5 Home Interior Mistakes to Avoid

Home interior is a subjective endeavour. You move into a new place, try to imagine your existing and potential new pieces in different rooms of the house to personalize it.





What works for you may not work for another. You might have a really good idea of how you’d like your home to look, with your personality, space and tastes taken into consideration. Similarly, you’ll have an opinion on the design trends and colours that you’re not fond of.

Home Interior Opinions

With that in mind you might be wondering how it’s even possible to make mistakes when it comes to home interior. Surely the choices that we make are ours to own, regardless of what anyone else thinks, right??

While this is certainly true there are some basic guidelines to remember, particularly if you’re keeping to a budget or keen to create a space that appeals to all. We are all culprits of that. Interior design certainly is a personal undertaking, but it pays to avoid the following pitfalls.

Diving Straight in

They say that spontaneity breeds creativity. However, it’s important to have a plan if you’re tackling an interior design project, particularly an ambitious one. Can you visualize what your home will look like? How about remembering how the rooms flow together to create one perfect living space?

You could do a lot worse than gathering colour charts and textile swatches, browsing Pinterest, and creating sketches of the finished article, that’s for sure…How?? By shopping with your heart and not your budget, of course!

It’s one of the biggest home interior mistakes you could make, and also the most tempting. We’ve all been there. That vintage piece would look gorgeous in this room. Those soft furnishings are a must. Buying anything and everything without considering your plan is likely to set you back further from your original vision.

Think about the amount you have to spend, and plan what you’re going to do with that money. Anything else can go on your wish list for another day.

Ignoring The Benefits of Natural Light

Lighting is the most important consideration you should make when undertaking an interior design project. Too dim, and your home will appear dark and unforgiving. Applying bright tones too harshly will highlight every imperfection.

You want your home to feel welcoming and warm, as well as being a bearable place to live. We often overlook the benefits of natural light, which create illusions of warmth, texture and space, as well as being completely free of course.

Bay window shutters are an attractive addition to any home, and will provide an effortless means of controlling light, air and sound around living space. Besides, shutters tend to work well with any theme you can think of, while curtains can be difficult to dress.

Choosing Paintwork Before Furniture

You might have some idea of the colours you’ll be using for your walls and soft furnishings. However, it would be a mistake to choose and purchase your paint before you’ve thought very carefully about the furniture you’ll be using throughout your home.

It’s always better to furnish your home and choose paint to match it, rather than attempting to find the perfect sofa in the exact shade you’ve been thinking of. Furniture trends come and go, but most shades of paint can be created in moments.

Collecting Clutter

Redecorating and refurbishing are a great excuse for getting rid of clutter. It’s often very easy to box unwanted and unused items, and to leave them to one side until your project is finished.

Yet how many of us actually go back and have that cleared out? Don’t make the mistake of assuming your clutter will sort itself out. Remove the items you no longer use, need or want.

Keep only what fits the style of your home. Try and enclose your storage solutions as far as possible, whether you choose cupboards, under-the-stair drawers or storage boxes.

Attempting to Keep Things Perfect

Unless you live in a show home, it’s important to steer away from that brand new, never-lived-in vibe that accompanies all brand-new properties. I know that because I tried to keep it up for so long….I grew tired and exhausted of it.

While it can be tempting to decorate your home with varying shades of magnolia and perfectly placed accessories, such looks are seldom sustainable – particularly if you have children, pets or a significant other. If that’s what you want, best take photos of your home and put it up for sale because it will never happen.

Don’t forget that this is your home, a place you live in and are carefree. Sometimes a little mismatching, texture and personality can go a long way towards creating that space you’ve always wanted. Besides, do you really want to live in a home that you’ll have to maintain to perfection at all times?

The Gist of it

Nobody can tell you how to design and decorate your personal space, but you’d do well to listen to a little advice along the way. While colours, textures and accessories are often dictated by personal preference, time and place, the fundamentals of home interior often remain the same.

Be sure to visualize what you’d like the finished piece to look like before picking up a paint brush. Always make the most of the space, materials and elements that you have.

With a little vision and a lot of practical and creative thinking you too could achieve the home of your dreams.

What home interior tips do you have up your sleeve?

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