The seven deadly sins of interior design

Interior decorating is an art that takes time to master. First time homeowners anxious to decorate their new home for the first time make some crucial mistakes the first time around. Here are seven of the most common interior design mistakes you’ll want to avoid.

Ignoring scale

The term scale, in interior design, means the size of a thing and proportion refers to a thing’s size in relation to other things. You have to get the scale and proportions right to have a successfully decorated space. Because so many homes today are built with open floor plans, there are wide open spaces that are huge and they tend to be the trickiest to work with.

Neglecting function

First time home decorators get so caught up in thinking about how a room will look and how it will feel that they forget to consider how the room will be used. Interior decorating is just as much about function as it is about aesthetics so homeowners should consider the purpose of each room and the activities that will go on there when choosing how to decorate it.

Going overboard with themed rooms

There’s certainly nothing wrong with a themed room but you have to be careful that you don’t get too carried away with the theme. Also, choose themes that are meaningful to you otherwise it just won’t make sense.

Cheap furniture

First time homeowners are especially guilty of this mistake since money is often tight after purchasing a first home and they’re anxious to fill all the nooks and crannies with various furniture. In the long run, you’ll spend more money if you’re frequently buying, and then replacing lots of cheap particle board furniture. Cheap furniture that comes in a box and requires assembly isn’t built to last and is more fitting for a dorm room. It’s better to collect nice furniture slowly that cheap furniture all at once.

Furniture up against the walls

Homeowners want to maximize the square footage of each room so they push all the furniture right up against the walls but this isn’t ideal for conversation. Scoot all the furniture inward a little; even though there’s a little less space, it will allow for more intimate seating arrangements and better conversation.

Too many accessories and too much artwork

After the larger furnishings, your accessories and artwork are the finishing touch that completes the look of the room. But there’s a fine line between complement accessories that look nice and clutter that distracts. Keep you accessories and artwork in check or the space will begin to look messy.

Making everything match

Home fashions stores and show rooms display merchandise that belongs to a collection. Homeowners see it as convenient to purchase the entire collection since it’s a ready-made set and it’s sure to look good. But you don’t want your home to look like something out of a magazine, you want it to be your home so try to mix and match different pieces from different collections to find your own style.

Source: The Washington Post

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