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Putting a room together is hard. Figuring out where to place your furniture, deciding where to place your decor items, and wondering if your room needs any finishing touches are all decisions that can impact the design of your room.
Some people tend to overthink their concepts and actually make decisions that can harm the look of your room. These mistakes are things you might not even notice unless someone points them out to you.
One of our La-Z-Boy interior designers, Magaly del Castillo, says “designing a room is like painting a picture. You want the right amount of balance with your colours, your space, and your theme so that everything remains cohesive.”
With that being said, how can you tell what is a design mistake and what isn’t?
Well, with the help of our interior designers, Magaly, Mary Lee Smyth, and Zeina Badawi, we have compiled a list that will hopefully help you avoid these simple design mistakes to create a beautiful room.
In This Article…
- Don’t Forget to Measure
- Do Not Overcrowd Your Room
- Be Careful with Room Lighting
- Don’t Follow Fads Blindly
- Do Not Mix and Match Your Decor
- Keep in Mind Who You Live With
- Do Not Overwhelm Your Room
- Small Spaces Need More Creativity
- Don’t Add Things Willy-Nilly
- Outdated Design Trends
1. Don't Forget to Measure
Measurements, measurements, measurements! There is nothing more important when incorporating new furniture in your home than taking measurements.
All three interior designers both express greatly that if you forget to take measurements of your space, there can be some big obstacles to face down the line.
“It is important to measure your space because if you don’t, your furniture might be too big and you might not have enough space to put everything you want in your room,” says Zeina.
Zeina also says that some furniture pieces might be too big for your room but they can also look too small in your room. “If you were to get a long couch but a small coffee table, it would look a little weird to the eye.”
To learn more about How to Measure a Room, check out this article.
2. Do Not Overcrowd Your Room
Another reason why you should measure your space before adding furniture pieces is to avoid overcrowding your room.
In an ideal living room, you want to have the perfect amount of traffic space so that people can get from one area of the room to another.
If your furniture is too big or even too small, it can become an awkward-looking living room. Zeina also expresses that in an open-concept room, sometimes putting furniture against the wall isn’t always the best solution.
“This works for smaller rooms, but bigger rooms can have furniture pieces in the centre of the room. That way people can choose to walk either in front of a couch, for example, or behind it.”
To learn more about How to Design an Open-Concept Space, check out this article.
3. Be Careful with Room Lighting
It may not sound important but room lighting is one of the most important things to consider when coming up with a good interior design concept. After all, who is going to be able to see your gorgeous room if the lighting is dim?
Magaly suggests having at least three light sources in your room so you can properly see everything. These sources can be two accent lamps on opposite sides of the room, and a ceiling light in the middle of the ceiling.
However, both Zeina and Magaly caution that too much lighting can also be just as harmful to a room.
Pot lights have been known to add extra lighting to a room if need be. Zeina even says that pot lights create the perfect amount of lighting in a room if you have nothing else to light your room.
However, Magaly says that if you have more than just pot lights in your room, it might leave your room with too much lighting resulting in everything looking too warm or fluorescent depending on the light.
“Pot lights also bring on a little bit of a spotlight to certain places, so don’t go crazy with pot lights in one room or else it might be too much light,” says Magaly.
4. Don't Follow Fads Blindly
Mary Lee expresses that no matter the design trend you have in mind, the only thing you need to remember is to remain true to yourself.
“I find that no matter what the theme of a room is, as long as it is well presented and well thought out, it should remain true to who you are as a person.”
As much as it is important to stay true to yourself, however, there might be some compromises needed if you live with other people.
Mary Lee says that some design concepts may conflict with another. A traditionally styled living room may not work if your partner or roommate doesn’t enjoy that type of aesthetic.
A good compromise would be to combine the two styles so that everyone can get what they want. Contemporary furniture does a great job of combining two styles that people enjoy, according to Mary Lee and Magaly.
Mary Lee also mentions that picking an accent colour can be a good compromise if you’re looking for something that speaks to you specifically in your house.
“I once had a family come in looking for a unique concept for their living room. The mom really wanted amethyst colours but the family wasn’t too pleased with that–they wanted more grey colours. So, what we did to compromise was let mom have an amethyst accent chair in the corner of the room, so that corner could be her corner. Everyone was happy about that, especially her since she had her own throne.”
With that being said, Magaly says it is the little things that can set a room apart from everyone else’s. “A little bit of compromise goes a long way.”
5. Be Careful When Mixing and Matching Your Decor
Although compromising with someone you live with can be beneficial, we have to remember to keep the concept of a room on one theme.
Magaly says that a room should tell a story. “Maybe you are very passionate about the beach so you want to make your room beach or sailor themed. Or you want your culture to shine in your room so you put up different decor items that complement your home country.”
As long as there is one theme in the room, people will be able to understand the “story” of a room better. This means keeping knick-knacks or decor items that are off theme out of that room.
Every room should have its own theme, while not deviating too much from the overall aesthetic of the house. “You want to have consistency in your house colour and furniture wise,” says Zeina.
While the theme of the room should stay consistent, don’t be afraid to mix and match furniture, wood tones, or patterns to create some visual interest.
