Interior Designers Share 10 Decorating Rules We Should Finally Put to Bed

On average, hiring an interior designer can set you back anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000. This seems like something that not everyone can afford. However, if you still want to renovate your place, it’s possible to do it on your own without spending a ton of money.

We at Bright Side are really keen on decorating and design, so we’ve collected some popular rules designers consider worth breaking.

1. Not mixing and matching different design styles

Designing your place in a specific style is no reason to disclude elements from other genres. For example, a traditional design can go very well with modern elements, as well as rustic pieces. If you have concerns that doing so will affect the cohesion of your home, designers suggest to stick to specific colors instead.

2. Always using matching furniture pieces

Having all the hardware as one set in a specific style is already an outdated trend, designers say. You can have absolutely different styled pieces of furniture — a modern coach can be combined with a vintage armchair and a wooden table with metallic chairs. This will only make your interior more interesting and bright.

3. Minimalist designs

The popular “less is more” sentiment is not a popular trend anymore, designers say. A so-called “visual overload” is the “new black” and requires you to use as many different elements as possible, such as metal, wood, artwork, small pieces of furniture, and whatever else you feel like adding. Monochromic colors and neutral interiors don’t seem interesting — your design should be more expressive instead.

4. Placing furniture up against the walls

Pushing all the furniture against the walls of your room won’t really save or create more space. Instead, it will make your interior look awkward and boring. A better option is to create different thematic areas and accented groups of decorations. This will make your interior more personalized and unique.

5. Not matching colors

Designers insist on basing your interior on a certain color palette when decorating a space. This applies to all components, such as furniture, curtains, bedding, and more, not only walls. Bright colors don’t suit pastel colors very well, so you should choose just one of them. But this doesn’t mean you’ll be left with something boring — many different colors can be combined really well when chosen correctly.

6. Not measuring the space

This is a very common design mistake. To avoid overcrowding or under-furnishing your space, before buying furniture or other hardware, you need to measure all the dimensions in relation to the room, as well as the items to each other. Also, specialists advise keeping walkways free by allowing 36 inches (91 cm) between any pieces of furniture.

7. Using a room only as it was intended

You don’t have to stick to formal rules when it comes to using a certain room. Just because you or your architect gave a certain name to a space doesn’t mean you can only use it one way. You can give more purpose to different rooms by using your dining room as a library or by making a little workplace in your living room, for example.

8. Having only one light source

Lighting is a very important component of any design since it functions both as a light source and as a decoration. Typically, one overhead light source is not enough for an entire room as it can make things look too dark. Instead, using different lamps can be useful for the illumination of a specific function (like table lamps) or for accented lighting to emphasize the features of your design.

9. Leaving fragmented openings between your seating furniture

Having too many small wall openings will make it difficult to use the wall space for anything and will make your room less functional. Instead, specialists suggest putting furniture pieces closer to each other to make your place look cozier.

10. Not following your own personal aesthetic

When decorating our homes, we all look for inspiration from other designers’ websites while what we really need to do is look into our own souls! To have the perfect design that will appease your own aesthetic, you should let your personality be your guide. And you can still rely on professional designers for additional advice.

Do you have any decorating tips that you’d like to share with us? Write your answers in the comment section below!