You don’t have to be a professional interior decorator to understand some basic principles of interior design that will help you create a home with style.
We’ve assembled a list of tips that address 10 of the most common home decorating mistakes and how to avoid them. This article is not about creating the perfect magazine-worthy home decor or intimidating you with designer jargon and time (and/or money) consuming tasks. Our aim is to present easy DIY fixes with the basic information needed to implement them.
Whether you want to rearrange furniture in your living room, update your bedroom decor, create a guest room, shop for a dining room chandelier, or are starting from scratch with your first studio apartment, these tips will help you make the choices that are right for you and your lifestyle. Throughout this lens, you will also find links to other pages that explore some of these topics in greater depth from to , and more.
We hope the tips included here will give you the confidence to decorate and accessorize your home to create a welcoming, comfortable place without worrying about making mistakes or wasting time or money — and one that reflects your unique personality and style.
1. Up Against the Wall . . . Not!
Many people think a room looks bigger when all of the furniture lines the walls around the room. And if you want a dance floor, that may work, but for most purposes, furniture looks better and a room looks more inviting when the pieces are at an angle or surrounded by space.
Try angling your bed or sofa. Or float that large sofa facing a fireplace, two smaller conversational seating groups, or a pair of chairs arranged at an angle. Depending on the shape, size, and scale of your room, consider using two loveseats or settees instead of a large sofa.
Walk through the room and note the interior designer traffic patterns. Move the pieces around you find an arrangement that works with the space and with the traffic flow. That is, do not block access to other rooms or doors with furniture arrangements or individual pieces. You will want to direct traffic while allowing easy access to pathways in, out of, and around the room.
Consider the purpose of the space as well. Are closets or bookshelves accessible? Do you have a great view you want to feature? (See focal points, below.) However, do not automatically push all furniture against the walls. Living room furniture placed around the perimeter of a room does not encourage conversation and can create a cold feeling or ambience. A chair without a nearby light source will not become a place to read the latest book by your favorite author or complete your latest craft project. A long and wide island in the center of your kitchen between your sink and refrigerator means you have to walk around it every time you interior home design go from one to the other.
If you aren’t sure if the convenience of that much more counter space is worth the extra miles you’ll be walking, or if that sofa will look too large in your living room, try arranging some large cardboard boxes to approximate the size of the furniture piece before you purchase it. It will help you visualize the size and mass of the furniture in a very concrete way and you can get a better idea of how the space will work in three dimensions instead of two. You can actually walk around the room and see how it fits, if there is enough room to walk past it, if it looks too overpowering or is too small to anchor the space, and so on.
Furniture Arranging (and More!) For Tekkies
If you are tech-savvy, you might want to invest in floor plan software that will make it even easier to plan a single room or an entire house. Some of these apps have interior designer free trials you can download from their websites which may provide enough features for you to do this at no cost.
Live Interior 3D is an interior designing software for Mac. Simply create a 2D plan or use one of ready-made ones add different furniture and objects then switch to 3D view to see how your design will look in reality. Collection of supplied 3D objects and option to import 3D objects from Google 3D Warehouse.Features: 1000+ Object Library. 50+ editable interiors and plans.
Are you looking to update a living room, bedroom or other space but aren’t really sure where to begin? HGTV Home Design & Remodeling Suite makes the process a cinch. Easily draw out your room. Then choose materials and furnishings just by dragging and dropping. And it’s easier than ever–no design experience necessary! Just point and click!
2. Picture this Getting the Hang of It
Hanging pictures or other types of wall decor too high or using pictures that are too small for a particular spot are perhaps the most common home decorating mistakes. Unless you are creating a period wall full of dado-to-frieze pictures, wall decor should generally be hung so that the middle of the picture (or grouping) is at eye level (from either a standing or sitting position, depending on where it will be viewed from) or a little (2 to 3 inches) lower than eye level, with spacing between pictures fairly equal or visually balanced.
Pictures should also be hung in a way that is proportional to their location. A single small picture hung over a sofa will not look right. Neither will two small ones spread too far about. They will be out of balance.
As a rule of thumb, artwork should be placed no more than five to nine inches above a sofa and no more than seven to ten inches above a table. The placement of your artwork should also relate to its surroundings. As a guideline for proportion, one or more pictures (including mirrors or other wall decor) should cover about 2/3 of the wall interior design ideas space above the piece of furniture. For example, if you have a 6 foot wide sofa, plan on a single picture or an arrangement that is about 4 feet wide and centered above the sofa.
