5 Big Decorating Mistakes We All Make And How To Fix Them
We all make decorating mistakes! It’s just a part of the decorating process. Here are 5 of the biggest home decor mistakes and how to fix them.
Let’s talk about 5 big decorating mistakes and ways to fix them! We all make them but the magic lies in how to correct them or how to avoid making mistakes in the first place. Here are 5 of the most common decorating mistakes we make and ways to fix them.
Ready to talk about 5 common but BIG decorating mistakes that you can avoid making? And if like me, you already have made these mistakes so I’ll show you how can fix them.
No decorating mistake is too be to be undone! Some just take a bit longer to undo than others!
So let’s get busy and start fixing our decorating mistakes! We all make them!
THE NUMBER ONE DECORATING MISTAKE… THE WRONG PAINT COLOR
Choosing the perfect paint color is not an easy task. But most of us know rather quickly if the paint color we have chosen is all wrong for a room.
THE MISTAKE…
I think choosing the wrong paint color is probably the most common decorating mistake home decorators make. UGH!
And it can be both costly and
Here are my quick tips for avoiding this mistake…
- choose a color from inspiration you find in your room
learn about the anatomy of a paint strip- discover the importance of the tone, tint, and shade of a color
- know if the color you choose is warm or cool
- paint lots of strips of different paint on a wall you are thinking about painting
- note how the color strips on your wall react to sunlight and artificial lighting
- if the color on your wall is very dark or a bright color, paint the wall white before adding paint strips to the wall
THE EASY FIX…
Go see 6 TIPS FOR CHOOSING THE PERFECT PAINT COLOR. This post expands on the tips above and guarantees paint color perfection! And you can see the colors I used at our StoneGable home.
For our Tanglewood home, we chose Benjamin Moore Simply White. Look for a post about why we chose this beautiful white soon!
Here are some very helpful posts about color and paint:
The Ultimate Guide For Choosing White Paint
Can You Mix Warm And Cool Colors?
CLOSE COUSIN OF THE BIGGEST DECORATING MISTAKE: TOO MANY WALL COLORS
The rooms in a home should flow together and make a beautiful and seamless transition from one room to the next! And one of the biggest ways to do that is to keep the
THE MISTAKE…
Painting the rooms in your home too many colors!
This decorating mistake can make an entire home look disjointed and confusing. No matter how much you might try to make a home look cohesive it won’t!
THE EASY FIX…
Choose a paint color that will work in most of your home. And get to it!
Also, you can choose a few paint colors, but build a color palette for your home around them and stick to those few colors.
Here are my best tips when painting rooms in your home…
- always pick out paint color with all the other colors of a room in mind
- keep is simple! It’s hard to choose paint colors that work with a whole house
- if you paint other rooms in your home other colors make sure they all work together and are a shade (black paint added) or tint (white paint added) of one main wall color
- all the trim of a home should be painted the same color, period!
And again, read and reread 6 TIPS FOR CHOOSING THE PERFECT PAINT COLOR
CHOOSING A RUG THAT IS TOO SMALL
I cringe when I see a small rug that is too small trying to pass as a great way to bring a room together. NEVER use a rug too small for a room. It screams “I’m a decorating mistake“!
The image on the left is our first dining room rug. Obviously, it is too small for the dining room, and the table and chairs. The image on the right is the same rug in a bigger size I got for my dining room to replace the too small rug. It is a much better size for our dining room.
Lesson learned!
THE MISTAKE…
Using a rug that is too small for a space.
Oh, goodness! I’ve made this decorating mistake a few times! So learn from me!
Many rugs in magazines and on blogs are really too small! They look lovely because the design around them is perfect. And they are shown in a “beauty shot” that does not show the entire room. If a wide shot was taken of the room the rug would show up as a glaring mistake!
A rug should fill a good deal of the floor space in a room. Don’t be fooled into thinking a rug looks fine only under a coffee table or a little bigger than a dining room table. And please make sure a rug sticks out on all sides of the bed it sits on and has lots of rug showing!
