Decorating Flubs: How to Avoid Them
Decorating the inside of a new home can be fun, challenging, expensive and rewarding. Most designers have an avoid-list of things not-to-do when planning an interior space or buying new furniture and accessories. So we curated a few cautionary tales for you from a host of trusted home and lifestyle sources.
FROM OPRAH
NOT Everything at Once
Model homes are spectacular and inspirational eye-candy, but since most people don’t live that way, here is one important designer takeaway. Don’t put everything you love – furniture, art, accessories – in your living room. Instead, periodically rotate some of your faves in and out so they don’t get lost in the muddle!
Too Matchy-Matchy
Everything doesn’t have to match EXACTLY, as if were featured on a single page of a furniture store catalogue. A room should be like a well-coordinated outfit with a mix of textures and finishes that are interesting but also unified.
FROM MARTHA STEWART
Keep the Sunshine OFF
Keep in mind that the direct sunlight on upholstered furniture will fade the fabric. And sunshine can also fade any artwork not covered by UV-filtering acrylic glass. Also, books and DVDs should be stored out of direct sunlight, too or protected from it with window treatments that can block out light when necessary.
FROM HOUZZ
Size Matters
If you’re shopping for new furniture, don’t forget to measure the room before you buy. Some people mark furniture boundaries with masking tape and measure the perimeter. It’s tricky eyeballing a sizeable piece that’s sitting on a showroom floor and know that it will work where you intend to put it.
Don’t One-Stop-Shop
It may be convenient, but the folks at Houzz say it makes for a much less interesting visual story – if you care about such things. Take some time to shop around to check out different manufacturers and brands.
Decorating With Pillows
Don’t by cheap throw pillows with solid forms. They should be plush, down-filled that can take a shape. Designers say use the classic designer’s karate chop to determine if they will shape up. (Does this mean we have to throw out our much-loved blocky pillows?)
Avoid Isolation
Visually linking adjacent spaces creates something designers call “flow” from one room to the next. If you repeat a pattern or carry an accent color or another visual element from one room to another, it’s more pleasing to the eye and creates a subliminal connectedness.
FROM HOUSE BEAUTIFUL:
Alignment Anguish
When you’re decorating a room, don’t push all your furniture up against the walls. The aim is to create a conversation grouping with some breathing room around your pieces. Imagine the sofa talking to the chairs and the chairs talking to the sofa. They don’t want to have to shout across the room!
FROM HGTV:
Floating Floor Rugs
When it comes to decorating floating area rugs look like uninhabitable islands. A rug should always be connected to furniture to anchor the seating even if it’s just placing the front feet of the furniture on the rug.
Gordian Knots
Who doesn’t have a knotted nest of electrical and/or computer cords somewhere in the house, waiting to be used? HGTV says this is the ultimate decorating no-no and offers three solutions including an easily accessible and labeled DIY storage container.
Lopsided Furniture
Some pieces just don’t play well with others, for example don’t place an average-sized chair, next to an over-sized piece of furniture. Balance is important and it really does help to look at magazines to see how the experts do it.
Decorating Your New Crystal Valley Home
The beautiful backdrops in the Richmond American Homes collections are the perfect palette for all your belongings. Click through the floor plans on the Crystal Valley web pages and see which one you want to decorate! Priced from the $300s.