6. Try Not to Disregard Who You Are Living With
Speaking of compromising design ideas, it is also important to take into consideration the different age groups that live in your house.
It may or may not come as a surprise, but different age demographics appreciate different design styles. If you live in a place where everyone is around the same age, that makes your job a lot simpler. But, with different age groups comes different problems.
With children, for example, all-white living room concepts may not be the best idea if they’re messy, according to Mary Lee. Instead, darker colours would suffice; that way you wouldn’t have to worry about maintaining the clean and perfect all-white aesthetic.
With elderly individuals, it is always good to be conscious of what type of Area Rug you want to get. High pile area rugs are rugs that have taller and more loose fibres. If you have a high pile area rug, some elderly people with either walkers or canes might have more of a risk of tripping or falling.
Instead, choose low pile area rugs with your overall design concept still in place. Zeina reassures that there is always an area rug style that suits low pile or high pile.
Glass Tables are also a tough furniture piece to incorporate with both small children and elderly people, says Mary Lee. Children sometimes like to bang on things with either toys or other things, which can create scuffs and unfixable dents on a glass coffee table.
Elderly people, on the other hand, may not be able to see the glass if they have vision issues, meaning they could bump into it and fury themselves.
So, with those factors in mind, Mary Lee suggests that wood tables in a living room are usually best.
7. Do Not Overwhelm Your Room
As mentioned before, some people may have conflicting design ideas and want to incorporate them into one room. This might unfortunately create the concept of a confusing or overwhelming room if there is a lot going on.
Overwhelming rooms can occur if the design of a room isn’t fully thought out or if the room doesn't have a concrete purpose. For example, you might like modern aesthetics while the person you live with might enjoy a more barnyard look. If you were to combine the two together, the room might feel as though it is busy and not fully functional.
Overwhelming rooms can also occur if there isn’t a full focal point. Zeina explains that if there are too many focal points in a room, guests that come over may not know where to look and might feel confused or lose interest.
A good example of having too many focal points is having the fireplace in a living room on one side of the room while the TV is on the other side.
Zeina recommends keeping the focal point to one area of the room. This can be the fireplace on the same wall as the TV so that there is a main part of the room that you can focus on.
8. Do Not Avoid Using Creativity for Small Spaces
Mary Lee says sometimes small spaces like apartments or condos, need multipurpose furniture items.
Optimizing storage is often the main focus when designing small spaces. Because of this, an Ottoman or Coffee Table with Storage is a great idea so you can store your belongings easily.
If you want to learn more about small space furniture, check out these articles for your Living Room and Dining Room.
9. Don't Add Things Willy-Nilly
Lastly, one of the more important factors to consider when designing a room is having a set plan.
Zeina and Magaly say that adding things willy-nilly might not be the best idea, because you may run into the aforementioned problems, like overwhelming a room, mixing and matching your decor, and overcrowding your room.
Zeina suggests the best way to avoid this is to have notes or a concrete vision of what your room is going to look like. “Even if you don’t have the budget for all of your furniture and decor pieces now, as long as you stick to your plan, your room should look nice and flow well.”
Now, it is normal to change your mind on certain things if your dream room takes time to complete, but if it sticks to the overall theme, there shouldn’t be a problem.
Outdated Design Trends
Now that you know a couple of key design mistakes to avoid, there is also something to be said about certain design trends losing traction. There are some trends in recent years that have lost a bit of steam, either because people have lost interest or it doesn’t appeal to most homeowners anymore.
Zeina tells us that the trend of having a 7-piece living room and dining room sets is becoming outdated. “Now, people are looking for more mix and matching furniture pieces, while staying on theme with their design concept. People are tired of having everything be the same and they’re looking for something unique and new for their home,” She says.
She also notes that self-expression and identity are becoming popular when considering colours and furniture items for a nursery. Nowadays, people are slowly drifting away from having either pink or blue colours and are going more for gender-neutral colours like pastel yellow and green.
“This year,” she says, “we’re moving away from the monochromatic colours of the past and we’re seeing bold and more dynamic colours taking shape in people’s homes, which is quite interesting because we havent seen this happen since the 80s.” So, even if a design trend does come to an inevitable end, it might also have an unexpected return to the forefront.
Mary Lee also tells us that colours of the years from colour brands and designers have all been vibrant colours that each represent a different sentiment of rejuvenation, innovation, and optimism for a more positive future.
If you’re interested in discovering more Design Trends for 2022 or the Colour of the Year for Pantone, check out these articles.
What's Next?
With these 9 simple design mistakes avoided, you can now create the room of your dreams with a clearer picture of what you should and shouldn’t do.
As mentioned before, designing a room with furniture and decor can be hard. Luckily, La-Z-Boy has you covered. Being the inventor of the recliner over 90 years ago, we know a thing or two about creating a stylish and comfortable living room.
From Modern Recliners to Contemporary Sofas, La-Z-Boy has everything you need in order to create a relaxing space with high-quality furniture and great home decor accents.
Visit us at any of our local showrooms located in Ottawa or Kingston, or schedule a visit online before coming in.
Our design consultants are always eager to lend a helping hand. Take advantage of our interior design services to see how our living room furniture could fit in your home.
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