Guest Blogger: 5 Classic Decorating Mistakes to Avoid

Guest Blogger #478, Entry #1106, April 18, 2012

Decorating a room can be a fun experience that taps into your creativity and personality. However, there are a handful of common but easily avoidable pitfalls that can hamper your efforts. Here are five classic decorating mistakes to avoid as you unleash you inner design guru.

Don’t let your walls trap your furniture!

Image via: BHG

1.) Don’t let walls trap your design

Walls are the borders of your room, but you don’t have to let them define the space. All too often furniture is lined up along the walls like prisoners in a lineup. Pull the sofa out and face it toward an interesting architectural feature like a picture window or fireplace. Set up a table or other accent piece at a bold angle in a corner. Bedrooms are where many people let the walls dictate design. Experiment with the bed jutting out of a corner. In large bedrooms, swing the bed around so that the headboard divides the bedroom space, creating a cozy sleeping area. Then place a bookcase against the headboard, with its shelves open to the rest of the room. Accommodate the natural flow of foot traffic, but then let your imagination fill the space without letting the walls trap you.

2.) Use care when displaying collectibles

Displaying collectibles can easily become a decorating disaster. There’s nothing wrong with collecting interesting objects, but use care in their placement. First, place just a few on shelving or in a stylish display cabinet that complements the other furniture. Don’t pack the cabinet, but instead showcase the most interesting items. Also, don’t stuff every nook in a room with collectibles or you’ll make the room claustrophobic. If you’re worried that no one will ever see your many prizes, display some while others go into temporary storage. Then once a month rotate them. You’ll be amazed how fresh your treasures look.

Take care when hanging wall art & displaying collectibles

Image via: Houzz

3.) Choose colors carefully

Choosing paint colors can be overwhelming, which can lead to trying to stay safe with a single color and little variation. But that’s the bland route. The room lacks interest, like a dinner plate full of nothing but brown food. When choosing colors, start with furniture and accessories, then build up a pallet from them for the walls by choosing colors that add contrast and interest. Paint stores always have color charts and paint scheme examples that can help spark creativity. Then go the extra step with colorful pillows or other simple accessories that add excitement without overwhelming the room.

4.) Placement of wall hangings

Pictures and other wall hangings can be another pitfall through simple misplacement. Sometimes pictures are placed much too high or low on the wall, making for an awkward presentation. The best height is where the center of the picture will be eye level to the average person. In rooms where people are likely to spend their time sitting, such as a dining room, the picture should be matched to a person’s sitting height rather than standing height. However, when hanging over furniture, pictures should be placed so that they appear purposely grouped. Don’t go too high or else the picture will seem to awkwardly float above the furniture.

Helpful tips for avoiding decorating mistakes

Image via: Real Simple

5.) Think of rug placement beforehand

Finally, rugs tend to be thrown into a room as an afterthought instead of unifying all the room’s elements. Size is the most important factor here with two primary options. One choice is to have a rug big enough for all of the furniture to sit on with room to spare. In the dining room, the chairs need to stay on the rug even when pulled out. The other choice is to have the furniture frame the rug with a comfortable space all around it. Ideally, the couch shouldn’t be overlapping the rug while other chairs are off of it.

Guest post contributed by Jane Spencer, on behalf of BingoStreet.

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