Always experiment with different arrangements and combinations of pictures before starting to hang any of them. There are two ways to arrange pictures: Symmetrical and asymmetrical. Symmetrical groupings create a more formal feeling while asymmetrical arrangements are more casual. Items that are the same or similar in size, shape, and/or other attributes lend themselves to symmetrical arrangements — one in which items are hung equally around a center line or point. It is easier to create balance with a symmetrical grouping, but it is not difficult to balance an asymmetrical grouping either, although you’ll have to rely on a bit of trial and error to create visual balance instead of a level and ruler or tape measure.
A grouping of pieces different in size, shape, color or other attributes will work better in an asymmetrical arrangement. Such a grouping should be hung so that the visual weight of the objects appears balanced. One way to do this without making a lot of unnecessary holes in your wall is to lay out the arrangement on the floor first, adjusting the grouping until you have arranged the items in the most pleasing (least lop-sided) way.
You could also trace the outlines of the items onto a roll of newsprint or inexpensive paper (that will contrast with your wallcolor) and arrange those on the wall with a hinge made of blue painter’s tape on the back. (Other types of tape may remove paint from your wall.)
Hint: If you are working with different sizes, keeping the larger pieces on the bottom of the arrangement will anchor your arrangement and keep it from looking top-heavy. Reposition the shapes until you are pleased with the arrangement and then use that as a guide for hanging the actual items.
Bear in mind that a vertical arrangement makes a room appear taller and a horizontal arrangement makes it look wider. You might also want to consider hanging one larger item surrounded by a circle or rectanglular arrangement of smaller pictures. This type of arrangement is particularly effective for displaying a group of photos on a hallway wall.
Whichever arrangement you choose, frames and mats should complement both the artwork and your decorating style or theme. A framed mirror can add dimension and light, and is especially effective when it reflects something beautiful, such as a window overlooking a garden or an indoor flower arrangement, for example. Do not be afraid to hang artwork with a mirror as part of the group. Unless a mirror is large enough to look balanced on a wall by itself, you can keep the proportion pleasing by adding pictures next to or around the mirror.
Once you decide on an arrangement, start hanging from the center or largest item and then, if there is more than one item in the center of your arrangement, hang any that go above and/or below the central piece. Continue out, hanging items from top to bottom, until all of your pictures have been hung. Whether you use picture hooks, molly bolts, toggle boths, picture nails, or some other method will depend on the type of wall construction and surface, so be sure you have the right type of fasteners available — and if your home is a rental, you may be restricted to non-invasive methods such as suspending frames from a railing or keeping your artwork lightweight enough to use magnetic or peel-and-stick types of picture hangers.
3. Become a Groupie (No, not that kind)
are an important part of home decorating. They can make or break a room and are a great way to show off your collections and personalize your home decor. However, don’t over-do it. If you have a large collection, put some of it away and rotate the items. Group the items together in one place rather than spreading around throughout the house. Think about every accessory you put in a room. You want it to reflect your personality and taste, but not look cluttered. Consider the scale of the items as well as their colors, purpose, and shapes. Group them in odd numbers or creative ways, but keep them together. Aim for a small grouping of your favorites and either pack the rest away, sell them, or donate them to charity.
4. That’s Odd Off-center is On-target
Unless your display is of Noah’s Ark, avoid putting things in pairs. Odd numbers are far more interesting. A group of three or five items is usually better than two, four, or six. Items that are different
in shape, height, color, texture or some other dimension should be balanced, but that almost always means they should not be centered and spread out or lined up evenly in a straight line.
The third picture in the section, above, would not be as interesting if the lamp was removed and the flowers were centered in front of the mirror. By adding the taller lamp, and moving the flower arrangement to one side, the arrangement has balance and more interest. The lamp ties the grouping together and anchors it. Display your collections or objects grouped by color, material, or theme. Vary the heights, shapes, and textures for more interest.
5. Think Big Bigger IS Better!
Contrary to what many think, a small room decorated with small furniture is usually not the best way to go. One larger (but not huge) “statement” piece — such as an antique armoire, bookcase topped desk, or an overstuffed arm chair with a carved wood frame — will draw the eye and create an airier atmosphere than a lot of smaller scale furniture. Start with your statement piece and arrange the other items in the room around it.
