5 Things You Need to Stop Doing When Decorating Your Home

5 Things You Need to Stop Doing When Decorating Your Home

Aaaaahhhhh…the joys of decorating your home!  Don’t you love it?  No.  I thought you might say that.  In fact, I’m sure you have a few choice words for how you really feel.  I get it.  You want it to be fun but you don’t like to shop, it’s frustrating because it seems nothing works for your space, and truth be told - you’re just plain tired so it’s like, whatever.

Pause.  I bet I know what you may be doing wrong, so let me help you.  Here’s some things you need to stop doing. 

1.  Things You Need to Stop Doing When Decorating Your Home – Everything doesn’t have to match

I think we’ve all been there before (and some of us are still there).  We feel like everything has to match perfectly.  If you like earthy tones, you paint the walls beige or some sort of tan. Then, the furniture has to be brown, along with the wall décor and accessories.  Many, many years ago, I was that person.  Our home had every shade of brown in it; so much so, that my husband used to tell me our house looked like a Snickers bar!  Well babe, aren’t you glad I’ve evolved? 

There’s also the thought that all of your furniture needs to be part of a complete set!  You keep the pillows that come with the couch and they all match.  You think everyone goes to Ashley’s or Rooms to Go, so why not you?  It’s so much easier because the furniture company put everything together for you. How is that not a win in your busy life?

I’m here to drop some wisdom on you.  Everything doesn’t have to be so matchy-matchy.  You know why?  It doesn’t reflect who you are.  Would I see your true personality if I walked into your home right now?  Unless you’re strategically going for a monochromatic look, you don’t have to be confined to the matchy-matchy “rules”.  

Yes.  You do need to make sure your space flows – strive to make it cohesive.   You can mix patterns and textures that are of the same color palette you’ve chosen.  But they don’t have to be what the furniture company dictates.  Infuse pops of color in wall art and accessories.  This adds interest and breaks up the monotone feel of the room.

Different pieces of furniture can come from different sources. It doesn’t have to be purchased all in one place.  Don’t go for convenience, go for intentionality.  Are they similar in color with other pieces or décor in your space?  That accent chair is on point but is it actually comfortable to sit in and relax while you’re having a conversation with your peeps?  Perhaps you scoped out a gold coffee table with a glass top because you want a little glam in your space but it’s not part of a set.  Don’t stress.  If it works in the space, welcome it into the family.

2. Things You Need to Stop Doing When Decorating Your Home – Don’t fill up every wall

I would like to believe that we all love our family and friends dearly.  But does that mean your relationships have to be plastered all over every wall in your home?  I don’t think so.  

It’s one thing to have a beautifully arranged gallery wall that was intentionally planned out and another thing when you just throw up photos in random frames that have no rhyme or reason to it.

Every wall in a house doesn’t need to be filled.  It gives off a cluttered look.  Your eyes need to rest because when there’s too much going on, it becomes visually exhausting.  There should be some white space.  In other words, don’t plaster photos or wall art wherever you see a wall.  Some people may feel as if there’s something missing or something should be there…it just doesn’t look right.  That’s because they’re so used to covered walls and having white space is foreign to them.  That’s simply a mindset and you can work towards changing it.  It may not be easy at first, but it is possible.

In some instances, we may feel as if we have to have our children (especially their baby pictures) put up everywhere in the house. Trust me, I get it – I’m a mom too and I tend to look at my 21- year-old and 15-year-old as my “babies”.  I still see them with chubby cheeks and pudgy thighs! It helps to view them that way so I don’t stress over the stuff they do that breaks my heart.  But listen, you can still hold on to the memories in other ways.

You can create a gallery wall on one wall in the house.  Have that be your special “sanctuary” for your family photos.  Also, having a few framed photos displayed on shelves or a table would work too.  The rest of the photos can be kept in a photo album and thanks to technology, you can have digital photo albums!  All is not lost, you just have to get creative…think outside the box a little and in the meantime, your eyes (and your guests’ eyes) will thank you.

3.  Things You Need to Stop Doing When Decorating Your Home – Don’t be afraid of color

Everyone likes to feel safe.  If there’s anything that causes us to come out of our comfort zone, we tend to freak out.  This same feeling applies to choosing color for our homes.  So many people are afraid of color!  Don’t be.

