Interior Design Mistakes That Ruin The Flow Of Your Space
Image Credit - Houzz
We firmly believe that everyone should have the resources to create the home of their dreams, no matter what their time or budget constraints. To serve you better, we post weekly updates on our lifestyle blog that offer handy tips to improve your knowledge of home decor and visual guides to inspire your next project. With that in mind, it occurred to us that we’ve written quite a bit about what you should do when you compose your design, but we haven’t touched on what you shouldn’t do.
Many homeowners tend to make some simple home decorating mistakes that ruin an otherwise beautiful home. It’s easy to fall in all sorts of traps when you’re decorating your place, so don't beat yourself up for your interior design mistakes and learn how to avoid them in future. When it comes to curating your home, there are a lot of little things that have to come together to create the perfect space. The good news: There is a solution to everything. To make us feel better about our décor blunders - and to preemptively avoid future errors - we have put together a handful of the biggest faux pas. Here are the most common flow-disrupting mistakes people make and what you ought to do instead.
IGNORING SCALE
Image Credit (left to right) - Studio McGee, Pinterest
When you walk in a room, how big does the furniture look to you? Size matters and it’s important to choose the right proportions when picking furniture and accessories for your home. You don’t want the rooms to look tiny or empty, so keep this in mind when visiting furniture stores. Have you ever seen a gigantic couch paired with a teenie tiny end table and thought, “That just looks off to me.” That’s because the designer ignored the principles of scale when they drafted their design.
FORCING EVERYTHING TO MATCH
Image Credit - Style By Emily Henderson
There’s a stigma that if something doesn’t match perfectly, then the design is flawed. Though this may be true for picking out your wardrobe, in home design, it can mean quite the opposite.
Everything need not match! It’s easy to get carried away wanting to match everything in the house. However, this is never a good idea. If all the furniture in your home is matching nothing will stand out. Instead, for a home full of character, try to look for diversity. Rooms benefit from the extra texture, pattern and colour from other like items like; a Persian or Oriental rug. When additional patterns and colours are brought in, a room gains depth, dimension and desirability.
BLOCKING TOO MUCH NATURAL LIGHT
Image Credit (left to right) - Style Mongers Of Bristol, Pinterest
As far as light bulb technology has come, scientists have yet to replicate the stunning beauty that comes from natural light - and we’re not sure they’ll ever quite get there either. We’ve seen too many designs don’t take natural light into account, resulting in spaces that feel completely cold and artificial. First ensure you have as much natural light pouring into the room as possible. The trick to ensuring every room in your house is comfortable and well-lit is to make a lighting plan that includes natural, ambient, task, and accent lighting. You can achieve this by layering your lighting at different levels and intensities.
NOT SETTING A REALISTIC, PRIORITISED BUDGET
Image Credit - Pinterest
The budget and financing component is vital. Many people fail to realise just how important establishing a solid budget for your design project is. And unfortunately, this is one area that can make or break your entire project.
Creating a budget plan will show where you can be lavish and where you must be careful with your money. Before you proceed with the design and implementation, you should determine how much money you have available and are comfortable spending on your interior design. Make sure you leave a little extra room in your budget to allow for contingencies and the perfect Persian centrepiece rug.
ADDING TOO MUCH DECOR
Image Credit (left to right) - Decoist, Pinterest
A big problem we’ve found in disastrous designs is people not being able to say, “Enough is enough.” When you go past enough, a cycle of over-decorating sets in where nothing is ever good enough - this can lead to a room that feels overburdened and fosters feelings of claustrophobia. The two cardinal rules of design: Less is more, and contrast is far more interesting. Indeed, too much of one thing is never a good idea.
KEEPING FURNITURE TOO CLOSE TO THE WALL
Image Credit (left to right) - Pinterest, Neptune
How easy is it for me to talk with you if you’re on the other side of the room? Unless you have a really small space and there’s no way around it, pushing all your furniture up against the wall can make for an awkward arrangement. This is a common mistake - we all do it without even realising there are other options to take into consideration.
It may seem counterintuitive, but if you want your room to look bigger, pushing all the furniture up against the walls isn't the way to do it. Doing that doesn’t give items any breathing room and reduces crucial white space, making the room look like a hallway. For the best flow, pulling the furniture away from the walls will make conversation areas more intimate and create a better sense of balance. Even in a small room, you can give furnishings some space.
ALWAYS FOLLOWING TRENDS
Image Credit - Icon Design
As tempting as it might be to keep up with the Joneses, no one knows your preferences better than you. Understandably, you might want to decorate according to the latest trends. However, trends come and go so you’ll most likely realise a few months later that you no longer like your home.
Before you start committing to your design choices, identify the colours, fabrics, and styles that appeal to you most. Just because they aren’t on trend, that doesn’t mean they can’t work for you. Opting for something timeless means you may only swap out select pieces, rather than redecorate an entire room.
USING THE WRONG SIZE AREA RUG
Image Credit (left to right) - Pinterest
Rugs are a crucial part of interior design in most homes, but often the last thing people consider when decorating. We are firm believers that the carpet is a unifying element that pulls a room together and should anchor the furniture pieces. Unfortunately, many people are making all-too-common mistakes with their rugs. Interior designers often warn that the biggest decorating mistake they notice is sizing. It’s vital to choose the correct size for the room, so instead of waiting, choose the rug first and follow it up with accents such as throws and cushions.
Another mistake decorators fall into is trying to match their rugs to their existing décor. This can be a huge mistake. The right Persian or Oriental rug can help anchor a room, define a space, or pull together a colour palette. The options for colours, patterns, and style are almost endless so be sure to keep your plan and colour palette in mind when choosing your Persian or Oriental rug. Here are some general guidelines to help you choose the right size rug for your room.
Featured Rugs (left to right) - FLORENCE, SAM, PIA
We covered a lot of information in this post and you may feel overwhelmed right now. You might feel like interior design can feel like this big, complex puzzle that you have to solve if you want to capture the perfect look. It doesn’t have to be. Remember - the goal of interior design is to craft a home that you think looks beautiful and makes you feel comfortable. Check out our latest guides, advice and inspiration on the blog archive.
You can check us out on Pinterest and Instagram to keep up to date with the latest trends and rug inspo. COVID-19 UPDATE - ONLINE SALES FULLY ACTIVE. Warehouse visits are now open by appointment only. House visits remain on pause for the time being. You can view one of the largest collections of Persian Rugs in London on our website and if you have any questions, you can contact us here.
