Apparently, homes now need an “ick”.
Now, an ick is not pleasant, and certainly not something anyone needs in their life. But we’re talking about a good ick here. The kind of tiny visual shock interior designers are suddenly very excited about. Something that makes you pause, frown slightly, raise an eyebrow, and then nod approvingly as you decide you love it after all.
The good ick is just the latest in a long line of interior trends that present themselves as natural phenomena - as though the universe simply whispered, “Your home needs something a bit weird,” and the industry dutifully nodded and declared it a movement.
Of course, trends don’t arrive by accident. They are carefully packaged, presented, pushed, reposted, and eventually absorbed until we forget where they started. The fact they’re often sold back to us as instinctive discoveries is… well, part of the fun.
Fashion is famously famous for creating trends, and when the industry temporarily runs out of ideas, or enough time has passed for a new generation to fit the demographic, a previous trend is simply recycled. Bell-bottom trousers appeared in the 70s, disappeared, reappeared, vanished again, and are probably now back for another lap as if they reinvented themselves overnight.
And then there are colours. Every decade or so, beige is declared “dead”, and grey becomes the new beige. Then grey reaches its sell-by date and is replaced with greige, which is later reinvented as Elephant’s Breath or Hint of Fog.
It’s classic repackaging. Big brands do it brilliantly, and we happily go along with it because it’s familiar enough to feel safe, new enough to feel exciting, and right now it’s “so on trend.”
An example closer to the good ick theme is dopamine décor, where bold, clashing colours and contrasting patterns that would never have been entertained in the same space, let alone on the same sofa, are suddenly considered bang on trend because someone coined the phrase and a movement was born.
But here’s the thing: the thinking behind the “good ick” isn’t actually wrong. In fact, it’s really quite refreshing. It’s just not new.
The Thing We Keep Pretending Is New
The most memorable rooms in the world aren’t memorable because they followed a trend. They stand out because something in them feels unexpected and alive.
Call it friction, contrast, tension… or yes, if you must, a good ick, but what’s interesting isn’t that it’s suddenly fashionable. It’s that we needed someone to name it before we could accept it and get on with it.
Why Naming It Changes Everything
The moment a trend becomes a trend, especially once it’s given a label, it stops being radical. It becomes a checklist. Add a quirky lamp. Clash a stripe with a floral. Throw in a statement wall. Read an article about how bold choices are “in” this season.
None of this is bad. Trends help people join the conversation and feel comfortable using their newly found language. It’s good because it keeps movements moving and trends trending.
But for us, the real joy has nothing to do with trends. We love the moment someone chooses an artwork design because it stirs an emotion in them, not because it’s trending on Instagram.
It could be a piece of art that shifts the energy of a room. A velvet throw that steals attention from something “safer”, or a bold, metre-square floor cushion that shouldn’t work but absolutely does. And none of this is because it’s fashionable, but because it feels yours.
A Different Way to Look at It
If the “good ick” is a label that gives people permission to be braver, that’s great and it deserves to be embraced. So, if you find a piece that jars slightly or makes you wince a little, yet there’s something about it that you can’t let go and continues to draw you in, try giving in to it. Use it. Enjoy it. Twist it. Just don’t ignore it.
Not because it follows a trend, but because it breaks one. And don’t let anyone convince you that individuality needs to be justified.
Something to Ponder
In the end, trends aren’t the enemy. They can be genuinely helpful, especially in interiors where so much of what works comes down to proportions, balance, contrast and tone. The people shaping those ideas are incredibly talented, and there’s a lot to learn from them. A trend can point you in a direction you might not otherwise have explored, and in that sense you should treat it as a guide rather than a rulebook.
But the irony is that trends only feel daring at the very beginning. When you’re ahead of them, you’re seen as confident and instinctive. Once they’re everywhere, once the magazines have written about them and a couple on Grand Designs has embraced them with great enthusiasm, you’re no longer ahead of anything. You’re simply following the pack.
This is why the most interesting homes are the ones where someone has trusted their own emotional responses - not in spite of trends, but beyond them. They’ve taken what’s useful, ignored what isn’t, and created something that feels unmistakably theirs. If they love it, that's all that matters.
So if a piece catches your eye for reasons you can’t explain, or if something slightly off-centre makes you hesitate and lean in at the same time, give it space. Sit with it. Consider it. That’s where your taste begins. Not with what’s trending, but with what you feel.
And if that happens to align with a trend, that’s fine. If it doesn’t, that’s even better. Because at that point you’re not following anything. You’re choosing.
