Home Decor Mistakes and Solutions

There is no better way to personalize your home than with the right decoration! With our Q&A you can avoid common home decor mistakes and give your space your own personal vibe!

 

Decorative wall shelf with potted plant and wooden love sign with information on how to properly hang photos on your wall

How do I hang Artwork in my Home?

Too low or too high:

This can be simply avoidable by using the 57” rule. This means measuring 57’’ above your floor is a pretty common place to start hanging art. Take a step back, does it feel like you are straining your neck up to see your piece of art? Or looking down to take in the masterpiece? You might need to adjust for the height of your wall, but take this rule as a generalization for hanging artwork at the proper height. If you are hanging art above a headboard or couch, try placing it between 5-7 inches to give it enough height from the object but also not too much to let is float in its own space.

Too small or too big:

Take into consideration of your space, you don’t want a piece or art drowning around large furniture or a massive painting overwhelming your wall. If you have small pieces, try creating a collage or adding a large frame and matting to a smaller photo to give it a larger appearance. If placing pieces together, try to keep frames around 3 inches apart to keep them looking cohesive.

 

 Retro style designed home featuring information on how to choose a proper size rug for your room and placement

How do I choose the perfect Rug?

Size & Placement:

Whether in your dining room, living room or bedroom, you want to make sure that your rug fits nicely under your furniture. For the dining room, make sure it covers all the space of the table and chair while they are pulled out. The living room should have a large enough rug to cover most of the space and be placed underneath the front feet of furniture but not the back. In the bedroom you want to be able to comfortably step out of bed and onto a rug instead of the cold floor (since this is a main reason for a rug in the bedroom, and let’s face it, makes waking up a bit easier), be sure its not too far underneath the bed and approximately 2 to 2 ½ feet on the sides of the bed.

Design:

The fun thing about rugs is it doesn’t necessarily need to boring or one color. Sure keeping with a hue or tone might help, but sometimes you can go bold and add a splash of new color to a room or unique design. It is important to keep in mind that it should be one of the first decisions in the room to coordinate with the rest, but still, go bold or neutral.

 

A woman opening window drapes to a cityscape view with information on how to properly hang curtains

How do I hang curtains?

Too low or too high:

Placing the curtains to close to the window frame cam make the room feel compressed and short, if you place the curtains 4-6 inches above the window frame it helps to make the room feel taller and more open. To add an even grander feel to your room, place your curtains from floor to ceiling if you are able.

Too short or too long:

Be sure to keep your curtains hanging below the window. Cutting them off at the bottom of the window can make the room feel squat and give a floating affect. Be sure to keep your curtains about one inch from the floor to create a well tailored look.

 

Rustic designed home with stylized gray wooden couch side table with information on lighting in your home

How do I choose the perfect light for my home?

Balance:

Choosing the right light for the right area can be the most important choice in lighting. In most spaces you want to add layers to your lights, meaning you want to try and utilize ambient, task, and accent lighting.

  • Ambient lighting applies to an overall illumination of your space, you want to make sure you have enough lights, but not too much, getting rid of dark spaces while not blinding yourself as you walk in the room. Recessed lighting does wonders for this, preferably on a dimmer and for large spaces, these can also be combined with lamps, chandeliers or pendant lighting to add those layers to your lighting.
  • Task lighting is mainly used for function, such as reading, workspaces (like the kitchen), and can include lights under cabinets in the kitchen or besides vanities in the bathroom.
  • Accent lighting is mainly used for adding a personal touch and character to your home. This can be adding a dramatic tone, bold centerpiece or highlighting works of art or adding wall sconces.

Color:

When we say color, we don’t mean adding green light to your living room or blue light to the kitchen, we are talking about wattage. For each space a specific wattage is best used to perform specific tasks. Most overhead lights should be around 60 watts, while reading lights 75-100 watts. While dimmers are preferred, you can still vary your lights by layering different light sourced with 40-100 watts for sconces, lamps or overhead lights. Also consider the type of lighting you have, if it is warm (yellow), this is around 1,000k – 3,000K is more of a warm and cozy feeling and tends to be more relaxing and are ideal for living rooms and bedrooms. Cold (blue), this is around 6,000k – 10,000k, tends to be more of a fluorescent lighting and may not be the best for your space. These are usually ideal for workspaces or kitchens.

 

Living Room with Couch and Decoration

5) How should I place furniture?

Against the walls:

Pushing furniture against the walls may seem like the most logical thing to do, but this doesn’t always work. You want to give furniture space and breathing room, allowing the room to flow, even in a small space. This can simply mean pulling the couch away from the wall or rearranging the furniture to create a conversational area instead of each piece against an individual wall, and can make the room feel more inviting.

Scale:

Take into the account the size of the room, you don’t want to be bumping into a large coffee table in a small room, or have a small armchair in a large room. Consider combining large and small; opt for a larger couch and smaller side tables, or a large coffee table and smaller armchairs or love seat. All-in-all you want to find a balance between sitting and storage.

Windows:

You want to avoid putting beds or couches in front of windows since it blocks out natural light which can make rooms feel smaller and crowded. If this is unavoidable, consider adding a mirror to give the illusion of a larger room.

 

Please feel free to contact us with any other home decor questions!