THE EASY FIX…
A great way to fix a rug that is too small for the area is to put a larger, neutral rug under it. Like sisal or another natural fiber rug that fills
Here’s a very informative post on How To Mix And Match Rugs Like A Pro with a bit more “rug” information.
And always, always, always know the return policy of any online rug you buy! So, if it is not perfect you can send it back.
CURTAINS THAT AREN’T HUNG HIGH ENOUGH AND DON’T FALL TO THE FLOOR
You might take a second look at the curtains in your home. If your curtains are not hung as high as they can go on a normal height window and room then they aren’t creating beauty in a room!
And on the other side of the decorating coin are curtains that do not touch or trouser crease or puddle a bit on the floor!
THE MISTAKE…
Low hanging and high water curtains
This is a big decorating mistake and the beauty of a room will be hurt by this, big time!
THE EASY FIX…
Repeat my curtain mantra…
HANG EM HIGH AND SWING EM LOW!
You don’t need expensive and heavy drapery anymore! They are very very dating. Go for a simple straight curtain that hangs as high up to the ceiling as possible and
ANOTHER BIG DECORATING MISTAKE… TOO MATCHY MATCHY
Okay, don’t get mad at me for this… especially if you are over 50. But I can’t stand matchy-matchy furniture. It screams, “I bought the entire set all at once at the store because I am not creative enough to do it myself”!
I know you are not like that my friend. But that’s not what your furniture is telling everyone! Shame on it!
Back in the day, a long time ago buying a room full of matching furniture was the style. Now, we want rooms that have interesting furnishings that play well together and don’t match!
I was a matchy-matchy buyer once too! My dining room table and chairs and buffet all matched and so did my bedroom suite ( OR set). When you see or hear the word “suite” (or set) it is a dead giveaway!
At the Tanglewood house, we don’t have a formal dining room but we are match-less here too! And very minimal. How freeing!
THE MISTAKE…
Furniture bought for a whole room that matches!
THE QUICK FIX…
Buy individual furniture pieces you love for a room and coordinate them! A little difference adds interest and life to a room!
All the pieces in our dining area were bought separately giving the dining area a fresh updated look.
If you love the set you have then that is wonderful! But if you have any matchy-matchy furniture you are feeling stuck with begin changing things out a little at a time!
At one time I also had matchy-matchy furniture!
But now my furniture is no longer matchy-matchy and I love being free of that “all one color wood” look!
By the way, this is not a quick fix but it is one that won’t ruin your budget!
ONLY ONE SOURCE OF LIGHTING
Oh goodness, this is a no-no! Most overhead lighting is ghastly on its own!!!!
Even if you have the prettiest chandelier you should still have some great table or floor lamps.
THE MISTAKE…
Only using overhead lighting is a decorating faux pas!
Overhead lighting is hard on the eyes and throws off harsh shadows. It is not a light becoming to humans!!!!!
THE EASY FIX…
We don’t necessarily have to get rid of overhead, but do add more lighting to work with it!
Think of light zones in a room. You want to overlap pools of light given off by lamps. Make sure there are no dark areas or corners.
And remember you don’t need to use the same wattage in every lighting fixture in a room. Put lamps on dimmers so you have pools of soft overlapping light in a room.
If you have made any of these decorating mistakes you are in good company!!! And if any of these mistakes are living in your home, now you know how to fix them.
Decorating is not a contest or a race. You don’t get a blue ribbon or trophy. It is individual and personal and a big wonderful learning adventure!!!!! Embrace it! Embrace all your wins and decorating mistakes because they have helped to make your house the home you love!!!!
You might also like…
Of all the sites I see, you are the VERY BEST, love your home.
Bonnie, do you want to be best friends? So kind!!!!! I LOVE what I do and I have a passion for helping women who love to decorate!
I loved everything you wrote ! Before I started reading your suggestions, I had two of your ideas ! Rug sizes and only one source of light! I’m a lamp person who enjoys reading and lamps provide that cozy element!
I’m so glad you liked this post! I hope it helped and inspired you, Mary Anne.
