Avoid Home Decorating Mistakes

With a little bit of creativity, combined with your awareness of your personal tastes and individual sense of style, plus unlimited resources, anyone can achieve an excellent and unique look for almost any room or area in their homes. However, no matter how much money you have or much creativity you got, there are just some decorating no-nos that you should avoid at all costs.

Whether you're going for casual, traditional, or even just decorating your kid's room, these are some of the most common mistakes that are being committed again and again. It's quite surprising how many people are found guilty of these things, really. I hope you're not one of them.

Getting furniture that does not fit - Think about it; you wouldn't wear clothes that are either too loose and baggy, or too tight and fitting on you, now would you? So why on earth would you go out and get furniture that won't fit into your room? Starting today, remember to measure the space that you have, consider carefully where you're going to put the piece, and write it all down.

Using too many prints and patterns - Please, don't just go around picking up any fabric or upholstered furniture you see and like. Most people do this quite often, thinking all the while that they can find a way to work around it. When buying furniture, drapes, curtains, or anything else that involves prints and patterns, sit down first and plan out your color scheme carefully.

Find a main pattern and then go out and get pieces, plaids, stripes, etc. to work around that. If you need to, select a large pattern or print, then get one coordinating print, and another plaid or striped fabric. That would be enough. Anything more would be going overboard.

Leaving a rug floating - All the pieces and home décor elements in a room should be connected physically and visibly. Placing a rug on the floor effectively adds more color, charm, and that essential connection. However, a lot of rugs are still being left lying around without the edges safely tucked in under the legs of sofas, tables, chairs, etc. This is an accident just waiting to happen. It would be so easy to trip over a protruding edge or corner, or else slip and slide if the rug moves under your feet.

All pieces against the wall - A lot of people have this misconception that a room looks larger if they push up all their furniture against the wall, leaving the middle of the floor open. Actually, doing the opposite is definitely more effective. Place some of the furniture into groups in the center, unless you want to clear out the floor for dancing. You can perhaps place a sofa with a table behind it, or you can arrange some accessories and place a lamp behind it. Moving some chairs out of the corners will also provide a more airy and spacious atmosphere.

Display all your knick-knacks - A lot of people collect everything they find from garage sales to their travels, things like salt and pepper shakers, ash trays, unique sculptures, glasses, pottery, etc. This is all fine, but please avoid displaying them all at any one time. You're in a home, not a museum. Pick out a few important items, particularly those of monetary or sentimental value. Then throw out the rest of the stuff, if you can. If not, just rotate them for displaying.