Common Decor Mistakes

When designing a room, I think of the color palette of the overall room and home. Color plays a large role in creating a cohesive home that reflects your personality and mood.

If you’re basing the entire color palette off of someone else’s home or the 1 or 2 purple decor items you found on sale, you are going to feel stuck trying to bring those colors in everywhere. If you didn’t even plan on that color palette from the beginning, you’re creating a color palette for your home that you may not even like down the road. All of this goes back to knowing your design style!

This is a common one! You find inspiration in other peoples homes, friends/family, online, and on TV. Then, you save it for later to get inspiration for your space.

While this is absolutely wonderful and super helpful, it’s even MORE helpful to know what EXACTLY you like about that inspiration.

One thing I noticed over time, as I looked at a bunch of my old Pinterest boards, was that each photo was a little all over the place. I realized I was saving photos that just looked nice versus what was actually my style. Now, I know what to save and what not to save based on my design style and my specific likes – versus just aesthetically pleasing photos!

One big mistake that people make is buying a bunch of little decor items when you first start decorating a space. Smaller decor pieces are typically cheaper and easiest to buy, so you start collecting little items – with the mindset of saving money.

But here is the thing, you can buy a bunch of $10 shoes that don’t hold up well, and you have to keep replacing OR you can buy quality shoes that stand the test of time. You can get the quality clothing that lasts for years or you can buy less quality clothing and have to continuously replace your wardrobe.

I may be a little bit passionate about this, but it’s SO true. Stop buying all of your decor at the Dollar Store and the Target dollar spot because it’s cheap and “more reasonable” to buy. Quality decor pieces are going to speak WAY more volumes to your overall home design.

I’m not saying everything you buy needs to be expensive. Not at all. But I do want you to think about what you’re buying. Does it fit in your design? Should you maybe save up for quality pieces with the money your spending on all of the tiny cheaper things?

By starting with a design plan, you can decide on the furniture and decor items that fit your space and budget. At the end of the day, it’s a balance and making sure what you are buying furniture that is to scale with your home.

Get creative! If you need help, I would love to work with you. 

Before decorating your space, you need to think about how you use the room. We want your space to be beautiful AND functional.

If you host a bunch of people or have a large family – you need the space for people to move around and also room for seating. 

If you are only one or two people living there and don’t plan on having a bunch of people over on a regular basis, you don’t need a bunch of extra stuff.

Do you love plants? Like really love plants? Then where are you going to put them so you can nurture them, allow them to get sun, etc.?

Kids? Pets? They’re family too. Yes, they make a mess, of course! But, how can they also enjoy the space where they call home?

Do you like to cuddle with your partner? Do not, and I repeat, do NOT get a sofa that is not deep enough to fit both of you. Just don’t do it. Spend the extra dollar or two to get all the cuddles you desire.

These are just a few examples of how you have to plan on who will be enjoying the space, real or inanimate, and how you can incorporate that into the design

Anyways, you got to light up your house to create a rich ambiance and cozy environment. I am not a fan of overhead lights that make you feel like you’re in an office building. I love to layer lamps, candles, and other light sources to create a welcoming environment.

Plan your lighting, fill up all the corners in your home, and watch the magic unfold as you sink deeper into your sofa and feel all the hygge.

I love light & bright interiors. That’s why I fell in love with the Scandinavian design style!

One thing I started to realize when first decorating my home was that I LOVED it during the day – oh my gosh – all the sun, the golden hour, the warmth and happiness was just SEEPING into my house. 

But at night, I felt so unhappy with how my house looked. I didn’t have the natural lighting anymore, the colors didn’t look as bright and happy as they did a few hours prior. I just did not feel happy in my home. That brings me to the last point I made – the power of layering your lighting.

Consider how the colors you decorate with will look at night. This goes for paint colors as well as decor pieces. Test your walls’ paint colors during the day and night. Based on where the sun sets in your house, the same color can look diffferent in different rooms.

A huge reason I decorate with neutrals is because I LOVE to switch out decor seasonally. I want each season to transition seamlessly with the other decor/furniture I have in my house. 

If you love to change out your decor often or decorate for the holidays (for example: oranges for fall, reds for Christmas, blue for Hanukkah), then teal furniture may not fit in with your yearly decorating plans.

If you do want all of these colors in your home – great! Make a plan, make sure you have the decor to match or swap out and call it a day! Bada-boom-bada-bang.

I promise HomeGoods, Target, Marshalls, and Amazon are not your only options to find furniture and decor. 

No matter where you live, go for a drive and see what stores are in your area. Give them a browse, especially the local stores and/or thrift stores. Then, from there, give the internet a browse and find something you like!

BONUS: Once you know your design style, you can even type in your design style to search furniture and decor and find your new favorite stores! 

Just don’t feel stuck to the only things you know or are comfortable with. If you have a fear of shopping online, read up on their return policies.

How many times have you thought: “Oh! I have a blank wall. I MUST go to the store TODAY – come on kids, grab your coats – and buy a portrait from the nearest store to come home and make sure that wall does not feel left out!”

Alright, first, if that’s you – that’s okay. I’m here to support you because that was me too – I’m not pulling all of this out of my tush. This is quite honestly coming from my own experience or others who I know or have worked with.

If you have been with me for a while, you know I am all about planning your design and knowing your design style really well. With both of those combined, you will not feel as compelled to decorate every inch of your home right away.

I’ve hinted at this quite a few times now but it’s a BIGGIE. You gotta know it. You HAVE to. Here’s why:

When you know your design style, you can then confidently shop for furniture/decor. We all know how frustrating it is to waste money because we changed our minds later. Confident shopping lends to cohesively decorated homes!

Not only will you know what to look for and BUY, but you will also be able to ensure that the rest of your home follows suit in that style. No matter which room you’re walking into, you feel at home. That is LITERALLY the only reason why decorating your home matters – to feel at home. At peace, rambunctious, wild, chill, vibrant, happy, you name it – it’s your house and your vibe!

Now sticking to your style is another thing. If you feel like your switching it up everytime a new designer or influencer shares THEIR style, then maybe you’re still not confident on what your own style is and what makes sense for your home. I’m not saying we pick a style and stick with it for the rest of our lives – absolutely not! But you know when you’ve found the one. You know when your Pinterest boards start looking more cohesive rather than a mod podge of nice looking photos. 

Just fall in love with a style or styles and take it from there. Try to stay in your lane without letting others influence you – it’s YOUR house and YOUR vibe! Let loose!

Here’s the biggest kicker out of all of this – we live in a world where we can get inspiration EASILY, which is GREAT. Along with that, we are constantly being shown the latest and greatest homes, decor, and things to buy. A new year hits and a ton of articles, videos, and posts come out talking about the New Year trends in home decor, fashion- you name it! And all of the suddenly, we may be “out of style” that year or feel like we are not designing our homes in the latest trends.

Trends are trends, and classic is classic. Your style is your style. Simple. 

Don’t turn away from being inspired – just know where you stand with your home design as you digest others’ home designs.

It’s okay to be inspired. It’s not okay to feel like you have to change your decor or home everytime you see someone else do it or follow the latest trends.

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