r/HomeDecorating: rules, karma requirements and posting culture
A 1.4 million member photo board where people post a room and ask what it needs. Friendly, opinionated, and guarded by an AutoModerator that holds about a quarter of posts.
Home Decorating Ideas · Open on Reddit
- Members
- 1.4M
- New posts a day
- 88.6
- Comments on a typical post
- 5
- New posts removed
- 28%
The short answer
r/HomeDecorating has an account age and activity requirement, but the number is not published. AutoModerator removes posts from accounts that do not meet it and tells you to message the moderators for a review. In our sample about 24% of posts were held by AutoModerator and about 69% stayed up. Almost everything is a photo of a real room with a short question or a before and after. There are no written rules in the sidebar, so the format of what stays up is your guide.
Who posts here
Posters are ordinary people with a room they cannot get right: first apartments, new builds, renters who cannot drill a wall. Nobody is expected to know design terms, and replies are plain advice like add a lamp or move the rug back. A question with no knowledge behind it is fine. A question with no photo gets little.
- Renters and first-time buyers setting up a place and asking what is missing.
- Homeowners partway through a bathroom, kitchen or fireplace decision who want a vote on option A or B.
- People showing off a finished room or a before and after, often furnished secondhand.
- Hobby decorators in the comments who answer with specific pieces, colours and quick mock-ups.
Karma and account requirements
What it takes to get a post through in r/HomeDecorating.
| Karma | No number is published. AutoModerator checks account activity, which in practice means some history on Reddit before you post.Mods' wording: “you do not meet the minimum requirements regarding account age or activity to post a link” |
|---|---|
| Account age | A minimum exists and is not published. If you are caught by it, the removal message says to message the moderators and the post will be reviewed.Mods' wording: “If you are NOT a spammer, please message the moderators and your submission will be reviewed.” |
| Post type | Photos, in practice. About 72% of posts are images and another 18% are links, mostly to image galleries. Text-only posts are around 8%. |
| Post flair | None. No post in our sample carried a flair. |
| Written rules | None published in the sidebar or submit text. |
What AutoModerator says
The moderators' bot leaves these messages on posts. They are the closest thing to an official statement of the thresholds.
Your submission has been automatically removed, as you do not meet the minimum requirements regarding account age or activity to post a link. If you are NOT a spammer, please message the moderators and your submission will be reviewed. Thank you!
What you can post
| Post type | Subreddit setting | Share of recent posts |
|---|---|---|
| Text | Allowed | 8% |
| Link | Allowed | 18% |
| Image | Allowed | 72% |
| Video | Not stated | 1% |
| Poll | Not stated | 0% |
What happens to a new post
Where the most recent posts ended up. Sample size: 100.
- Stayed up69%
- Removed by Reddit's filters4%
- Held by AutoModerator24%
- Deleted by the author3%
Reddit counts a removal by the subreddit's own AutoModerator rules as a moderator removal, so that share is not all human. Held by AutoModerator means the post is waiting in the mod queue.
What happened when we posted here
We have posted here ourselves. This is how our own posts and comments fared.
- Stayed up
- 100%
- Removed by Reddit's filters
- 0%
- Removed by moderators
- 0%
- Period
- June 2026 to August 2026
The culture
r/HomeDecorating is big and busy: about 1.45 million members and close to 90 posts a day. The standard post is a photo of a room and a short ask. What is it missing, which of these three, is this light too big, how do I hide this. Titles run about six words and a third are questions. The body, when there is one, is a few lines about constraints: renting, a budget, a couch that has to stay.
The other staple is the reveal. Before and after posts and rooms built up slowly from thrifted or inherited pieces take the top spots, with scores in the thousands. Choice posts with numbered options draw the biggest comment counts, into the hundreds and sometimes far higher, because anyone can vote.
The live argument is about AI. Commenters often reply with an AI-edited version of the poster's photo, and some posters now ask for no AI renderings, only advice from people. One of the top recent posts complained that AI suggestions are making every room look the same. Rooms with visible personality get the warmest response.
