35 Posts From People Who Can’t Stand ‘Live Love Laugh’ Design, As Shared On “The People Against MoDErN fArMhOuSe” Facebook Group

We were very interested to hear about the history of ‘The People Against MoDErN fArMhOuSe,’ and the founder of the page was happy to walk us through it. The beginning of the story lies in January 2021 when she and her husband bought their first home together.

“As a millennial who had been a renter for well over a decade, I had never really given interior renovation/decor much thought; everywhere I lived up until then had been a transient space that wasn’t really mine. So, I did what every other excited new homeowner does and started binging on HGTV, filling Pinterest boards with home inspo, and, you guessed it—joining DIY Facebook groups,” Katie told Bored Panda.

“After at least a month of interior design and decor content-consuming, I started noticing some really prevalent, nauseatingly repetitive trends: Everyone had white shaker cabinets in their white kitchens.” However, white shaker cabinets and white kitchens were just the tip of the Iceberg of Tastelessness.

“You were nobody if you didn’t have white quartz countertops. Get a white farmhouse sink, they’re so ‘unique and charming.’ Brown anything be damned; gray all the way. Why not tear out your historic wood floors and put in some gray luxury vinyl plank? Make sure your bathroom is covered in white (and only white) subway tile, or you’re doing it all wrong,” the founder of ‘The People Against MoDErN fArMhOuSe’ revealed what the trends were like at the time.

“When you’re done with all of that, be sure to choose from about 3 of the same matte black light fixtures from your local Home Depot. And sprinkle the place with cheugy word signs commanding you to ‘EAT,’ a boatload of white Rae Dunn word pottery, and maybe ruin a good piece of historic wood furniture by chalk painting it to make it look ‘rustic.’ And while you’re at it, go ahead and paint your brick fireplace. Boom—you’re a farmhouse influencer now, whether you live on an actual farm or not. Your home’s history has no place in the dystopian universe that is Modern Farmhouse.”

All of this really started to make the woman aggravated and she started asking the real, tough questions. “Where was the color? The antiques and heirlooms, the personality? Was there any originality at all whatsoever present in DIY groups? No, there really wasn’t.” That’s what inspired her to start ‘The People Against MoDErN fArMhOuSe,’ as a joke. She explained to Bored Panda that the upper and lowercase letter alterations were “ an homage to the illegible cursive lettering seen on everything basic over the last 5- 10 years.”

Katie made the group in just 5 minutes, and she started posting about it in some of the largest DIY groups on social media that she was in. “I wrote something like, ‘Tired of everything generic? Join the revolution: The People Against MoDErN fArMhOuSe.’ I got booted out of some of the groups pretty quickly, but not before a handful of members came along for the ride. The group became a space to hate on Modern Farmhouse decor and all things basic and cheugy, but also to celebrate and define styles that are MfH’s polar opposites. Over a handful of months, the group gained traction, and eventually, we had over 160,000 fiery and passionate members worldwide.”

Meanwhile, we were curious as to why the content shared on the group resonates with so many people around the globe.

“There are more people than I expected who are tired of all things bland. MfH is so basic. It’s regressive, lacking creativity, mass-produced, and it’s conformist,” the founder shared with Bored Panda.

“There’s also something to be said about the white, middle-class women who were mean girls in high school flocking to that decor style. You know the type I’m talking about. The Venn diagram between MfH lovers and women who call themselves ‘Boy Mom’ is a circle,” she quipped.

“In this group, members are all about ‘punching up,’ meaning we poke fun at the oppressive majority. That’s not to say we don’t also roast one another, though. It’s all in good fun.”

According to the founder of ‘The People Against MoDErN fArMhOuSe,’ the society we live in has “long operated with a herd mentality.” Social media really hasn’t helped any of that!

“Now, more than ever, it seems that fitting in and belonging matters a whole lot to folks. Influencers and HGTV stylists could start decorating homes to literally look like the Shrine Circus and I guarantee that the same people who love Modern Farmhouse would be totally on board,” she explained.

“Over the last decade or so, mass appeal decor has had a narrow space to diversify with these particular trends in place, so much so, that people are just riffing on the same lame themes over, and over again. This is why we end up with tacky word signs with only slight variations of the same ‘gather’ and ‘live laugh love’ sentiments at art fairs now. There’s no place for real art in MfH; that would be far too expressive.”

In the group founder’s opinion, people have to actively say ‘no’ to the modern farmhouse aesthetic. “It dominates retail; it’s easy, accessible, and in your face, whether you like it or not. Anyone who has set foot in a HomeGoods or Target knows this all too well.”

Katie opened up to Bored Panda that she never expected the Facebook group to become what it is today. “The People Against MoDErN fArMhOuSe, despite being huge, has become a super tight-knit international internet family of hilarious weirdos. I have an incredible admin team across the U.S. who I’ve become so close with, despite having never met in person before,” she shared.

“The memes and inside jokes that have come out of the group’s digital time together have made the last couple of years much more bearable. Lots of our humor has made its way to a merch line designed by a handful of us. We launched the shop last year, and proceeds were donated to the Architects Foundation Diversity Advancement Scholarship. We’re excited to find foundations with similar missions to support this year to help diversify design.”

Anyone who wants to donate to the Foundation can do so over here.

The best way to instantly 'get' what the modern farmhouse style of home decor is all about is to think about the phrase ‘live laugh love.’ Your imagination should do all the work for you! 

‘The People Against MoDErN fArMhOuSe’ Facebook group was founded a couple of years ago, in late March of 2021. In that time, it’s grown considerably and now houses 162.4k interior and snarky product design critics who love to gently poke fun at the latest modern farmhouse trends. Why? “Because the world would be more original with less living, laughing, and loving,” that’s why.

Despite the fact that the entire point of the Facebook group is to be snarky and critical of the design style, there’s absolutely no room for personal attacks or degrading comments. Yes, you’ll see some members shaming interiors, cushions, dishes, and more, but it’s all done within the boundaries of decency.

The team running the page also asks its members to try and be as original as possible and avoid posting what's already been shared time and again. Original content is king, and that won’t change anytime soon!

Modern farmhouse is (at least in theory) all about creating a sense of comfort and coziness while mixing tradition with modernity. ‘The Spruce’ points out that the style was mostly a response to the minimalist trend that was popular back in the ‘90s and early 2000s. Instead of austerity, you have quaint charm and warmth that’s supposed to make you want to relax and stay a while with your feet up.

That’s a lovely atmosphere to evoke. However, in recent years, some people feel like the style has become incredibly cheesy and overdone to the point of ridiculousness.

Now, there’s nothing objectively wrong with modern farmhouse style in and of itself, from a purely design-focused perspective. However, it’s become widespread and overused to the point that it makes some design and architecture lovers roll their eyes. There's also a very obvious commercial and low-effort element to all of it.

If you, your neighbors, and all of your friends are living in identical homes filled with cushions with cheesy phrases and giant spoons nailed to the walls (which, of course, are made of reclaimed wood), what actually makes your life unique? And it's not just interior design that's falling prey to this trend of spreading generic designs: you can see it pretty much everywhere.