Home Decorating Mistakes We Have All Made
Decorating your home allows you to express your personality and make spaces that show off your style. But not every idea turns your home into a Pinterest dream. In this article, we’ll talk about ten home decor mistakes and learn important lessons for anyone trying to change their living spaces.
1. Oversized Furniture
The idea that bigger is better doesn’t necessarily apply to furnishings. A large sectional sofa might look great in the furniture store showroom, but it can take over a small room in your home, making it feel cramped and not very welcoming.
Choosing a sofa that fits the space better ensures the room has a good balance and flow, creating a comfortable and visually pleasing atmosphere for everyone.
2. Color Clash
Colors are very important when decorating your home because they set the mood. Colors that don’t work well together or mixing patterns that clash will make you feel uncomfortable in your space.
The key is finding a good balance by picking colors that work well together. Having the right balance of colors makes your room look beautiful and makes it feel more put-together and welcoming.
3. Wallpaper Woes
Using wallpaper is a great way to give a room some character. However, selecting wallpaper to enhance your space can be challenging. If you pick the wrong pattern or don’t hang the paper correctly, it can become a home decor disaster.
Stay away from too busy and complicated patterns because they can make the room feel like too much. Take wallpaper samples home and look at them in your space. Imagine four walls, or an accent wall, covered in the design. This will help in your selection.
4. Mismatched Madness
Ensuring your furniture, accessories, and decorations go together is super important for a nice, organized look. If you have items that don’t match or have a common theme, it can make the room look messy.
Having things that match well makes the room feel complete and well-planned. You can decorate with an eclectic look by choosing your color palette first then your focal point. The rest is easy.
5. Trendy Overload
It might be tempting to bring in the latest design trends to make your home look really modern and cool. But if you use too many of these trends, your home can end up looking like it’s stuck in a specific time. Instead, it’s a good idea to choose timeless and classic pieces.
You can still add some of the latest trends but do it carefully so your home doesn’t look old-fashioned when styles change. This way, you can have a stylish home without making it seem like it’s stuck in the past.
6. Poor Lighting Choices
Making sure you get the lighting right is really important when you’re decorating your home. Choosing the wrong light fixtures or forgetting about using natural light can seriously change how your space feels.
Imagine using harsh fluorescent lights or not having enough light—it can make even the coolest-looking rooms feel dark and unwelcoming. So, paying attention to your home’s lighting is key to ensuring it looks and feels just how you want it to.
7. DIYs Gone Wrong
Trying out do-it-yourself projects can be pretty cool—they make you feel accomplished and let you add your personal touch. But if you don’t do them carefully, things can go wrong. Whether you rush through them or don’t do them with enough precision, do-it-yourself projects in decorating, like painting or building furniture, might not turn out as well as you hoped.
It’s important to take your time and do things right to ensure your DIY project looks how you want it to. Taking that extra care makes your DIY home decor project stand out and look great.
8. Neglecting Functionality
When you’re decorating your space, you want to make it look good, but you also want to make sure it works well for you. If you don’t think about the practical side of things, it can cause problems and make your space frustrating and inconvenient to use.
It’s important to consider how your design choices will affect your daily activities and how well your space functions. By considering both how it looks and works, you create a space that looks good and makes your life easier and more enjoyable.
9. Excessive Knick-Knacks
Decorative items and accessories can make your home feel unique and personal. But you’ve got to be careful not to overdo it. If you have too many, your place can end up feeling really crowded and kind of overwhelming.
To avoid that, pick a few things that mean a lot to you. Each item can stand out without making everything look too busy. Also, try not to fill up all your shelves and surfaces completely. Leaving some space helps keep things looking neat and inviting in your home.
10. Ignoring Scale and Proportion
Sizing your furniture is super important for making a room look good. You want to pick out things you like, but you also want to ensure they fit the space just right. If your furniture is too big, the room can feel cramped and weird.
But if it’s too small, the space might seem empty. So, make sure to think about how big your furniture is compared to the room. Each piece fits well, making the whole room look balanced and nice.
Have you made any of these errors in judgement and if so how did you resolve the problem?
Author: Kathy Owen
Kathy Owen is the founder of the home decor blog Petticoat Junktion where she shares tutorials on painting furniture and upcycling thrifty finds into unique home décor. Her DIY projects have been featured on the Home Depot Blog, Plaid Crafts, Behr Designer Series, and in numerous magazines. Kathy’s newest website is HappyHomeDIY.com
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Excessive knick knacks ruin the look of a home!! To that end I have been purging the last two years and my goal is to only keep what I love that speaks to my style. So that being said – I think a lot of this is the eye of the beholder…or homeowner!