As Interior Designers, we've had our fair share of clients who've stumbled upon a design hiccup or two before coming to us, and we have started to notice a few patterns.
So we've put together a handy list to help you sidestep these oh-so-common snags and create a home you love.
With My Bespoke Room, you can bid farewell to creative mistakes, as our professional designers will help you to get it right, first time.
1. A lack of design direction
We totally understand the excitement of decorating and just wanting to do everything at once - but halt!
A very common interior design mistake is when people hurry into transforming their room without deciding on a design direction.
Without having a clear vision of the final room you could end up with a space full of impulse buys and decisions which don’t work together.
To create a successful design direction, think about creating a mood board (like the ones we create for our clients) which pulls together all of the colours, patterns, materials and styles you wish to use, helping you to make better purchases.
At My Bespoke Room, we create tailored design directions for every client, ensuring we blend their favourite styles. This guides us towards a final room design that our clients love.
2. Not scaling furniture correctly
We’re sorry to say it, but in the world of interior design - size does matter.
This tip isn’t just about making sure furniture items physically fit in your room (though this is a good place to start), it’s more about ensuring all the different pieces look in proportion to one another.
For example, tiny dining chairs at a gargantuan oak table aren’t going to work!
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for this mistake - you can only really tell furniture is scaled right when you see all the pieces together, and this is where an Interior Designer can come in to make sure your room looks amazing the first time around.
However, our main tip is to simply avoid extremes, like instead of placing a tiny cactus in the centre of your oversized coffee table, go for a bigger centrepiece that won’t feel lost.
3. Investing too much in trends
As designers, we love home trends and seeing them change over time, and there is never any harm in indulging a trend if it’s something you really love.
However, trends will always come and go, so it’s almost impossible to keep your home looking like the ‘in’ thing.
Before buying something just because it is all over the internet, take a minute to ask yourself if you actually love it? …Or has it just been plastered on your Instagram feed for months so you think you love it?
4. Taking lighting for granted
We say this over and over again, but lighting can transform a space in a matter of seconds and should not be forgotten.
Lighting has the ability to instantly elevate a space and completely change the atmosphere.
The cheat sheet for great lighting is layering a range of different light sources at different levels (like wall, floor and table lamps), which can all be used for different purposes, but work together to develop one stunning set up.
5. Magnetising furniture to your walls
Your furniture and your walls don’t have to be stuck together.
Especially in bigger rooms, you have so much space to play with so don’t restrict yourself by using the wall as a backdrop for all of your pieces.
Some spaces need to be zoned and furniture placement is a great way to do this. For example, in a long narrow room, place your sofa in the middle with a beautiful sideboard behind. That way you can see the TV without squinting and you’ve earned yourself another bonus area for a dining table or kid zone.
If your space allows you can also bring your seating into the middle of the room surrounding a rug and coffee table. This creates a far more intimate and social layout.
As long as walkways are left clear, feel free to rearrange to your heart's content.
We understand that layouts can be challenging, that’s why we recommend working with a designer on tricky spaces so you can be confident that you are maximising your space to your full potential.
6. Thinking small spaces don’t deserve love
We strongly believe that all rooms of different shapes and sizes deserve equal amounts of love!
One of our favourite things to do, as Interior Designers, is go BIG in small spaces as it is always unexpected and bound to surprise guests.
A common misconception is that painting a small room bright white will make the space look bigger - but this isn’t always the case.
Small rooms are a great opportunity to push yourself out of your comfort zone with some dramatic colours or dynamic wallpaper - or both!
Collaborating with an Interior Designer gives you the assurance to take daring leaps, as you’re backed by a seasoned pro who’s got you covered.
7. Leaving out finishing touches
Does it ever feel like you’ve come to the end of a project, yet the room still doesn’t feel quite complete?
Finishing touches can be easily forgotten as they’re often not included in the initial plan - but they’re the most important aspect that takes your room from looking simply finished to designed.
All the little details, such as cushions, throws, artwork, indoor plants, and accessories, are what bring a room together and make the space feel like your own.
If you struggle to pull together just the final pieces in your room, we have a service for you, our £250 Room Styling Package will transform your space into a wow-worthy room that will leave all of your guests just a little jealous!
8. Being too matchy-matchy
A lot of customers use our service because the fear of things not matching and making expensive mistakes can be overwhelming.
But our designers are here to tell you that not everything needs to match and switching things up can make your home much more dynamic and interesting.
We’re not saying there’s anything wrong with having a dining table with matching chairs. But occasionally these sets could use a touch of variety - a couple of different chairs mixed-matched in there will take your room from a showroom to a unique space that exudes your own personality.
Our professional Interior Designers are ready to collaborate with you to create a space you love whilst avoiding costly mistakes. Get in touch with us today to discuss your project!
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