What’s the obsession with turning our homes into show homes?
- Katie Lane Botteselle
- Sep 8
- 5 min read
Somewhere between fluffing cushions and arranging coffee-table books by spine colour, many of us have quietly decided our homes should look like boutique hotels.
We light a candle that smells like “Alpine Meadow at Dawn,” shove the kids’ Lego under the sofa, and whisper to the dog, “Don’t shed. Guests are coming.”
But… do our homes really need to look like show houses?
And if we try, why do we end up exhausted and sitting on a sofa that no longer allows sitting (too many cushions)?
Let’s unpack the obsession—with good humour, a dash of honesty, and a few pro tips from the interior design world to deal with this obsession with turning our homes into show homes.
Why do we feel the need to transform our homes?
The Comparison Carousel: Instagram, Pinterest, and glossy magazines constantly present to us a highlight reel of immaculate rooms. You see five perfect photos, not the off-camera laundry pile, and decide your skirting boards have failed you.
Identity & Control: Home is the one place we get to call the shots. When life feels wobbly, arranging a mantlepiece vignette is a small, soothing victory.
Entertaining Pressure: We want our homes to shout “Welcome!” not whisper “We gave up,” so we panic-order cushions like they’re life rafts.
Nesting Instinct: Humans like 'cosy'. We’ve just rebranded it as “curated.”
None of these impulses are wrong. The trouble starts when a lovely desire for comfort turns into a full-time audition for a magazine spread. So the idea is to strike a reasonable balance.
Do we all have “the eye”… or do designers just have a better one?
Well, that is the question! Of course, everyone has taste.
However, designers have taste - plus training. That’s the difference between “I love this sofa” and “This sofa is 10 cm too deep for the sightline, will block natural light, and the fabric will pill by Tuesday.”
A designer’s eye is a muscle built over time: noticing proportions, reading light, balancing textures, and solving practical problems you didn’t know were problems. It’s not snobbery—it’s pattern recognition, honed by seeing what works (and what quietly doesn’t) across hundreds of spaces.
What do interior designers actually study?
Not every designer takes the same route, but most build fluency in:
Scale & Proportion: Why your petite armchair looks like doll furniture next to the chunky sofa, and how a 160 × 230 rug can shrink a room faster than you can say “returns label.”
Colour Theory: Undertones, contrast, saturation, and how to make a north-facing room feel less like November.
Light (natural & artificial): Layering ambient, task, and accent lighting so you don’t live in “operating theatre” or “mystery cave” mode.
Space Planning & Flow: Where furniture actually goes so doors open, people pass, and no one bangs a knee on the coffee table every evening.
Materials & Specifications: Fabrics, durability, cleanability (hi, tomato sauce), and finishes that age gracefully.
Technical Knowledge: From building regs to fire ratings to how heavy that marble table really is.
Project Sequencing & Budgeting: The unsexy magic—ordering lead times, trades coordination, and guarding your budget from the “just one more thing” tendency.
Human Behaviour: Designing for how you live, not just how a catalogue looks. (Left-hand coffee drinker? That side table matters.)
Can the “show house” thing become an obsession—and is that a problem?
Oh, absolutely.
It often starts innocently—“Let’s hang that mirror”—and somehow becomes a full-scale Mirror Alignment Summit with a mood board, a Gantt chart, and minutes from last week’s meeting.
Budgets get hazy, too; the phrase “investment piece” mysteriously explains a fourth console table and a bowl that only ever holds ethically sourced lemons.
The living room looks sensational, but it now forbids red wine, crayons, shoes, pets, snacks, and—tragically—laughter.
You might notice other symptoms.
Cushions multiply until sitting on the sofa requires a 20-minute evacuation drill.....
Your home smells like “Tuscan Fig at Sunset” wrestling “Scandi Pine After Rain,” and guests compliment the fragrance while blinking through the tears.
Paint swatches migrate across the house like a beautiful seasonal flock—fridge, hallway, dreams—and you’ve become fluent in Greige.
When someone texts “On my way!”, you enter into competitive speed-fluffing, and the dog disappears into witness protection.
The fruit bowl is purely theatrical; just touch a lime and you’ll trigger alarms (emotional, but still). And the dimmer switch offers two settings: Interrogation Room or Romantic Cave—no middle ground, no one can read.
If you’re tiptoeing around your own house like a burglar in socks, the balance is off. Homes are meant to survive pizza, toddlers, and Tuesdays.
A little obsession isn’t a villain—it’s passion—just keep it as seasoning, not the main course. Try to aim your energy at function and feeling: seating you don’t have to un-cushion, lighting that flatters faces and finds lost Lego, storage that hides the chaos without hiding your life.
Ask, “Will Future Me thank me?” not “Would a camera crew applaud?” If Future You nods, you’ve nailed it—no museum pass required.
But a little obsession isn’t all bad; it’s passion. Aim it at function and feeling, not just photographs.
Do our homes need to look like show houses?
Short answer: no. Helpful answer: aim for show-home moments—a beautifully styled mantle, a calm bedroom corner, a cracking dining table setup—rather than a life of panic-polishing.
Design is successful when your space works on a Tuesday as well as it does for guests on a Saturday.
Practical, sanity-saving tips
Start with feelings, not things. “I want the living room to feel warm, sociable, and easy to tidy.” That brief makes choices clearer than “navy or sage?”
Pick a palette and stick to it. 3–5 colours (including your neutrals) across the whole home keep it cohesive and calm.
Mind the scale. Measure properly. Tape out furniture footprints on the floor before you commit.
Test big samples. Paint A4 swatches or larger on multiple walls; live with them for a few days in different light.
Layer your lighting. Overhead (ambient), task (reading/cooking), and accent (glow and drama). Dimmer switches are excellent options.
Invest where it matters. The sofa, the mattress, the dining chairs you use daily. Save on scatter cushions and over trendy accessories.
Edit often. The prettiest room is the one that’s not drowning in “bits.” Give yourself a donation box and use it.
Add your story. Grandma’s lamp, that market print from Lisbon, the pottery the kids made—these beat any showroom accessory.
When to call in a designer (like us at Katie Lane Interiors)
You’re stuck between four near-identical beiges and three floor plans.
You’re renovating and the decisions feel like a tidal wave.
You need a coherent scheme across rooms without everything matching like a hotel chain.
You want comfort, durability, and style—without trial-and-error costs.
A good designer translates your taste into a space that functions beautifully, sorts out the technical bits, keeps an eye on proportion and flow, and helps you spend wisely. We also play the role of kind-but-firm editor when your tenth cushion arrives.
A gentle reframe
Think of your home less as a show house and more as a story—in progress, with lovable quirks and evolving chapters. Beautiful? Yes.
Considered? Absolutely.
But lived-in, human, and forgiving.
If you crave polish, go for it in doses. If you crave ease, honour that.
And if you’d like a friendly expert to bring calm, clarity, and a little design magic to the process, we’re here. Kettles on, mood boards at the ready.
Your home, your rules—no audition required.
With Katie Lane Interiors guiding the process — from understanding your needs to executing every detail — you can be confident that your space reflects your personality while meeting every practical requirement.
If you’re ready to start your home transformation, contact Katie Lane Interiors in Basel today to book your consultation.
You can also browse our Projects page to see inspiring renovation results, or visit our Services page to learn more about how we bring dream homes to life.
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