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Ways to Avoid Decorating Mistakes
I frequently get calls from new clients telling me
they have made decorating mistakes in the past and that
they want to do it right this time. When decorating
your home, here are some things to keep in mind to avoid
problems.
1) Have a master plan. Even if you are working on only
one room at a time, you should think ahead to what you
want the whole house to look like when you are done.
This becomes especially important if your home has an
open floor plan. Colors should blend, flooring should
be consistent, and window treatments should coordinate.
2) Don’t purchase the whole living room furniture
suite just because it’s on sale. Please don’t
buy anything just to buy it, or just because it’s
on sale. Buy only what you need and only what you love.
And I can’t say enough about checking dimensions.
Measure the room and the furniture to make sure it will
fit.
3) Clear the clutter. You can have lovely furnishings
and stunning paint colors, but if you have too much
clutter, your room will look and feel crowded and uncomfortable.
Edit your belongings, and get rid of the junk.
4) Don’t play it safe with white walls. People
will often purchase one really great chair or bedding
ensemble in vibrant colors or patterns, and then chicken
out when it comes to following through with the motif.
What they don’t realize is that gorgeous color
on their walls will truly enhance their furnishings.
I’m not saying that you should never have white
walls. However, if you have white walls because you
are afraid of color, then you need to take a walk on
the wild side, try color, and see what you’ve
been missing all this time.
5) Don’t underestimate the need for good lighting
for functionality and beauty. Many of the rooms in our
homes come with no lighting at all, except perhaps a
dining room chandelier and a bank of fluorescents in
the kitchen. Despite what you might think, one torchiere
floor lamp is not enough to illuminate a room. Keep
in mind the three types of lighting: ambient lighting,
task lighting and accent lighting. A torchiere lamp
might provide some ambient lighting for your den, for
example, but you’ll still need task lighting in
the form of a desk lamp for working and a table lamp
for reading. Use accent lighting to highlight a favorite
piece of art or in a curio cabinet to show off collectibles.
6) Don’t expect instant results. When we watch
all of those decorating shows on TV, we get the idea
that our homes should be “done” in one day.
It just doesn’t work that way. It takes time to
order furniture and to schedule the electrician and
the painter. It may take months to find the perfect
piece of art to hang above your fireplace. Don’t
get discouraged. A home evolves over time as our needs
and tastes change. Take your time and enjoy the process.
This article first appeared in Alameda Newspaper
Group papers on August 21, 2004.
Go
back to the list of decorating columns.
All articles copyright 2003-2008 Anna
Jacoby.
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