The “anti-colorites” (do you like my new word?) want to stick with what they know because it’s comfortable, it’s safe.  But how will you know if it won’t work unless you try it?  Take baby steps and impart color into your space with throw pillows on the sofa or accessories on your coffee table – maybe some of your wall art.

If you’re a tiny bit more adventurous, you can paint an accent wall or choose a bold, graphic area rug – something unexpected and maybe out of the norm.  These are all things you can do to add color and they’re not permanent! You can swap out pillows (I recommend using pillow covers because they’re easy to change). You can re-paint or replace the area rug.  None of these are set in stone so what’s holding you back?

4.  Things You Need to Stop Doing When Decorating Your Home – Don’t push furniture against the wall

Time and time again, I see the dreaded concept of pushing furniture up against the wall.  Stop it. No, it doesn’t give you more space. All it does is remind people of back in the day when they were a kid and they would push all the furniture out of the way so they could use the living room as a gymnastics floor!

If you want an adult space where you can actually chat with your guests, pull your furniture away from the walls and make it more conversational.  It may seem like you’re limiting the space you have, but if you layout your furniture arrangement, you’ll get a visual of how it will look.  

Think about when you’re chatting with someone in an informal setting.  Do you typically have to shout or lean in when they’re talking to you?  No, you shouldn’t have to.  If I’m on a sofa on one end of the room and you’re on a loveseat on the other side of the room, how does that work out?  Would you say it was a cozy environment designed for friendly conversation?  Or is it an opportune time to play a game of Twister?  

If you move your seating and tables towards the center of the room, arranged in a way that is conducive to entertaining and talking with friends and family, it will make a huge difference.  Keep in mind, there are other factors in the equation.  You want to ensure that your furniture is the proper scale for that room.  If you’re furniture is large and bulky in a small space, it will just look like you have a lot of large furniture that doesn’t belong.  Awkward!  Plus, you need to look at the flow of the room.  You wouldn’t have enough room to freely walk around the furniture pieces.  That’s a no-go.

If you still struggle in this area, don’t worry your pretty little head off.  Consider hiring a professional designer to help plan out your space. 

5.  Things You Need to Stop Doing When Decorating Your Home – Don’t shop without a plan

Stop wasting your valuable time shopping without a plan. When you’re aimlessly searching for products to decorate your home, it can quickly result in a hodge-podge of a mess. Everything looks so pretty in the store but then you think, why doesn’t it look like that in my house?  Before you know it, you’ve accumulated so many items, you look like you might be borderline hoarding. 

What you see in a retail store is not indicative of what it will look like when you try to put it together like that at home.  The store does not possess the same dimensions as your living room.  The store does not possess the same color scheme as your master bedroom.  There’s nothing about a furniture store or home décor store that resembles the way you live at all!

Products can be just as stunning as they want to be and you can fall in love with them all you want, but let’s just be honest love…none of that means anything if you don’t know how to put it together.

Plan out your space, know your pertinent measurements, and have some design inspiration to help you out.  For specifics, check out my blog post on How to Shop for Home Décor Like a Pro.  Don’t make it more difficult than it has to be. This is not rocket science but it is an art with a little bit of science to it.  The look you’re going for won’t just magically happen by throwing it together and hoping for the best.  It has to fit your particular space and personality.  You don’t want to be like everyone else do you?

So, to wrap it all up in a little pink bow…if you want to transform your home into a stylish, unique space that you love, there are a few things you really need to stop doing.  No, they’re not earth-shattering.  Yes, they’re simple.  But sometimes we take “simple” for granted so we complicate things.  Don’t do what everybody else does – keep it simple and follow these tips when decorating your home.  

Be thoughtful when picking out your furniture pieces.  They don’t all have to come from the same place or look identical.  You’re going for interesting, not boring.  Let your walls breathe and resist the urge to saturate them with photos and art.  Don’t be afraid to spice up your space with a little bit of color and don’t turn your home into a gymnasium by pushing all furniture up against the walls (unless you really want to do cartwheels for the nostalgia of it, then I want an invite). I promise your furniture won’t bite each other if they’re closer together.  Pinky swear.

Lastly, value your precious time.  Have a plan before you spend your hard earned money. If your calendar stays full or you just can’t seem to pull it together, contact Shades of Gray Design and we’ll help you get the beautiful, functional space you’ve been stressing about.  So stop stressing, we’ve got you.