For anyone dealing with decoration inside, you'll know how challenging it can be. Even to those with a mind-set and passion for décor, putting it all together can be a challenging and stressful process. That being said, there is no reason why interior design has to be quite so fraught with difficulty. In a bid to help you avoid making standard errors that could derail the whole plan, here are 9 interior design mistakes and how to avoid them. Avoid these, and your design platform just became much easier to manage!
The Wrong Arrangement
The first interior design mistake we often see through our fingers is a room that has no cohesion or clarity in the layout. If your furniture is blocking light sources, you'll be more likely to make a room that feels inhospitable and not very engaging for those who come to visit.
Make sure that your furniture does not block the layout of the room or key areas like windows, doors and the like. This is a major rookie mistake that makes the rest of your interior design needs much harder to get right.
Lax Lighting
Following on from the above, another common interior design mistake is to forego the importance of lighting. Too much light will make the room feel uncomfortable to sit in, yet too little can make it feel really unwelcoming to anyone who stays there.
This can leave the whole room lacking in warmth and also make it much harder for you to feel welcome. We recommend you try and find a nice trifecta of light sources, making sure each can be interacted with separately for easier and less dramatic light changes.
Excessive Structuring
One issue that we implore you to try and avoid, though, is excessive structure. A room that feels like it was put together for a set-piece is rarely a comfortable place to sit. If you go into a home furniture store and find they have a nice little chair and table set, don't lay it out the same way they do in the store.
Avoid removing personal touch in a bid to go with what appears to be 'in' according to items seen on social media, in stores and in catalogues. Add some small items to really add a personal touch to the room instead of just taking the look direct from the catalogue!
Getting the Flooring Wrong
A very common mistake is to make a mess of the flooring. Flooring that does not match or blend in with the color scheme of the room is often an eyesore. If you want to get around that problem, you should look at making sure you choose flooring that's a match for the room.
Should you choose a carpet or wooden flooring with an extra large rugs?
One thing we recommend, though, with flooring, is to speak to a flooring expert. There's no set rules for avoiding interior design mistakes with flooring, other than avoiding a contrast that changes the mood of the room. Get it right, though, and it makes the rest of the room so much easier to handle!
Poor Space Usage
People tend to worry about smaller rooms being cluttered, so get tiny décor and fittings to add to the whole experience. Don't always go for stuff that makes the room look even smaller; it's a poor use of space and can make the room feel even more cramped than it is.
For smaller rooms, trying to add a touch of personality and avoiding going down the minimalistic route in terms of size can be very important for getting a look that's worthwhile.
Abstract Display
A major mistake often made is that many people tend to try to put together artwork that lines up poorly. Make sure it perfectly works well in the room, and don't always try and line up with the top of a door or a piece of framework paneling.
You have the option to make sure you are left with a room which is a touch more personable, so didn't always try and make the room follow these standards roles. Instead, use artwork to cover up space and use centering to help keep the room feeling in-balance with itself.
Display Domination
Unless it is the sole intent of the room, a common interior design mistake is to allow one particular element to take over the room and be the sole or only focal point. If you have a singular wall that differs from the rest of the room, then try to find something that could perhaps blend in with it.
Make sure that there is not one sole feature within the room that takes over from everything else. Have a focal point, by all means, but avoid making it so that it's the *only* point of the room.
Getting the Set
One of the worst things you can do with interior design is take the lazy approach and just buy one particular theme. If you leave a store with everything they use in the display design, then you are not really engaging with yourself and your own personality.
Make sure that you allow for the individuality of your own life to shine through here. Mix it up a bit and throw in some colors and personality rather than just trying to directly copy what was done for you in the store.
Excess Minimalism
The term minimalism has been cannibalized in the interior design industry these days. Sadly, it's a bit of a nightmare, and means that many people go for these empty, barren and soulless rooms believing it matches up with what people would expect today.
Add in some items that introduces a small personal touch, and put in some collectibles, artwork and the like to help add some personality to a room. It's hard to get the thin line between minimalism and clutter, but it's important you try.
Using the above, you should find it a bit easier to avoid common interior design mistakes that can hold back a project and make it harder to get right.
