10 Common Mistakes Made When Decorating Your Home

Today's post is going to address 10 common mistakes homeowners make when decorating their home. Even the best decorators and designers make these mistakes from time to time, so here is how to avoid to make them! 

1) Never Paint First

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Probably the most common mistake that almost every homeowner has made is painting. We all get it, you buy a house and while all the rooms are still empty why not immediately go ahead and give the walls a fresh coat? As time effective as it may seem in the beginning, you're actually giving yourself a much harder time decorating your home in the long run (if you want all your pieces to coordinate that is...)

Get a plan started on your home design, and think about the fabric colours on your furniture, and the prints and designs on your throw pillows, paintings, and other accessories. If you don't already have these pieces, purchase those first before purchasing paint. Matching a paint colour to existing throw pillows and paintings is a whole lot easier than trying to find throw pillows or paintings that have a coordinating shade to your paint colour.


2) Have Variety in Furniture Scale.

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Another common mistake made in home decor and design is using the same size and scale throughout the room. A smart tip I had come across was to decorate your room with a ;city scape' in mind. Decorate with pieces of different heights and widths to create a balanced look. If everything in the room is at a similar height, or everything is at a similar width it makes the room look off, and in the case of having only used big pieces of furniture it can make a room feel visually crowded. 


3) Don't Buy Everything at Once.

Decor shopping is fun, but also costly. Quality pieces are not cheap, so take your time choosing pieces for your home. If you buy a nice painting at one store, and then go in the next and see another that you like, you may be forced to walk away without the painting you wanted the most. So to avoid this, browse around, see what is out there before you decide what to buy.  If you do see something you love, of course you can still buy it, but try and keep the receipt in case it doesn't work out in your decor. Also, try to budget ahead of time on how much you are willing to spend in each area of decorating your home. Establishing a budget may also be a helpful factor in deciding to purchase or not to purchase and won't allow you to over spend. 

4) Create a Focal Point.

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It is true when they say that every room should have a focal point. A focal point helps establish the rooms purpose and it helps you decide where to place furniture. For example; In a living room or family room setting a fireplace or TV is often the main focal point, it will be the first thing your eyes are drawn to when walking in the room. Furniture like couches and chairs face this focal point and help define it. A focal point is also a place for the eyes to rest. If you have too many focal points in one room it can make a room become confusing. In bigger rooms you may have two focal points, but try to remember that a focal point establishes a purpose and assigns a function for that space. Other examples of focal points besides a fireplace or TV are often paintings.


5) Get Rid of Things You Don't Like.

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This is something everyone will deal with at least once. Most of us have pieces of furniture that was handed down to us that we feel obligated to keep. If it does not fit within your style or decor and you don't like it, don't use it. Instead give it away to another family member who might love the piece, or paint it and transform it into something that may fit within your decor style. If you don't love the piece, you do not have to use it. However if you do have an antique piece of furniture that you absolutely love but don't know how to properly incorporate it into your decor you can consult a designer or decorator who may offer you tips and examples on how to incorporate it in your home. They often charge a flat fee for a consultation but may also charge hourly.

6) Arrangement - The Magic Number of Three.

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A lot of little decorations come in sets. Or if you are a collector you may have a lot of similar pieces. Often people place these individually around the house or room, as they feel they can't all be grouped together. In design there is "The rule of three" and it actually allows you to group similar or the same items in groups together. Especially if they are all different heights it makes it very visually appealing. 

7) Get a Second Opinion.

This one is very important, with anything that takes a long time to do, sometimes you can get so caught up in it that you can miss the mistakes you've made or become blind to certain things a "fresh pair of eyes" may catch instantly. I personally always ask friends for their opinions on things I do as I sometimes get lost in it all. So if you feel like something is missing from a room you've decorated, or you think it is completed, ask a friend who hasn't seen it every step of the way to browse around. They may catch something like a chair that looks out of place, a piece of furniture that is hidden from view from most angles of the room etc. things you would have never considered, and remember, it is always okay to ask for help as well!

8) Never Buy a Whole Set of One Furniture Line.

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I see this very commonly in houses of friends and family, or pictures people post of their homes online. They go to a showroom like Leon's or Ikea and purchase a whole set of one furniture line. Yes all the furniture pieces "match" and go together now but you're home will look like it is part of a showroom. Plus it is boring to have the same shade of sectional, lazy boy, ottoman, love seat all in one room. Especially as these are big pieces of furniture, it will make the room feel bulky, and as I mentioned earlier at Mistake #2, most pieces in a furniture line are the same scale. Instead opt for a couch or sectional from one furniture line, and add two side chairs from a different line in a different scale and colour. 


9) Don't Ignore the Traffic Flow.

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A traffic flow is very important in a home, it is the way you walk around a room to get from point A to B. Traffic flows are automatically created by the way you place your furniture. This traffic flow could currently work very well or very bad in your home. You always want to make sure your traffic flow is natural, A small obstruction in the traffic flow can make a big negative impact on how people get around the room. You always want to keep a direct path from entrance to exit. You don't want to force yourself and visitors to go around that chair and behind the couch to get across the living room. For example; if you have a living room with sliding doors that is used, you do not want to block this by a big couch, even if it is the spot where the couch would look best.


10) Show Your Personality.

With all the decorating shows and home decor magazines nowadays it is very easy to get lost in it all. You may have seen a living room image on Pinterest and can't wait to recreate it's decor set up. You want your home to be unique, and to represent you and your family. It is fine to have a well furnished and decorated home as long as it obvious that a family actually lives there and feels at home. You don't want your house to feel like a show home. Fill your house with items that you've collected from your travels, or things your children have made, pictures of your family and pieces you absolutely love. Combining these items with a well decorated home will leave an impression with your visitors at the end of the day but also will make your home feel inviting and comfortable.