For example, many smaller rooms often have a shelving unit against one wall, either freestanding or in the form of shelves attached to shelving strips affixed to the wall. Whether you use it for media and/or books, display, or other storage, replace the open shelves with an armoire to hold all of that “stuff” instead. Perhaps angle the armoire in a corner of the room and arrange your seating and occasional tables to complement that. You’ll be surprised how much better the space will look and feel. See for related information.
Still Overwhelmed by Color? Does this sound like you?
* You get easily overwhelmed by thousands of paint color choices out there and don’t know where to start
* You can’t make up your mind, because a lot of the colors look the same to you, and you don’t know which one is right
* You don’t understand why you have to go through all that agony and overwhelm when all you need is a “simple” beige/gold/green/blue/etc – shouldn’t there be an easier way?
* You feel like you spend more time choosing and stressing out over the paint colors than actually enjoying them
* You want a beautiful, tasteful home, but can’t afford to hire a color consultant
* You hate it when the color that looked perfect on a swatch turns out totally different and all wrong on the walls
* You are tired of buying paint color samples by the dozen and all that endless sampling that leads nowhere
* You would like to try something new, but afraid to make a mistake – so you keep living with the same wall colors all your life
Then You are Going to LOVE
.
7. Lighten Up In 3 Easy Steps
1. may be the most frequently overlooked element of home decorating. Besides the fixtures being design elements themselves, good lighting is related to function (as in task lighting, reading lights, etc.) and mood. Lighting should be chosen not only for the style and scale of the light fixtures but according to what the purpose of the room is and what type of ambience you wish to create. Dark rooms can be depressing and overly bright rooms can be harsh on the eyes and the nerves. Each room should have multiple lighting options, from a dimmer switch for the dining room chandelier to table and floor lamps near work and reading areas. Accent lighting can enhance your collections, artwork, or even your prize schefflera.
2. Along with the above, the most frequent lighting mistake in home decor is a dining room chandelier that is either too small (almost always) and/or hung too high. A dining room light fixture should be centered over the table and should not be flush or even semi-flush to the ceiling. It should hang above the table, with the bottom of the fixture no higher than 3 feet above the table. It should also be no smaller than aboiut 9 to 12 inches less than the width or diameter of the table.
A table that is 4 feet wide and 6 feet long should have a chandelier that is 36 to 39 or 40 inches in diameter. A round table that is 5 feet in diameter (width across the middle) should have a chandelier that is no smaller than 48 inches in diameter. (For larger tables, my personal preference is to hang the chandelier even a little lower than 36″ above the table as it makes it a more dramatic focal point). The chandelier should be on a dimmer (soft light is more flattering and conducive to dining) and don’t forget the candles.
3. Last but far from least — Do not neglect the importance of sunlight (or the ability of ultra violet rays to fade furnishings and artwork). When thinking about room lighting you should also pay attention to the direction the windows of the room face, when it is likely to have the most sun, if you want the maximum exposure to that sun or it will be too glaring, if you want the light but not the UV exposure, or if you want to block the sun (in a media room or perhaps the bedroom of someone who works the night shift and sleeps during the day).
These things should all be considered when selecting the appropriate type of window treatments. Do you need to filter light (semi-sheers and similar types of curtains), block it (light-blocking shades, blinds, and/or heavier draperies), create privacy, not block a great view, especially if it is as grand as a New York skyline? All of these lighting-related factors should be considered in deciding on window treatments.
10. Flying Carpets Belong in Fairy Tales
Rugs are not supposed to float or fly except in fairy tale air space. Rugs that are too small are not only hazardously easy to trip on, they float in the middle of a floor, break up a room and are distracting. Before you decide on a size for a rug, use blue painters tape to outline where you want the rug to go.
A rug should anchor the furniture. If a seating arrangement,
at least the front feet of the furniture should rest on the rug. Similarlly, do not put a too-small rug under the dining room table and have the chairs float around it. It should be large enough for the chairs to fit on as well so that the furniture is physically and visibly connected. (BTW, that’s not the only problem with the room in the above left photo.)
A room-size area rug should have a 9 to 12 inch border of floor showing between the rug and the wall. If using a room-sized area rug, it should be large enough to tuck under the edges of any furniture around the room, such as servers, or china cabinets. If you already have one that it is too small, use it somewhere else.
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