Are You Making These 25 Common Decorating Mistakes? 25. Toilet Rugs Toilet rugs are cut to fit around the toilet and sometimes have the carpet-like matching seat cover. Opt for a regular rectangular rug placed away from the base of the toilet instead. 24. Too Many Photos Youre either a photo person or youre not. Photo people feel very sentimental and have a hard time giving up the pictures on their walls and tables. The solution? Photo albums. When you have a lot of photographs of family, friends and trips, organize them properly in photo albums. You can organize albums by decade or event, and then keep them nicely arranged on a bookshelf. Then try to display just a few framed pictures at a time. Dont let this happen to your foyer. 23. Ignoring the Foyer The foyer is a terrific opportunity to make a statement about who you are and what your house is like. A foyer doesnt have to be something grand -- any statement is better than none at all. Use paint to add color and hang a beautiful mirror or painting. A mirror is great because its reflective, creating the illusion of more space. Use the horizontal surfaces to hold mail and keys when you first walk in. 22. Undressed Cables Keep wires hidden at all times with these easy solutions: 1. Use a staple gun to attach them to the back of furniture or along baseboards. 2. Find a cord cover that matches your wall color. 3. If the furniture isnt a valuable antique, drill a hole in the back for the cords to go through. 21. Out-of-Place Themes A homes decor needs to be authentic and provide a sense of where you are. Instead of dressing an entire room with an out-of-place theme, use themed accent pieces. Use accents to incorporate the look you enjoy without being overwhelming. If you have a house in the mountains and love the beach, display a collection of seashells or coral in or on a bookcase instead of designing an entire beach-style room. 20. Outdated Accessories Dont let your rooms feel dated by hanging on to older cabinets and especially hardware. Make small changes like switching the hardware on your kitchen or bath cabinets for a big impact. 19. Lopsided Furniture Some people just dont have an eye for furniture arrangements, so it helps to look at magazines to see what somebody else has done. If you have a sofa with a heavy bottom, dont add a big coffee table. Instead, use something light made of glass or with legs, and add a tall, thin floor lamp to help bring your eye up and make it more dynamic. Be sure to keep your furniture arrangements balanced to the eye. 18. Keeping Something You Hate One of the biggest decorating mistakes is keeping things you really dont want, like an existing carpet or a gift. When it comes to your home, if you really hate something, just get rid of it -- throw it out, give it away or donate it to charity. Drop hints to friends and family about your style to avoid receiving something that doesnt fit. 17. Too Formal While theres nothing wrong with a very formal approach to a room, you should still make people feel comfortable in it. If you have the space, use it. Give it a function, make it livable and ensure its welcoming. 16. Uncomfortable Dining Chairs Never have an uncomfortable piece of furniture, especially a dining chair. When purchasing a dining chair, sit in it and decide if you want to be there for a long time. Also, measure the height of your dining room table before you buy chairs to make sure theyre not too low or too high. 15. Visible Clutter Unsightly clutter and disorganization not only contributes to a stressful life but also ruins the entire look of a space. Invest in stylish storage baskets on a bookcase or shelf to keep small objects in their proper spot, or add an armoire for extra hidden storage. RELATED: Brilliant Ways to Organize Every Room in Your Home 14. Everything Matches A room that looks like its a page from a catalog is a mistake because people dont really live that way. Its designed to sell furniture and give you an idea of what you might have in your house, but you shouldnt be matching the look that closely. Make it eclectic -- not like a showroom you cant live in. You want to look from one wall to the other and be able to see something different. 13. Following Fads From beanbag chairs to lava lamps, be careful of trends as its difficult to get rid of those items once the fad is gone, especially furniture. Decorate in a style youll really like for a long time. Have fun with it, but be ready to recycle it when it goes out of style. 12. Furniture That Doesnt Fit Showrooms are much larger than your living room, so when you bring furniture into your home, the scale can be completely wrong. Follow these tips to avoid buying furniture that doesnt fit: 1. Draw a floor plan or purchase a kit so you can move the scaled pieces around for the best layout. 2. Dont try to put too much into any space. 3. Measure the room, and youll decrease the chances of making a mistake. 11. Too Many Color Patterns If you have too many colors or patterns in a house, it tends to look very busy, crowded and distracting to the eye. 10. Floating Rugs Floating area rugs are a big mistake people make. Use a measuring tape to create an outline to get a feeling of where you want the rug placed before purchasing the piece. A rug should always be connected to furniture -- an anchor for the seating group. For a successful furniture arrangement, place all the front feet of the furniture on the rug. 9. Improper Lighting In any room in the house, you want different types of lighting for various times of the day. Dimmer switches are a great secret weapon -- theyre cheap, easy to install and give an entire range of control of the mood and feeling of a space. Understand what kind of lighting you want in each space, paying attention to a rooms function when determining proper lighting. 8. Frames Hung Too High If you have to bend your neck to see your art, then its hung too high. You generally dont want to be looking up at your artwork, whether sitting or standing. Eye level is always a good height. Look at the top of your door frames and if your pieces are big enough, they should just reach the top of the door frame and go down from there. A good rule of thumb when youre hanging artwork over a sofa is to make sure the bottom edge is about six inches up from the top of the sofa. 7. Tacky Couch Covers If you love your furniture, there are more interesting ways to protect it such as using a protecting spray or throw blankets and pillows. Use a nice throw blanket that doesnt overpower the couch and accents rather than hides the piece. Keep it simple and sleek. 6. Pushed Back Furniture Get the furniture off the walls and bring it to the center of the room. Sometimes the backs of furniture are beautiful, and a sofa with a console table behind it is a great place for a gorgeous display. Make it communal and create a focal point, which will enlarge the space. 5. Ignoring Windows Besides paint, window treatments are the easiest and least expensive way to change the look of a room. A good rule of thumb is to hang curtains two inches above the frame of the window. If you have high ceilings, hang them all the way up to the ceiling to make the room seem bigger. For a quick and simple look, add a small, linen Roman shade to block light and add an extra element to the space. 4. Fear of Color Many people love color but are too scared to use it. Try a paint color in the room to make sure you like it and that it works with the space. Live with it at various times of the day as a painted wall will appear different in the morning, afternoon and at night. If you dont like it, paint over it. Color is a great punctuation and doesnt have to be overbearing. 3. Too Many Knickknacks Knickknacks, decorations, tchotchkes, accessories, call them what you want, but we all have too many of them. Rotate what you have, and if you really like something but its been out for a while, store it for a bit. You dont have to have it all out at once and every surface should not be covered. Edit your collections so theyre pointed and look good as a small grouping. 2. Pillow Overload If the pillows actually hinder being able to sit on a couch or lie comfortably on a bed, then its obviously too much. Instead of buying so many pillows, spend your time, energy and money decorating an area of the room youre actually looking at when sitting in bed. 1. Fake Flowers This is a controversial topic, but fake flowers (and plants) are a mistake. They gather dust and dont bring life into your home like real flowers, which look and smell better. Fresh flowers are expensive, but there are other things you can do instead of buying them all the time. Put lemons or other fruit in a bowl for a punch of color. Or, use some dried natural material like curly willow or bamboo stalks for a fresh look.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 10:02:40 +0000
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