P lanning the décor of your home can be a never-ending exercise. Between selecting furniture, choosing from the paint swatches, picking art and placing them all together, there are a few mistakes one can make without realising it. So before you pat yourself on the back for doing a great job with your décor, keep in mind these seven mistakes that an interior designer will always notice, and how to avoid them:
1. Uniform height
If everything is the same size — either too big or too small — you room will turn into a boring space. Scale and proportion are the holy grail of design and one should fill the room with a combination of heights and shapes; a mix of scale will make the room intriguing and fascinating!
2. Dark furniture in small spaces
Stuffing heavy, bulky and dark furniture in a small apartment will make the room look cramped. The right choice would be light-weight furniture, lighter fabrics and a light-reflecting colour palette such as white, pale yellow or taupe.
3. Picking the wrong rug
It can be hard to judge the right size of a rug for your room. Putting small rugs can make the room feel disjointed and cheapen the décor. For the living room, it’s better to buy a larger rug that can fit at least two chairs or sofa legs. Leave the smaller ones for your bedside.
4. Hanging artwork too high
You may have found the perfect piece of art for your room but that is only half the battle won. By hanging it too high or placing it wrongly, the effect of the artwork is almost destroyed. Eye-level is a good starting point or a little lower too.
5. Blindly following fads
Just because it is on the cover of a magazine doesn’t mean it will look great in your home! Follow your gut feeling to what will really look good in the room and follow it up. Keep abreast with the trends but make design choices based on your personal style — you will have a room that you will love for years to come.
6. Single source of light
So you have bought an expensive piece of overhead lighting but is it really flattering to the décor? Perhaps you should try layer lighting. Multiple sources of light can make the space feel aglow instead of that harsh overhead light.
7. Furniture against the wall
Pushing furniture pieces up the wall is known to make designers go crazy as the room appears fragmented. One should focus on conversational furniture placements that will make the room appear more intimate and personal.
