Five signs you’re not as good at interior design as you originally thought

You have just bought your dream house and have decided it’s time to fill it with all the goodies that are going to make it a home. A lot of us go in to this stressful project with the delusion that we’re going to make good luxury interior designers. No matter what happens, it can’t be that hard, can it? Yes it can.

Here are the top five mistakes to prove to you that you’re not as good an interior designer as you may think. Maybe it’s better to leave it to the professionals…

You get the scale of furnishings all wrong

Scale is one of the major mistakes that people make when it comes to interior design. You need an impeccable eye to decorate a room in a stylish manner. Some people make the mistake of making the room look cluttered by putting too many small items around the place. Some people make a room look stuffy and small by putting too many large and bulky items around the place. You never want all of your furnishings to be the same size or on the same level whereas you should be aiming for a “cityscape”, a combination of different heights.

You paint the room first

You need to learn that it is much easier to find fabrics and main textiles that you like before picking out a paint to match them than finding fabrics and main textiles to match your paint! Find what you need and pick out a paint shade from the chosen textiles.

Everything is from the same place

Hold back from getting carried away and buying everything from the same place. Everything will look too similar and prevent the room from having any character. Adding character can take years, but the end results are so very worth it. Look out for the off chair you can find at a flea market or a gorgeous painting from a street vendor. Over time you will find things that you love and build your homes character.

There is no focal point

A focal point is a place in a room that will catch all visitors’ attention when they enter. Big rooms can have more than one focal point. If you focus on the purpose of the room, you can then place furnishings around the focal point. E.g. television, fireplace, gaming table, large painting, coffee table.

You don’t ask for help

All designers make mistakes! No matter what your profession, it can be quite hard to spot your own mistakes when you are caught up in the creativity of it all. Make sure you always ask a friend for their opinion on a piece of fabric or room arrangement. If you feel you need to, you can even hire an interior designer for an hour or two. It will always help you realise what you want and what will look good.

There isn’t one rule to stick to when it comes to furnishing your home and a great deal will rely merely on what looks right. For that reason, it will be well worth your time checking out a few different decor designs before you settle on one that suits you. Don’t be afraid to move things around and see what works for your living space. After all, you need to feel comfortable in this environment. In the end, that’s all that really matters.