8 Mistakes You Should Avoid When Decorating Your Home
Decorating or redecorating your home can be overwhelming, but it's also often one of the most satisfying, rewarding journeys you'll ever embark on. From surveying the space you're about to reinvent and brainstorming paint color ideas to imagining the accents and elements that will enhance your newly decorated home, just the thought of personalizing your home gets you bubbling with excitement.
Despite — or perhaps because of — the excitement of decorating a new space, it's easy for many homeowners or renters to make decorating mistakes. Read on to learn common decorating mistakes to avoid and some helpful solutions!
1. Overthinking
It's easy to get lost in the excitement when planning and mapping out the finer details of decorating your home. You could get caught up in these details instead of seeing the big picture, which can result in lost time, frustration or making last-minute decisions you end up unhappy with. If you're alone in the decorating process, you might find it even more challenging not to overthink decisions.
If you're fortunate to have a companion who can help you sift through the things to avoid when decorating your home, make sure it's someone who will help you stay on track so you can achieve your decorating goals with a clear mind. It's also often more enjoyable to work alongside someone and get their opinion.
Decorating should be an enjoyable experience. If you are overthinking or becoming anxious at the thought of decorating, take it slow and start small. You can list what's most important to you, start with the room you feel most confident about or take a break to relax and refocus. It may also be helpful to start by making one easy decision, like where to place your kitchen table. Furniture is movable, after all, and one small decision can lead to confidence in making the bigger decisions.
2. Painting First
You may want to paint your home before doing anything else, but choosing your furniture and decor first is generally the better way to go. After you have your furniture and decor, you can decide on suitable paint colors that help emphasize them. Complementary paint colors can help your decor and furniture catch the eye and stand out. If you paint first, you might find it difficult to find pieces that complement your walls, which can lengthen the decorating process and lead to increased frustration. Make sure to test your paint colors before committing to one, too!
3. Matching Decor to Walls
When it comes to decorating your home, less if often more. It may be easy to match the colors of your decor to your walls, but doing so can make the room feel overwhelming. The room can come across as being too busy, cluttered or possibly too picture-perfect. You could also risk losing your flair and personal touch when you make wall decor monochromatic.
Choosing items that emphasize your wall color might be the better way to go. For example, if you want your walls light blue, you can hang paintings with a few blue elements and a contrasting frame rather than hang every painting and photo in a matching light blue frame.
4. Hanging on to Old Items
It's something we're all guilty of. We feel bad about parting with certain items because they were a gift, because they were expensive or because we once loved them. So, we store them away and ignore their existence, fully aware that we probably won't ever use them. These items can become clutter and take up valuable space in your home. A good rule of thumb is that any items you haven't used in the last few months or won't use in the next few can be discarded or donated.
However, there's nothing wrong with hanging on to sentimental items, such as those that were handed down to us by someone we love. You can incorporate these items into your decor or store them for safekeeping.
When decorating or redecorating your home, keep the things you love that bring you happiness or peace, and try to avoid feeling bad about donating or getting rid of the items you no longer want.
5. Compromising Comfort
When shopping for furniture, think about comfort as well as style. If you have a partner or family, consider a sofa that can comfortably seat everyone. If family dinners are important to you, choose a dining table that can accommodate a group.
Large families often need larger furniture, so although you might find small sofas, tables and chairs stylish, their appeal will dwindle if you and your family cannot use them comfortably.
6. Hanging Objects Too High or Low
If you've opted for elaborate decorations like a chandelier or exclusive paintings, be sure not to hang them too high or low on the wall. This is another mistake to avoid while decorating, especially if you have high ceilings. Look for a hanging light fixture with a longer stem that will be attractive to the eye and not too high, and hang paintings and mirrors at eye level. You don't want your guests looking up at the roof to admire your featured piece, after all.
7. Overdoing the Pillows
Throw pillows add a cozy touch to furniture. It's not practical to overdo it by having too many, though. Too many pillows can take up valuable seating space and impact the aesthetic value of a room.
It's safer to stick with between one and four pillows per piece of furniture. For example, you might put one pillow on an armchair and place two pillows on either end of a sofa. You can mix and match designs to add balance and achieve decorative harmony.
8. Purchasing Low-Quality and Poor-Functioning Furniture
Whether lounging in bed, sitting down to watch TV or eating dinner at the kitchen table, you use your furniture daily. Low-quality furniture can break, wear out or be uncomfortable, making high-quality functional furniture a must for your decorating process.
Resource Furniture has the high-quality pieces you need to make your home more functional and comfortable. If you have limited space or need additional storage to accommodate a growing family, we can help. Each of our wall beds, tables, seats and storage solutions was hand-selected for their aesthetic value, quality and functionality.
Complete the Look With Resource Furniture
There are no rules when it comes to decorating your home. However, the unlimited possibilities mean there are some decorating mistakes to avoid to make sure you get the most out of your makeover experience.
Resource Furniture is here to help you enhance your space. If you want to create a multifunctional living area that offers efficiency and adds value, we have everything you need and more. Our wide array of wall beds, tables, seats and storage options will astonish you. Shop online, book an appointment at one of our showrooms or chat with our Design or Sales Team to discuss your dream project today.
