Interior Decorating - Some Things You Should Not Do

Decorating “rules” are made to be broken. Not every project will lend itself to every so-called rule.  However, following the rules can help give your project a focus that a more haphazard approach may not. Here are some of the decorating “don’ts”.

    

• Don’t paint your walls then go out looking for fabrics to match. Paint can be mixed in any of a thousand colors, so select the final shades after upholstery, carpeting, and curtain fabrics are chosen.
• Don’t paint a room without trying a sample of the color in the room. Tiny paint chips can be deceiving as to tone and depth of color, so always paint a test board to confirm your choices.
• Don’t line up the furniture around the walls except in the smallest of rooms. Pulling furniture into attractive groupings in the center of the room will add warmth and be inviting to guests as well.
• Don’t turn your back on the focal point of the room by arranging furniture away from this important feature.
• Don’t place furniture where it will interfere with doorways, cabinet doors, natural traffic patterns, or other everyday activities.
• Don’t clutter up a room with a million little collectibles unless you’re in love with that look. Most of us will feel it is too crowded.
• Don’t try to construct a color scheme from wildly disparate objects. First find a print fabric or rug with all of the colors you want to use, then edit out, repaint, or recover items that don’t fit with the plan.
• Don’t keep something you hate. Do you have a hideous orange sofa from Aunt Zelda? Either slipcover it, recover, or remove it. You’ll be happier.
• Don’t decorate around an item that just isn’t “you”. If your new home came with gold shag carpeting when you love roses and lace, believe me, you’ll never love that carpet. Get rid of it.
• Don’t forget the details. If your theme is Mediterranean, look for iron lamp bases, weathered iron drawer pulls, and tile tables. If you love Cottage then use painted white accessories, floral accents, and lace.
• Don’t fall in love with cheap furniture just because it has an appealing color or exciting fabric. Look for good lines, quality construction, and elegant details first. Then have those pieces covered in a fabric or finish that you love.
• Don’t choose colors standing in a store. Try to take samples (of paint, fabrics, and floor coverings) back to your home and look at them in daylight and at night.
• Don’t spend a lot of money on expensive items that are “trendy”. Try out trends that truly appeal to you by experimenting first with inexpensive accessories.
• Don’t live with a lot of mismatched furniture orphans. Unite pieces with color — either by painting everything one color (white, pale gold, or black for example) or by recovering everything using identical or a mix of coordinating fabrics.
• Don’t always choose backgrounds in your favorite color. Sometimes providing a softer background will make your favorite color stand out as the brightest accent color in the room.
• Don’t choose everything beige if you really love color. Remember, color doesn’t cost more than white. Wouldn’t a pretty mango, soft coral, or lovely green wall make a terrific backdrop for your white sofa?
• Don’t ignore the mood effects of color — red is exciting, pale blue soothing, green calming, and yellow is happy — so choose color schemes that underscore the feeling you want to create in your home.
• Don’t disregard the undertones of a color. Every color can be either light or dark, cool or warm, clear or muddy. Look for these color cues when choosing color.
• Don’t blow your entire budget on something that isn’t functional, classic, or long-lasting, unless you’re completely smitten and can’t live without it. In general it’s best to start with the basics and build from there.

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