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10 Common Decorating Mistakes to Avoid
by Hunter Douglas
Are you guilty of any of these decorating blunders? HGTV designer Karl Lohnes and leading custom window fashions manufacturer Hunter Douglas have put together a top-ten list of the all-time most often made decorating mistakes.
1) Leaving windows for last. Not only can window fashions create pleasing illusions of depth or height in a room, scientific studies have proven the quality of natural light in a space actually affects our moods and health. Still many people do not research window fashions thoroughly enough to know what options exist, much less which will best suit their individual needs. One very popular option, Silhouette® window shadings, which feature soft fabric vanes suspended between sheer panels, diffuse and soften the light and allow you to gently direct it up or down by tilting the vanes. Before decorating a room, think about the ambience you want to create, do your research, and choose your window fashions first to determine which will make the room most comfortable for you.
2) Purchasing new furniture before measuring the room. Many new home owners start purchasing new furnishings prior to taking possession of their homes. When the furniture finally arrives it often doesn't even fit through the door, not to mention it being too long or too deep for the room. Remember to dress your windows early in the process, then wait and live in your space with your old furniture before ordering new pieces. You'll make better choices after spending time in the physical room, instead of judging the room from a pre-sale floor plan or picture. And, having the window treatments in place early ensures that your furnishings - old and new - are protected from the sun's harmful UV rays.
One option that is ideal for those large slider windows is new Cadence® Motif Soft Vertical Blinds. This product features the industry's first and only curved, soft fabric louver. It's offered in fashion-forward colors and neutrals to blend with a variety of decors.
3) Buying area rugs too small. Area rugs should be large enough to leave only a 12- to 16-inch border of flooring around the room's perimeter. Anything smaller will look insignificant. Remember that your furniture is supposed to sit on the area rug and ground it; the rug should not "float" in the middle of the room on its own.
4) Choosing wall colors that are too pale. The larger the room, the more depth a color needs. When choosing a main color to go throughout an open-style home, choose a slightly darker one than you would for a small room. To enhance the effect, use a matching or complementary window fashion. Silhouette window shadings in fabric from the Matisse Collection™ - the first ever fabric with colored sheer facings as well as colored vanes - enrich the shadings' color impact. Window fashions in deep tones paired with darker paint will bring boldness and purposeful style to a large room.
5) Hanging artwork too high. Simple rules: the bottom of the artwork should be 8 to 10 inches above the top of a piece of furniture such as a headboard, sofa or credenza. Artwork hung in a hallway or in a stairwell should be hung so the middle of the art is 66 inches off the floor or step.
6) Highlighting wimpy trims and moldings. Everyone thinks they have to highlight their baseboards and trims by painting them white. If you have trims of 3 1/2 inches or smaller, paint them the same color as the wall to blend them away. Otherwise you will end up with a 'racing stripe effect' around the room. Paint your baseboards, walls and crown moldings a uniform color to make the walls feel taller. You can even cover them by selecting a vertical window fashion, such as Luminette® Privacy Sheers, mounted outside the window frame from ceiling to floor.
7) Buying too many small accessories. Holding off on buying trendy accessories for a year or two could save you enough money to purchase a substantial piece of furniture you will have forever. Buying an expensive piece might feel like a splurge, but it's a wiser investment in the long run.
8) Scattering your collectibles all over the house. By keeping your collection of figurines, samplers or family photos grouped together, you can create a big impact with many small things. Dotting them all around the house only adds a cluttered look to your decor. If displaying your collectibles in a sunny spot for prime viewing, be sure to choose a window fashion that will protect your treasures from fading and damage. With its two sheer panels, Silhouette shadings are one of the few window fashions that offer generous protection against the sun's harmful UV rays while still allowing for light and a view.
9) Having more than one focal point in a room. Every room needs a focal point, but most people never figure out what it actually is. As a rule, remember that in the bedroom it is the headboard, in the bathroom it is the vanity area. The living room's focal point can be the television, the fireplace or the window, depending on what you use most. If the room's focal point is the window, be especially mindful of mistake number one - leaving windows for last - as the focal point will visually influence the rest of the room. Duette® honeycomb shades with the top-down / bottom-up feature allow you to raise the window shades from the bottom, lower them from the top or do both at once to create distinct, appealing visual patterns. The shades are available in a wide range of colors and opacity options, allowing you to enhance or soften the view as desired. Additionally, the honeycomb construction warms and diffuses a room's light, while also reducing the amount of air entering and leaving through the window, leading to lower energy bills in the winter and summer.
10) Getting it all done in a day. When you shop for your entire room's decor in a day, it looks like you did it all in a day. The result is usually a ‘matchy' appearance that implies you purchased a display right out of a storefront window. Take your time and let your vision, goals, budget and timelines provide you with a layered decor process. It's not fun to rush; it is a great deal of fun to ‘build' the look of a room.
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About the Author
Hunter Douglas Inc. is a national sponsor of Habitat for Humanity, covering windows in every Habitat home built in the U.S. and Canada. Headquartered in Upper Saddle River N.J., the company is the leading manufacturer of custom window coverings in North America. For more information, contact Hunter Douglas at 1-800-274-2985 or visit www.hunterdouglas.com.
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