The 25-year-old Houston-based designer has gone viral for sharing his interior design tips on TikTok and potentially hurting a few feelings. One of his most popular videos — “3 ways for your space to not look like a piece of sh*t” — has 3.4 million views. In it, Rehman advises viewers to get rid of cheap HomeGoods decorations and swap them out for actual art.
@bilalrehmanstudio 3 ways for your space to not look like a piece of sh*t … pt.2 #interiordesignmistake #interiordesignmistakes #interiordesign #interiordesigner #houstoninteriordesigner #bilalrehmanstudio ♬ Blue Blood - Heinz Kiessling
In another of his videos — the similarly titled “3 things making your house look cheap as f*ck” — Rehman advises against gray wood floors and matching furniture sets in bedrooms.
As we chatted with the designer via Zoom (with a camera angled strategically, so he couldn't judge our home office decor), he recalled the adventurous journey that ultimately led to him opening Bilal Rehman Studio.
@bilalrehmanstudio Avoid these mistakes to make sure your home doesn’t look cheap as f*ck XBR #interiordesignmistake #interiordesignmistakes #interiordesigner #houstoninteriordesigner #bilalrehmanstudio ♬ Blue Blood - Heinz Kiessling
The son of immigrant parents, Rehman always had a creative bug.
“Growing up, I always was rearranging my room and rearranging my parents’ house and getting in trouble for that,” Rehman says. “In an immigrant background, I was never really able to explore the idea of doing something creative as a career. I had to be an engineer, or a doctor or a lawyer — those were the parameters that my parents gave. But something in me decided to get an internship in interior design, and I haven't looked back since.
Rehman attended the University of Houston, intending to study computer engineering. But six weeks into his first semester, he decided to change his major to interior design.
“I feel like I am a great user of technology, and I enjoy exploring the new and the latest and greatest, but developing it was not my thing,” Rehman says.
His prowess for technology shows in his well-edited TikTok videos, which have earned him more than 554,000 followers. Having learned what works and what doesn’t in the home, combined with his knowledge of what does and doesn't work online, Rehman has figured out how to use the algorithm in his favor on various platforms.
“TikTok will show my video to people who, you know, are halfway across the world and have never met me,” says Rehman, “whereas Instagram is a little bit more curated to the accounts you already follow and they show you things that are similar.”
Despite the rules of the game, Rehman still manages to make an impact online — even if it’s not always well-received. He says that his videos are often met with mixed reactions, but those most offended are the ones guilty of the biggest interior design faux pas.
“When I made the first video that was all about the gray hardwood floors — in the comments, half of them were ripping me to shreds and the other half were agreeing with me,” says Rehman. “And everybody who was ripping me to shreds was like, ‘I just put gray hardwood floors in my house, and I love them.’ Or, you know, blah, blah, blah, whatever. And it's like, ‘Well, you're guilty of it, so of course you're offended,’ like, sorry.”
Rehman specializes in residential and commercial interior design. He says that one of the biggest mistakes first-time homeowners make is the failure to communicate their desired home aesthetic and find ways to align their individual styles.
“What is your style? What are we trying to achieve? What is the budget? This is the big argument that I see a lot, where one partner wants to spend an insane amount, and the other one is trying to save every penny, and it just never aligns," he says. "So I think communication is super important. Otherwise, shit can go downhill really fast.”
Rehman also says that some first-time homeowners tend to purchase lots of decorations and furnishings without taking the time to get to know the space and working with it. He finds that these homeowners often grow to hate their original purchases.
Rehman hammers home the importance of giving your space a personality and points out that as home interior design trends go, minimalism is on its way out.
Kim K Needs a Colorful Rug
“I think for a second there, everybody wanted a super minimalistic space that almost had nothing in it and was super clean,” says Rehman. “I think people are kind of tired of that now, because it lacks a lot of personality, and people are wanting to go into spaces that feel much more comfortable and much more clean and curated to who they are, as a person, and really reflects on what they like. So I'm seeing a lot more injection of antique pieces or things that people collect being put on on display, like vinyl records and things like that."Obviously, it's being done tastefully, not in a maximalist way, but in a way that really showcases the personality to where you can understand who lives here before you even meet the person. Whereas during COVID, everybody was spending so much time at home that they just wanted everything to be dialed back.”
Another home item Rehman cautions about is blackout curtains: “Totally in — in a media room or a bedroom, never in a living room or a dining room — that's always a huge mistake.”
For those with limited space in their home, Rehman says mirrors are a must.
“The more mirrors you have in your space, the larger your space is going to feel," he says. "Definitely go with the largest area rug you can fit in the space. My rule is always that, for example, in your living room, your area rug should cover 75% of your floor. That way you have the largest amount of rug that you can spread all of your furniture out and make it feel as large as possible.”
In 2025, Rehman anticipates that more homes are going to embody moodier motifs, and he, for one, is excited about it. He predicts “black will make a comeback.”
“I feel like for the longest time, everybody was doing all-white kitchens, all-white furniture, all-white walls, everything was white,” Rehman says. “And now people are really going into this dark, moody and sexy aesthetic, where they're not afraid of using black, or oxblood or burgundy, or these really rich dark colors. In 2025 you're going to see a lot more moody interiors, and spaces that feel really intimate and sexy.
