4 design mistakes and how to fix them blog

Designing and decorating your home can be an overwhelming task without the help of a professional. If your home is leaving you uninspired, consider these top 4 Design Mistakes and How to Fix Them.

1. Poor Lighting

One of the most overlooked elements of home design is lighting. In spaces such as your kitchen and bathroom, a cohesive lighting plan will make the biggest impact of all. Use an assortment of lighting types that complement each other to properly light your space. Layering task, accent, and ambient lighting will create a beautiful effect that not only highlights the more noteworthy features of your home, it will also provide you with all the light you need for superior functionality.

2. Not Testing Paint Colors

When you’re testing paint colors it’s common to bring a variety of paint chips home and hold them up on the wall to see how they look in the room. Before you commit and purchase a gallon or more of paint in a custom color, buy a small container (a quart or less) of the chosen tint and test it on your walls. Paint a small section of each wall with your sample paint. Light picks up different undertones on each wall, and you might be surprised to see that what you thought was grey paint appears purple in certain lights and times of day. You don’t want to paint an entire wall – or worse, the whole room – before realizing you’ve made a horrible mistake.

3. Ignoring Scale

Too frequently, when purchasing items for their home, homeowners don’t take scale into account. Some of the most common mistakes include oversized furniture in a small to moderately sized space, tiny artwork hung on a large wall, and small rugs placed in the middle of a large area. My Domaine suggests, “When choosing large furniture, it’s also crucial to consider the flow of the room. A too-large coffee table or chair placed at an awkward angle can impede the natural walking space around the furniture. It’s always helpful to draw it out on a printed version of the floor plan and then draw a ‘flow plan’ of how people will walk in, sit down, get up, etc., to really visualize it.”

4. Skipping Built-In Kitchen Storage

Lack of usable storage can become a major inconvenience in even the most beautiful spaces. Martha Stewart states, “Don’t skip over the seemingly small add-ons and storage features, like additional drawer dividers, or cabinet expansions like pantry pullouts and lazy Susans. These details will not only increase your kitchen’s storage efficiency, but will also save you money as they are much more costly to add on down the road.”

Whether you want to completely redesign your home or simply make a few small changes, consider these tips to avoid making big mistakes in your effort to improve your home’s appearance and efficiency.