5 Interior Design Mistakes To Avoid

Bree here, from Home Zone Furniture.

No matter what your interior design style may be, there are a handful of decorating mistakes that can get the best of even the trendiest homeowners. These flaws aren’t always immediately recognizable, but they can cause you to ask yourself, “What’s off in this room?”

If you’re currently wrestling with a room that just doesn’t seem to work, check this list of design mistakes to see if you can uncover the problem plaguing your arrangement.

Choosing the wrong sofa

In almost all cases, the sofa functions as the visual anchor of the living room. Once you choose your sofa, you can establish pathways within the room and choose smaller pieces of furniture, such as armchairs or a coffee table, to complement it. However, if the sofa is wrong, the room has a very slim chance of coming together in a sophisticated way.

A few things to keep in mind when choosing your sofa are size, function and color. The sofa should be proportionate to the room, be comfortable, and come in a color that’s in keeping with the rest of your home.

Too matchy-matchy

Design showrooms are beautiful, but they’re not livable spaces. If you’ve been inspired by a showroom, recreate the parts of the design that you like, but be sure to merge it with furniture and other decor that puts a unique spin on it. The key to an elegant, effortless space is picking and choosing design elements that work for you, all while prioritizing functionality and your personal style.

Disproportionate furniture

Nothing destroys the cohesiveness of a room more than disproportionate furniture. First, the furniture should be proportionate to the room it is in, and second, pieces of furniture within a room should be proportionate to each other.

Some examples of disproportion you may have seen include a small couch with big pillows, a coffee table that’s longer than a couch, or a small rug in the middle of a large room that doesn’t touch all of the furniture.

Lack of variation 

Everyone has a certain style they prefer. Whether you like contemporary, rustic or antique style, it’s easy to fall in love and return to that style again and again for the sake of consistency.

That being said, it’s important to mix up the styles in your home in order to create dimension and highlight your unique creative perspective. For instance, if you love the clean lines of your modern home, you’ll be amazed at how just one rustic, wooden coffee table in your living room will emphasize and enliven the modern style.

Ignoring crucial components

People often ignore two central elements of interior design: the entryway and the windows. Your entryway or foyer should be decorated to not only welcome guests into your home, but also to introduce them to your style. You don’t have to go overboard, but consider including some color on the walls, a side table with flowers, or beautiful mirrors on either side of the door. Choose something that is an authentic representation of your family and style.

Last but not least, it’s important to dress your windows properly. This isn’t just for privacy reasons — it’s also an opportunity to pull the various components of a room together. Need to integrate a glamorous style and earthy tones without adding more clutter to a room? Hunter green velvet drapes might be the solution!

Which interior design flaws do you try to avoid in your home?

Bree