover something up? We really don’t know what to make of it. Do you have any thoughts? What is this room anyway?

Makeshift bedroom 

This room was evidently once an outdoor balcony or patio that was converted into a bedroom – which is fine! But surely converting the sliding door, which holds no privacy, and has an OUTSIDE lock, should have been on the agenda in the first place?

We hope that this isn’t the guest room because a guest would probably extremely uncomfortable with the possibility of being locked in and having absolutely zero privacy, seeing as the curtain is also on the outside of the room. What else could be wrong?

Eyes playing tricks

It seems as if the only people allowed up here are people are those with really small feet or really great balance. What’s even stranger about this one is that it seems like these stairs were perfectly okay as they were, before the interior decorator got a hold of them. 

Imagine losing balance while walking up this flight of stairs and then falling right back down to the floor! Here’s a building tip: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it or touch it. Leave the normal stairs alone. People like normal in houses believe it or not.

It’s a trap!

Is it just us, or does the TV look as if it has been positioned like this with specific yet bad intentions? The cable is hanging down all the way to the floor just waiting for someone to trip over it and wind up wearing the TV as a hat.

We can only imagine the trip to the ER after that concussion! It’s just waiting to happen. How would the person even explain it without sounding like a cartoon character? “A TV fell out of the sky and hit me!”

Make it fit

This person sure as hell was not going to lose their washing machine due to not having enough space for it. And now it doubles as a little bathroom side table too! What a fantastic win-win situation. Maybe this is a design win?

Despite the fact that it looks utterly ridiculous – we’ve got to hand it to this homeowner – they surely are innovative! Who else would think of cutting a huge hole in their wall to squish in their washing machine? We sure wouldn’t have!

Every little square inch

So, we are assuming that the contractor was trying to find a unique way to cover up something that’s sticking out of the corner of the floor. But it sure does look like they spent a lot of time and effort on something that probably would have looked a little less silly if it had just been left alone.

It looks silly, but we’ve got to appreciate the hard work and dedication of this contractor. It must have taken some time cutting the carpet and rubber perfectly to fit over the square. However, I’m sure he is tired of answering to people about what exactly its purpose is.

Squeeze it in 

This looks like they forgot to add a toilet and had to improvise last minute. Apparently, there was no better place to put a toilet than on the stairway. “What could go wrong?” they said. I mean, all you have to do is sit on it, so technically it looks like it could work.

Well, for starters, the poor person using the toilet would have zero privacy. Second, the people using the stairs are in for an unpleasant surprise. And third, just build a room outside of the stairway instead of making people feel uncomfortable.

Building tips 

Here’s a tip for when you’re building a house; Do not place a giant plank in the hallway, blocking anyone from passing through, unless you intend to turn your home into an inconvenient obstacle course, then this is the perfect choice.

Here’s another tip; The giant plank doesn’t even serve a purpose – not even aesthetically does it make sense. Do not use a plank when building unless it serves an actual purpose. This is a great wood-saving tip for the environment too.

Rocky 

Imagine this: Hot water trickling down your back, the smell of fresh air and nature all around you. You can hear the birds chirping, and when you open your eyes the view is captivating. But then you step a little bit too far and, flump! You’re on the floor and the beautiful moment is ruined. Why? Because you’re standing on a ROCK.

Aside from the fact that this is clearly a poorly executed design from a safety point of view, the entire rock situation looks as if someone threw a boulder at this property and they just made the most of it.  And I guess that was a shower!

It’s time

Don’t you hate it when you move, and your fridge is just too wide for the space in the new kitchen? Usually the answer to this is to keep the fridge elsewhere (even though it is less convenient) or buy a smaller fridge – but not this person!

This person was so set on having their fridge exactly where they wanted it, that they made a plan to do it! We can all take a page from their book of determination, that’s for sure. They made this work, yes, but it looks extremely ominous. 

Back to the decades theme 

We’ve visited 80’s, now welcome to the retro 50’s with this bathroom that will make you feel like you’ve been thrown back in time and are now sitting at a diner, waiting for your extra large strawberry milkshake with whipped cream and two straws. 

It really does take you back to the film Dirty Dancing, Except, we really thought that this room was meant to serve as a bathroom, where one can relax and cleanse – not as a 50’s throwback museum experience – or is it? 

A painful exit 

This has cartoons written all over it. You know the episodes of Tom and Jerry where there would be some wacky chase, and Tom almost catches Jerry, but then for some senseless reason, he runs through a door and he’s suddenly falling off a cliff?

This family must have really been into playing pranks on their friends to actually put in a door as nutty as this one. Let’s hope that they keep nothing behind this door, and also locked in order to avoid losing friendships and a possible lawsuit or two.

Too much privacy? 

We’ve spoken about too little privacy, but can there be such a thing as too much privacy? Say, if there were four locks on a single bathroom door for example? We’re going to have to say yes. Unless this room is used for another purpose.

We sure do hope that a child doesn’t accidentally lock themselves in here because dealing with one lock is bad enough in those cases! We can only imagine what the front door to this home is like! Maybe a few boards on the windows as well.

The royal bathroom

We’ve heard of taking the right steps to get to the top, but this is just ridiculous. The person who had this “throne” built for them must have really wanted to feel high up and important when going to the bathroom.

Either that or they ran out of space on the floor. Hence why the sink is also placed on the step lower than the toilet but higher than the urinal. Surely, even if space was the issue, they could have come up with another option than this setup?

Well, at least it opens now

This door must have taken a real beating from those meters before those holes were cut out. Perhaps the owner just decided to cut their losses and salvage what they could of the door instead of coming up with another solution.

What might have been smarter is replacing the door with a sliding one, or one that opens in the other direction. But hey, at least they thought out of the box and saved themselves from replacing a whole door, which is very expensive!

A niche niche

We can’t think of a use for this spot aside from it being used to eerily spy on your neighbors – in which case, the owner of this home might be a bit of a Peeping Tom, and it may be best to stay out of view of that window.

Another use for it might be for kids to use it as a spot for hide and seek, until someone hurts themselves jumping down. Out of the two uses we can think of, we’re going to go with the first use for this little niche!

Another strange bathroom

We decided to end off our list with one last strange bathroom design, seeing as they are so popular. This seems like the kind of bathroom a couple would have, so they can share the bathroom but still have a little privacy when doing a number two – and protecting their partner from the smell!

Well, an alternative to this would be a non-glass door, which might have been nice too, but maybe this particular couple enjoys being able to see one another or can’t be without one another – no matter when, no matter where.

Barbie’s 80’s kitchen

The ’80s were definitely a great time for music, culture, and bright colors. But not even a person who grew up on the set of The Breakfast Club would want to be in this kitchen every single day. This kitchen looks like the inside of 80’s Barbie’s RV.

And what’s going on with the random streamers next to the washing machine? There’s such a thing as colorful and abstract designs, and then there’s going a little too far, as in the picture above! And this is one of those moments where we just want to look away. 

Monkey business 

This looks like someone went out and bought their bathroom décor from a discount store having a sale on strange and unwanted (can’t imagine why) objects. Not only do the strange pieces not make sense, the fact that they are all together in one room makes even less sense. This bathroom looks like a place where some sort of strange ritual would take place.

We have a golden monkey hanging from the light, a saxophone that has probably never been played, and a giant head painted to look as if there is paint dripping from it. Despite the inviting look of the large bubble bath, bathing here does not seem like it would be a comfortable experience emotionally.