Common decorating mistakes you should avoid

Leigh Leigh
CASA HARAS, ESTUDIO GEYA ESTUDIO GEYA Dining room
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Our home is the space where we spend the highlights of our life: with our family, weekends and special occasions. Additionally, it determines how we feel everyday. Life is just fantastic when we wake up in a tidy house, decorated to our tastes that is light and airy. This is much better than being in a home that is dark, cluttered with objects and has no definitive decorative style. 

If you're starting from scratch or if you are redecorating, this is the book of ideas where you will find those common mistakes that we often make without even knowing it, ruining the style of our home!

The most important thing is that your home is decorated to your and your family's tastes as well as being functional. You don't always have to be on top of the latest trends when it comes to decorating, because the hottest trends may not suit your needs or desires. In the same vein, we must avoid trying to imitate styles that we see on television or in the movies – there needs to be a logical way to implement trends. 

If you follow the advice that we give you in this book of ideas, you can create any style that you choose in your home, while keeping it practical and comfortable for your family. 

So if you're looking for inspiration, here at homify we offer a variety of images so that you can choose the right style for your home.

A ceiling is not enough

Often we fall into the mistake of installing a ceiling in a room and then we forget about it! But just like every room has a particular use, every ceiling should have special lighting. The best option is a versatile lighting type, which can be adapted to the different room types.

This also means that you can incorporate different types of lights too! Think dimming lights, strings of lights or hanging lamps. This will help to create different mood and ambiance depending on the room type!

There are some things to consider though. Firstly, avoid floor lamps in places where the children run around. Secondly, ensure that rooms like the kitchen and the bathroom have bright lights that won't create shadows – you want to be able to see what you're cooking and what you're washing!

With this in mind, choose lamps that are adapted to the decorative style of your home. You can choose subtle lamps that are understated or flashy lamps that are a decorative objects themselves!

Have a look through our lighting products for inspiration!

Take care of your furniture layout

It is a common misconception that when you buy furniture, you should only opt for style or comfort, regardless of where the furniture will be placed and the size of the pieces. So when placing your furniture, you end up with a crowded room that is uncomfortable and impractical. 

This is why you need to measure all of your new furniture as well as the spaces that it will go and make a mental note (or you can draw it on paper) on how the room is going to look. Consider how many people will use it and what it will be used for.  You also need to ensure that there is room to walk around. 

If you need help with this, have a look at how these fantastic professionals, Estudio Paula Herrero Architects, have done it. This should you give the guidance you need to create a home that is as cute as the one in the picture.

Blending colours

One of the most common mistakes that people make when it comes to choosing colours for the home, is choosing only based on taste. The colour that we put in a room will determine the type of environment that we create. 

This is why it's advisable to choose colours that are light and neutral for bedroom colours, creating a very relaxed atmosphere. We should save very vibrant colours for rooms like the dining room, as it creates movement. 

We must also take into account the size of the room. Avoid dark colours in small rooms that are poorly lit. A strategy that never fails is to combine neutral colours with a few bright colours in the form of small details. For example, you can paint just one wall a bright colour or the window borders. 

For more simple and creative decorating ideas, check out how to: Display Your Wall Art Like A Pro.

Combine decorative elements

A fundamental principle of decorating is less is more

When you want to achieve a special decorative style that is ornate and detailed, that's more than okay, but you don't want the environment to feel claustrophobic and choked, especially if the rooms are not very large. Simple is better.

Another common mistake is to repeat the same style and the same decorative trend in every room in the house. While it's important to maintain harmony between the different rooms, having the same thing on every wall and the same detail in every room is overkill.

This is why it's best to get a very general style and express it differently in each room. On homify, you can find hundreds of photo's for inspiration!

Harness hamony

As we said, harmony in a home is very important. All of the elements that we choose, including décor, furniture and appliances, must have a common style. Otherwise, we saturate the environment. This is not recommended for aesthetic reasons, but also because of how it makes us feel. A harmonious home helps us to feel more relaxed and more at home in our space. 

Sometimes, however, we battle to choose one style for our home and we end up combining several. Some people are also bored and end up adding different decorative elements into the space. One solution for this, as an example, is to choose styles that address a mix of colours and textures. Mix and match!

Aim for comfort and practicality

A house is a place where you eat, sleep, study or work. Therefore, the design should be functional and meet those needs. There is no point in having a beautiful home if you can't relax in it!

So first of all, make sure that you are looking at all of the facts when you're decorating your home. If you're a family with children, avoid fragile or dangerous décor items or elements in your home and opt for simple and fun designs. 

If you work from home, make sure that you have comfortable furniture. Also choose chairs that are appropriate for your posture. Adequate lighting is also important!

If you have very little time and battle to clean your home often, choose materials and styles that require very little maintenance. 

With these tips in mind, you cannot fail! So, now is the time to decorate!

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