5 Interior Design Mistakes to Learn From
Before you get started on your next home improvement project, here are 5 rules that we as Interior Designers stick to in order to make a room balanced, to scale and curated. While there are many different rules that we adhere to when designing, we’ll stick to our top 5 for today!
Poor Lighting
Layer, layer, layer! Many people rely only on overhead lighting to be their main source of light in the room. Include different types of lighting to create a desired ambiance such as floor lamps, table lamps or sconces. Lighting is not only beneficial for the ambiance, they can also make a stunning statement depending on the style and scale of the piece. We like to think of lighting fixtures as another form of art or decor in addition to its functionality. See how we incorporated layers of lighting in these two projects below.
2. Wrong Rug Size
Too small and the room doesn’t feel anchored and it will look like your furniture is simply floating the room. Too big, and the rug swallows up the whole room. Buying the right rug size will make a dramatic impact on your space. To alleviate this issue, make sure that the front legs of your sofa and chairs are always touching the rug. We’ve attached a handy guide for reference from Magnolia.
3. Hanging Curtains to Low
As professionals, our goal when designing your space is to make sure it is functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. We want to make your space feel spacious and grand even when it may be a smaller room. To do this, we always hang curtains as high as the height of the wall, right underneath the ceiling, never right above the window. By doing this, your window's will appear larger. Remember to have the curtains “kissing” the floor as well, no matter how wide or tall they may be.
4. Matching Furniture Sets
We understand that buying a furniture set may sound appealing, you get everything done in one shot and the stress of making sure everything goes well together can be overwhelming. However, when you do this, your room can fall flat and boring. To have a home that reflects your personality, find pieces from different brands and stores, this will immediately elevate your space. This mistake is one that our clients often come to us with, and as interior designers, we never make!
Gladwyne Project
5. Choosing Decor That’s the Same Height
When making your way to stores you love to shop in, keep in mind the different heights of the decor you’re putting in your cart. Scale and proportion are very important to design and can completely transform your room when done right. Include an intriguing mix of scale and different shapes in your decor so you never have to worry about this mistake when decorating your home.
The list of things to remember is much longer than this, and that’s why some people rather get a little (or a lot!) help from a professional. Our years of experience has made us experts in interior design as well as renovation. It can be daunting to furnish one room yet alone multiple in your home, let us take care of that for you and ensure that mistakes aren’t made, because they can be costly!