A professional looking interior means staying away from the cardinal sins of home decorating, but what if you have no idea what you shouldn’t be doing? We’ve got you covered! Below is a list of decorating NO-NOs shared by our designer friends.

Pushing Furniture Against the Wall

Unless we’re talking about a very small room, not having some breathing space around your pieces of furniture is a decorating NO-NO. If you’re grouping some seating for a conversational area, it would be great to have about 4 to 8 feet in between the pieces for a comfortable distance that will still allow the furniture to float in the room.

Choosing Just Any Paint Colour

A room’s paint colour can make or break the look of the room. Poorly chosen paint colour can make everything else look cheap or dated. When choosing a paint colour, it would be best to consult a professional to avoid a costly mistake.

Skimping on the Area Rug

The worst thing you could do is buy an area rug that’s too small. If you want a rug to define an area, make sure that it is big enough to have all the furniture of a certain grouping’s front legs sitting on it.

Being Too Matchy

There’s a difference between looking put together and everything matching to the point that things look the same. You will not want to lose what makes each element or furniture piece unique. If you want things to match, simply pick a common characteristic or element such as colour, texture, or material.

Choosing Cheap Pillows

Boxy and barely-there pillows look cheap. What you want to achieve is to make pillows look generous, fluffy, and custom-made. To achieve this, stuff pillows into slightly smaller pillow cases so they’d look luxurious. Make sure that you also pick cases that don’t look like they came with the couch or sofa. A bit of contrast is great for a professional look.

Skimping on Drapery

Drapery should look rich and elegant. The more pleats, the better. To achieve this, use fabric that is about 3 times the width of your windows. You can get away with less if you’ll be installing fixed side panels but no matter what you do, don’t skimp on the drapery.

Sacrificing Lighting to Stay On Budget

No, just no! No matter how beautifully decorated a room is, bad lighting will make it look like you didn’t take any care with it. Inappropriately scaled lighting do not dress a room properly. The same goes for inadequate lighting. Invest in lighting that can double as décor, that way, you’re not really sacrificing anything.