“A life spent making mistakes is not only a more honorable,

but more useful than a life spent doing nothing”

~ George Bernard Shaw

 

We all are afraid about making mistakes, and it just so happens the more afraid we get the more mistakes we make! When it comes to decorating a house we all have bought something which we later on have regretted buying. In this issue we are going to be talking about some common decorating faults and their possible solutions.

1. Putting everything you love in one room, overcrowding a space is very frequent, sometimes the collection of mementos is too big and we want to display them regardless of how old they are. Solution: Basic and clean lines work better in modern days, less is more.

2. Choosing furniture that doesn’t play well with the rest of the house. I have seen themed rooms that really look out of this world and not in a nice way. Scale, color, lines, geometry, texture, etc., play a coordinating scheme. Our furniture should echo certain elements giving the room harmony and a sense of cohesion.

3. Using too much wall paper or texture. Venetian plaster can have a great and dramatic impact on a wall, but when the whole house is done in such, it can actually defeat its purpose. The same can be said of wall paper. Before spending a lot of money in a project like that look around and choose the accent walls or architectural features where texture could actually be of greater interest.

4. Hanging art too high. Art should hang at eye level of course for the average person, keep in mind that several pieces should be considered as one, wall art should relate to both wall and furniture size, I always think of furnishings and accessories

5. Placing too small pieces of art. That 24X18 piece of art that you love for its color could look great above the toilet seat but it will actually look lost above your 8 foot sofa. Size matters, so keep in mind where art is going to be hung before you buy it. At Diseños Casa y Jardín we can help you by taking wall art to your home before you buy it, so we all make sure it is the perfect scale and color!

6. A rug that is too small for the space detracts its purpose, sometimes it’s better not to have one than having one that is too little for the area. Think of an area rug as artwork for the floor!

7. Lighting. It would be too sad to have decorated a house with our ultimate wishes and taste and not being able to enjoy it for the lack of adequate lighting. Any space needs, besides overhead lights, ambiance. Reading or track lighting do wonders to change the atmosphere of any place.

8. Using only color without considering texture is another common mistake, you can introduce stone, wall paper, glass, brick, adobe or wood to walls, that way you balance both color with texture.

9. Trying to make everything match. Don’t make your house look as if you have bought everything in one shopping stop, nowadays furniture doesn’t have to be of the same set, the same wood or stain color, instead of of thinking if something matches, think if something goes.

10. Furniture chosen for the place not for the users. When I help customers choose furniture, I ask a lot of questions. Are there any children? Do you often entertain? Is it going to a rental house? How big is your space? This kind of questions usually lead us to find what is appropriate for a specific purpose.

You don’t have make mistakes, or if you have made them already, there is always a way to correct them, visit Eddie Wharez® Diseños Casa y Jardín on Old Cholla Rd. (Shacks 5th Ave.) a.k.a. Rodeo Drive, passing the railroad tracks second door on the left.