Great tips. I am guilty of matching furniture, even though I know better! Another decorating mistake that always jumps out at me is when pictures or art is hung way too high on the wall. I see this one alot and it drives me crazy!
Art and mirrors should be hung so they are at eye level.
Love your blog..your instructions are so helpful… Love your bedroom..could you share where you got the bed cover..love the look…
Thanks, Melissa! Here you go:https://rstyle.me/+zdv0BSx7FZ9YuAr5lqNRUQ
I am planning on replacing my bedroom curtains. How do you hang long curtains when your windows have the half moon shape at the top?
Hang them on the side of your window and even to the top of the arc. Doing this will look so pretty.
I love reading your blog. I notice sometimes we can be tempted into the “more is more” spirit. But when I have been at home, I think “godliness with contentment is great gain,” and over decorating or “add, add, add!!” is pursuing a thing I know I can not have from purchasing anything but contentment in Christ. I love the home, and I love decorating, but it is and needs to be for an atmosphere that is welcoming and restful and with calm simplicity. A few carefully chosen non knicknacks are better here. I think also if I tire quickly and always want to rotate the decor, maybe I do not have the right items. I know a refresh to a room can be fun for seasonal changes, and I don’t mean that. I think sometimes dissatisfaction can be the core of so many shifts, if there is not joy in the seasons or a fun spirit with loving the things you have. I do not want cheap quality, disposable decor. I don’t like feeling like
My comment cut off a little. I was saying I don’t love temporary type decor. I love fewer but higher quality things.
Thank you for sharing, Tracie!
Just want to say thank you for sharing your gift in decor, your spiritual wisdom, your perspective on life, and the freedom of your heart. I save all your blogs so that I can resource them in case I forget.
Decorating is my happy place in the natural realm and I’m constantly seeing new ways of doing things. Your blogs most usually confirm what I’m thinking, insightful, inspiring , and give me fresh ideas.
Thank you for pursuing your passion and sharing it with the rest of us!
Blessings
What a wonderful way to end my work day Cindy! Thank you so so much! You are very kind!
I have allot of OCD ?, trying hard to pull away from matchy-matchy furniture, but it’s hard!!! Lol lol. What is your opinion on dark, natural AND white/white-chippy wood all in the same two rooms? I love your style, looking forward to your thoughts 🙂
Wood tones are coming back into vogue and will probably stay with us for a long time, Cindy. I like dark, natural, and white (but not chippy- sand it and paint it). Choose one wood to be predominate and use the other two wood colors sparingly. All three of these wood tones can live together wonderfully.
Hi Cindy and Yvonne! I wanted to suggest to Cindy that perhaps she might want to start making note (“favorite” on computer or pin on Pinterest, cut out pictures in magazines) of the kinds of looks or rooms that make your heart skip a beat. Then “copy” those. Don’t forget that “cottage core” and “granny chic” are sneaking their way back into the decorating world. You might also be able to get the look you want just by painting some of your “matchy-matchy” pieces and using them in rooms other than the rooms you originally bought them for. Wink Wink. Also think of someone locally who’s home/style you admire and ask them for some suggestions or help. Most folks who like to decorate also love to share what they’ve learned. It will be a compliment for them and a win for you. Two out of two ain’t bad!
Great tips, Deb! Thanks
Hello Yvonne, I love your blog and the way you explain and share ideas. I love your round dining table. Would you kindly share where it is from.
Kind Regards, Nancy
Hi Nancy, we found it at Ethan Allen. Thanks for your kind words.
I agree your main living area should be the same color but if one wants to paint a child’s room a happy color or an office a moody colour, go for it. My whole house is painted a light griege and I love the calmness but my daughter, who has a three story home and four daughters has painted her main floor white but once you go upstairs each room has it’s own personality. Young children or in her case, teenagers need some color in their lives.
Great point Joanna. Rooms that are not in the main living area are often painted a different color.
Agree 100% with everything. Especially the paint color advice. Limit palette to a few (personally, I did SW Pure White all the way through!) & all trim should be the same color throughout! I see so many decorators do different colors of paint & trim in different rooms & I just think it has no flow, looks very hodge-podgy.