7 Home Decorating Mistakes (and how to fix them)
Have you ever decorated a room in your home and felt that something was not quite right?
Or have you ever bought a piece of furniture that you love but it doesn't look well in your space?
I'm a believer that decorating your home doesn't have to be a stressful process, but something that's fun as you work on making your house into a home. If you’re having difficulty decorating your space, you may be committing one of the following decorating mistakes. I've made several, if not, all of these mistakes in the past and I thought it would be useful to share with you how I was able to fix them!
Decorating solely with trends
With all the advertising that's around us in our daily lives, it can be difficult not to fall into the trend trap. Decorating your home with solely trend pieces is not only expensive but it also means that your home will date faster as the space will feel outdated once we've moved on to the next trend. I make it a rule to only buy accessories in a trend that I'm currently loving and focus on classic pieces for larger items, like furniture. I like to focus most of my budget on classic furniture pieces that will stand the test of time and then spend the rest of my budget on smaller accessory items that can be easily and cheaply switched out as my taste changes.
Using rooms in your home how they were intended, not how your family lives
One of the biggest mistakes that I see and that I've committed myself, is using a space exactly how the builder intended and not how your family lives. When we first moved into our home, we had one spare bedroom that I quickly made into a guest room. Our home isn't big and we were always scrambling with how and where to keep the growing pile of toys. And then it suddenly hit me, why keep a room solely for the once or twice a year guests? I quickly got to work on turning our guest room into a playroom/guestroom/office space. Thinking creatively by investing in a day bed that could be used as a couch or a bed whenever needed, re-purposing the closet in order to create a small office space, and using the rest of the room as the space that it will be used the most, a play room. I challenge you to take a look at your home and think about how your family's needs rather than how a room was classified by the builder.
Hanging art too high or too low
You don't know how many times I've made this mistake. I'm usually the type where I'll hold up a picture to the wall and think yes, perfect! To only stand back and find that the picture is either too high or low. Argh! Hanging art at the wrong height can not only make your walls appear shorter but also changes the scale of your room. A good rule of thumb is to hang art 57 to 60 inches from the ground creating focal point in the middle of the painting.
Hanging curtains too low
Another decorating mistake that I've committed several times and still have a few to fix in our home is hanging curtains too low. Hanging curtains at the wrong height can not only make your walls appear shorter but also make your windows look smaller. And no one wants to have a window appear smaller, am I right?! Enhance the height of your room by hanging curtains as high as you can is best and it will make the room appear grander than it really is giving you a more refined look.
Using small area rugs
Using the right size area rug can help anchor the room and create zones in a large space. Many times, I see the mistake of using too small of an area rug which tends to have the opposite effect. A good rule of thumb to follow is to make sure that all the front legs of your furniture can sit on the rug. When selecting a rug for your dining room, ensure that the rug is big enough so that when the chair is pulled out, all four legs are still sitting on the rug.
Furniture not to scale
Paying attention to the scale of your furniture is very important because it can either make the room feel too small or too big. If you have a large space to furnish, using small scale furniture will only make the room feel even bigger. If you have a small space to furnish and use large scale furniture, it will make your room feel small and cramped. Using the right scale furniture can help you achieve a cozy, well furnished space that enhances the rooms attributes rather than take away from them.
Not having a design plan
When you start decorating your home, it's easy to get carried away and start decorating a space right away. My advice is to take your time and do your research. Get on Pinterest and Instagram and start saving pictures of spaces that you love. Then, start taking notes: What do you all these pictures have in common? Are the walls all one color? Are there pops of color? What finishes are you attracted to? Light or dark furniture? Etc. Once you determine what you like, then you can make a plan for your own space. Think about cohesion, you don't want to walk into a house and have every room be a different color. Rather pick one main color and 2-3 others as your pop of colors. The way I’ve accomplished this in our home is by painting our entire home a very light gray while incorporating accents of dark blue that I've carried out to several rooms in our home.
I hope these tips make a little easier when decorating your space and that it helps you create a home you love.
Happy Decorating!
