When you’re decorating, it’s impossible to get everything right – and nor should you. You should think of decorating as an ongoing process. Tweak your home decor to keep updating the feel of your room and remember that decorating isn’t a perfect science. It’s all about what looks and feels right to you, and what works in your spaces.
However, there are some common home decorating mistakes that you should avoid. We’ve come up with seven areas that people often get wrong when decorating their homes.
1. Choosing the paint first
One of the most common mistakes that people make while decorating is choosing their wall paint before they choose the colour scheme of the room and any other furniture. It’s best to choose the more expensive items of furniture first.
Not only is it cheaper and easier to change the colour of the paint on the walls, but you don’t want to end up unable to choose the sofa or table that you like because it doesn’t fit with a room that you’ve already painted.
Consider designing the colour theme of the room around a particular “statement piece”, like a sofa you really love or a kitchen island. With that in mind, you can ensure everything else compliments the focal point of the room.
Another idea is to paint three walls a neutral colour (such as white or cream) and paint the final wall in a bold, block colour. This gives your home decor with a strong visual identity without overdoing it. Red works well for this, as do certain shades of green, depending on the purpose of the room and the atmosphere you’re trying to create. Remember, you want to add personality to your home, not drown it in colour.
2. Getting the size or location of furniture wrong
When you’re choosing your furniture, make sure you measure the room carefully. It’s essential that you know the exact dimensions of the space that you’re decorating before you start shopping for furniture. If you don’t, you may find that you buy something that doesn’t fit the space or miss out on buying items because you’re not sure if they’ll fit – it’s always best to be prepared.
Try drawing a rough birds-eye-view of the room, sketching out where you want certain pieces of furniture to go. Even if it’s not exact, this can be a great for visualising the size of different elements of furniture and organising your home decor.
Bear in mind that you don’t want to overload your room and make the space look small. However, it’s also important to make sure your rooms don’t appear to be empty. Your furniture should look balanced within the room. One way to do this is to set your furniture away from the walls. By not pushing your furniture against the wall, you’ll create a cosy space that encourages conversation. This is especially important in living rooms.
3. Not having enough lighting
Another common mistake that people make when decorating rooms is to rely on their ceiling downlighting to provide enough light for the entire room. While downlights can light a room effectively, it’s usually best to add separate lighting.
Lamps and other gentle uplighting, as well as ambient lighting, is ideal in spaces such as living rooms or bedrooms. Task lighting and under-counter lights can also add functionality to kitchens or other spaces such as studies.
4. Overusing accessories like throw pillows
While throw pillows and other accessories are very on trend, it’s easy to get carried away. These types of accessories can offer a gorgeous finishing touch to a room, but they can also end up making a space feel cluttered and too busy.
It’s best to be sparing with accessories, especially to start with. You can always add to the room as your home decor ideas change, but try to make the accessories feel deliberate. Also, try to only use a couple of styles of throw pillow per room, or ideally throughout the house. The larger the variety of pillows used, the more haphazardly put together the room seems.
Keep in mind that accessories like throw pillows are intended to accentuate the existing feel of a room. Too many and you’ll overpower the original feel you were going for (and you’ll spend a lot of money along the way)!
5. Using the wrong sized rug
If you’re adding a rug to a room, it’s vital to make sure that the rug is the appropriate size for the room. It’s a good idea to mark out the space the rug will take up using masking tape to see how it will affect the other furniture in the room. Rugs that don’t fit in the room will make the space feel out of proportion. A rug that’s too small can make a space feel too open and empty, while a rug that’s too big will often make a room feel cramped.
6. Being scared to make a statement
Remember that home decor is supposed to be expressive. It’s your chance to make a statement about yourself and your home. Think about how you want your guests to feel in certain spaces. Should your decorations be cosy and welcoming, or elegant and stylish?
Don’t be afraid to make a statement with your decoration. While neutral colours are often a good way to begin decorating a room, if you use them too much you can end up with a bland space. Like we said earlier, consider taking a risk with a bright or bold colour or pattern on a feature wall. If you find it’s overpowering the room, it’s easy to change just the one wall, and if you get it right, it’ll be a stylish statement that sets the tone for your space.
7. Not knowing when enough is enough
Once you get started home decorating it can sometimes be hard to stop. Whether it’s enjoying the experience of revitalising your home or refusing to stop until you get it just right, you can find yourself decorating so much that your home ends up in a state of constant renovation.
Not only does this result in you feeling consistently unhappy with how your home looks, it can also be quite a financial drain. Don’t forget that no home decoration project can ever be perfect, and oftentimes the little inconsistencies can give your house that sprinkling of charm that makes it uniquely yours.
So now you know some common decorating mistakes to avoid, it’s time to get to work making the home of your dreams. Quotatis has plenty of other articles if you’d like more specific inspiration too.
For instance, we have a list of handy tips for if you want to know more about painting and decorating. Quotatis also have resources to help you if you’re decorating your new home as a couple. This can be an exciting project, but it also presents its own challenges, which this article covers.
If you’re looking for some professional help with your decorating project, simply fill out the form below. We’ll match you with up to 4 experienced and local painters and decorators who can help you create the interior space you’ve always wanted.