Eleven of the Most Common Interior Design Mistakes

Interior decorating is a task fraught with peril. There are pitfalls everywhere for the first-time interior designer. Here are eleven of the most common interior design mistakes and how to avoid them.

Buying everything in one day

Decorating a new home is very exciting. It’s understandable that you’re in a rush to do it because it’s a job you actually look forward to doing. However, there is a downside to purchasing everything you need to decorate a room in a single day. You don’t want a room in which everything matches. Avoid buying everything from a single collection or even a single store. Decorating should be a layered process that takes time. Be patient and collect items over time.

Buying furniture without measuring

You might be surprised how many first-time homeowners run out to the furniture to buy sofas, beds, and other furnishings without measuring first. Before you go out to buy furniture for a room, get the measurements for that room and bring along a tape measure to the furniture store. They’ll probably have tape measures there as well but it doesn’t hurt to come prepared.

Picking pale paint

Larger spaces need more tonal depth. When selecting the main color for your home, especially in an open floor plan, select a paint color that’s a little darker than you’d normally go with because most homeowners tend to pick something that is too pale.

Area rugs that are too small

For whatever reason, homeowners assume that area rugs need to be smaller than the really do. A rug should extend to within 12-16 inches of the walls in a room. Anything smaller will seem insignificant and you may as well save your money. The front legs of your furniture should sit on the area rug so it isn’t "floating" in the middle of the room.

Opting for no headboard

A headboard is usually the focal point of the bedroom, but so many homeowners choose to go without it. If you really don’t want a headboard, paint the wall behind the bed a more dramatic color or hang some eye-catching artwork.

Decorating without help

Decorating is expensive, difficult, and emotionally draining (even though it starts out fun) so hire a professional to help or at least involve a friend or family member for moral support (and free labor).

Too many accessories

It’s better to save your money and spend a little more on nicer furniture that will last years than to spend it on cheap little accessories that are in fashion for a year or two and then dated.

Hanging frames too high

People have a tendency to hang frames higher than they should. You should be hanging frames so that the bottom of the frame is 8-10 inches above the top of whatever furniture is there. In a hallway where there is no furniture, hang frames so that the middle of the art or photograph is 66 inches from the floor.

A front door that blends in

You want the garage door to blend in and the front door to stand out. So have the garage door be a color that’s similar to the rest of the home’s exterior and choose a complementary color that really pops for the front door. You want your front door to be the first thing people notice about your home.

Too many collectibles

Almost everyone has a hobby or things they like to collect and it’s perfectly natural to want to display them. But exercise some restrain and limit such displays to a single area in your home. Group a collection together on a shelf, desk, or table. If you have more pieces than you can display, then you can have some fun rotating new pieces from time to time.

Having more than one focal point

Every space needs a single focal point to draw people’s attention. For a living room that’s usually a fireplace or a television. For a bedroom, it’s usually a headboard. For the bathroom, it’s the vanity. Just make sure that the focal point is obvious.

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Source: home.bt.com/lifestyle/house-home/interiors/11-of-the-most-common-interior-design-mistakes-and-how-not-to-make-them-11363945076829

I am an interior designer, artist, blogger, and consultant. I was born and raised in Boston. I love to travel. I am a certified dog lover.