Outdated Home Design Choice Most Hated by Gen Z Revealed

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Outdated Home Design Choice Most Hated by Gen Z Revealed

Your beautifully curated vintage home might be one ceiling design away from looking outdated, according to Generation Z’s standards.

In a survey of 2,000 American homeowners, conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Realty ONE Group, 40 percent of Gen Z, those born roughly between 1997 and 2012, chose “popcorn ceiling”—a ceiling with a texture resembling pieces of popcorn—as the older home design element they liked the least.

Architect Bob Zuber, an associate principal at Morgante Wilson Architects in Evanston, Illinois, told Newsweek: “The line between vintage and dated is nuanced, and maybe is less a line than a Venn diagram. The difference lies somewhere between the intersection of function, nostalgia and quality/craftsmanship of construction.”

While popcorn ceilings may be functional, Zuber is not so sure about the nostalgia factor, “as they aren’t terribly attractive, and there is not a lot of craftsmanship required to install. I would consider it ‘outdated.'”

Plaster being scraped off popcorn ceiling.
A stock image of plaster being scraped off a popcorn ceiling. This is a home design style that is hated by Generation Z.

iStock / Getty Images Plus

Why Does Gen Z Hate Popcorn Ceilings?

Popcorn ceiling, also known as a “cottage cheese ceiling,” is a bumpy and textured wall application formed by applying wet joint compound to a drywall surface, Tina Guevara, the founder and principal designer of Juliette Sebastian Interiors, told Newsweek.

It was a very popular technique used in homes in the 1960s and 1970s due to its ability to “add character to the space all while providing quick coverage over existing surfaces at minimal cost,” Guevara said.

Popcorn ceilings can hide imperfections, such as nail pops and seams from installation, as well as provide sound insulation and noise reduction in the space and between the floors in multilevel homes, Guevara noted.

Matthew Coates, the president and principal architect at Coates Design Architects + Interiors, told Newsweek that popcorn ceilings were a cheap and easy design option. This made them “perfect for the post-World War II housing boom,” but now “they just scream ‘outdated.'”

Coates said that “Gen Z dislikes them so much because they—for good reason—value clean, modern and minimalist aesthetics, and popcorn ceilings are the exact opposite of that. They’re not just visually unappealing—they’re hard to clean, repair, and can even be a health concern if they contain asbestos, which some did back in the 1960s.”

Other older design elements loved the least by Gen Z included fully carpeted homes (named by 28 percent), wallpaper (20 percent) and linoleum floors (17 percent), according to the survey.

Modern farmhouse style living room.
A stock image of a modern farmhouse style living room. The “farmhouse chic” home design was found to be dropping in popularity with younger generations including Generation Z.

iStock / Getty Images Plus

A vast majority of those surveyed across all age groups (83 percent) agree that it is easy for a home to lose its original charm and become out-of-date.

Many Americans appreciate original hardwood floors (56 percent) and ornate, old-fashioned woodworking (37 percent), but not so much popcorn ceilings, root cellars (underground storage spaces) and telephone nooks (areas for a landline phone).

Zuber said telephone nooks can still be considered vintage rather than outdated. He added that, “though they are probably past the date of most people remembering when they still functioned as their original purpose, they still do evoke nostalgia and I think they are usually well crafted.”

A fair portion of baby boomers (39 percent) admitted that fully carpeted homes weren’t the best choice, while 16 percent of millennials were found to be ready to give up their namesake “millennial gray”—a design characterized by a monochromatic palette of gray tones—which is a favorite trend among 17 percent of Gen Z.

Other older designs favored by Gen Z include original hardwood floors (named by 43 percent), open floor plans (38 percent) and old-fashioned/original woodworking (31 percent).

Wallpaper (most liked by 31 percent), stained glass windows (30 percent) and wood paneling (26 percent) were found to be more popular for Gen Z than any other generation.

“Farmhouse chic” was found to be dropping in popularity with younger generations (liked the most by 28 percent of Gen Z and 33 percent of millennials), whereas “Mid-Century modern” homes are making their way out for Gen X (liked the most by 25 percent) and baby boomers (16 percent).

Animal print is more than five times as popular with Gen Z as it is with baby boomers (16 percent vs. 3 percent), while nautical/beach themes (23 percent) or boho style (21 percent) remain fairly popular with Gen Z.

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