What lands
- A before and after of a real room, including small ones like a pantry or a bathroom refresh.
- A room put together over years from secondhand finds, with a line about how it got there.
- A numbered choice between options: cushions, a bench or a table, two bathroom layouts.
- A specific eyesore with a bit of humour, such as an ugly appliance a landlord installed.
- A bold decision you already love, like a dark wall colour, posted with a question that invites opinions.
What gets removed or ignored
- Posts from accounts below the unpublished age or activity threshold. AutoModerator removes these and says so.
- About a quarter of posts in our sample were held by AutoModerator. No moderator removals with a visible reason showed up, so we cannot say what else triggers it.
- Reddit's own filters took a further 4% or so.
The unwritten rules
- Show the whole room, not a corner. People comment on the rug, the TV height and the curtains whether you asked or not.
- State what cannot change: the couch, the tile, the lease. Otherwise the top answer will be to replace it.
- Expect honest opinions. Commenters are kind in tone but will tell you the picture is too small or the light is too big.
- Product names come up naturally in comments and nobody minds a what is that couch question. About one comment in ten carries a link, mostly an image.
- If you do not want AI mock-ups, say so in the post. Plenty of posters now do.
Self-promotion
There is no published rule on self-promotion. What exists is an AutoModerator gate on new or inactive accounts that names spammers as its target, so the moderators are clearly screening for it. In the posts that stay up, promotion is close to absent. People name where a piece came from when asked, and a few show their own handmade work as decor in their own home. Nothing in the visible feed looks like a shop or a service advertising, and a post like that would stand out badly among personal room photos.
How people write here
- Typical post length
- 55 words
- Typical title length
- 6 words
- Titles phrased as a question
- 33%
- Typical comment length
- 16 words
- Comments that include a link
- 10%
Top keywords
The words and phrases that show up far more often here than in other communities, from recent posts in r/HomeDecorating.
- room 47 posts
- rug 20 posts
- living room 18 posts
- wall 20 posts
- color 16 posts
- furniture 13 posts
- kitchen 13 posts
- paint 10 posts
- space 16 posts
- wallpaper 7 posts
- walls 10 posts
- couch 9 posts
- bathroom 10 posts
- cognac 5 posts
- sofa 7 posts
- warm 9 posts
- table 10 posts
- moved 13 posts
- painted 6 posts
- sectional 4 posts
- art 8 posts
- ideas 12 posts
- tiles 5 posts
- rugs 5 posts
- ignore 7 posts
- dining area 4 posts
- wood 6 posts
- idea 15 posts
- paint color 4 posts
- brown 6 posts
- polished concrete 3 posts
- decor 5 posts
- colour 5 posts
- decorate 4 posts
- cozy 5 posts
- green 7 posts
- area 9 posts
- modern 6 posts
- matte 3 posts
- look 15 posts
Common questions
How much karma do you need to post in r/HomeDecorating?
No number is published. AutoModerator removes posts from accounts that do not meet a minimum for account age or activity, and its message does not say what the minimum is. If you are caught, you can message the moderators and ask for a review.
Can I promote my products or design service in r/HomeDecorating?
There is no written rule either way, but the subreddit screens new and inactive accounts as possible spammers, and the feed is almost entirely personal room photos. Posts that stay up do not advertise. Naming a product in reply to someone who asked is normal.
Why was my r/HomeDecorating post removed?
The most likely cause is the account age or activity filter. About 24% of posts in our sample were held by AutoModerator, far more than were caught by Reddit's own filters. The removal message invites you to message the moderators for a manual review.
What kind of posts work in r/HomeDecorating?
Photos of your own room with a short, specific question, or a before and after. About 72% of posts are images, titles are around six words, and the typical post gets four or five comments. Choice posts with numbered options and makeovers on a budget get the most attention.
Data as of October 4, 2026. Numbers come from public Reddit data (the Arctic Shift archive and GummySearch) sampled on this date. Removal share counts posts taken down by moderators, AutoModerator or Reddit's own filters. Banner and icon belong to the community. Moderators change rules without notice, so treat the sidebar as the final word.
