15 Rookie Home Decorating Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

The process of decorating a home should be a fun journey, right?! The thing is, it’s pretty easy to make some rookie mistakes that will throw off the entire look and feel of a space and WASTE your money. But don’t you worry! Whether you are styling your very first home or just looking for a refresher, I gotchu. Here, I’m sharing my professional tips to help you avoid the biggest rookie decorating mistakes so you’ll have a home that feels inviting, stylish, and perfectly “you.”

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1. Skipping the Design Plan: Start with a Vision

One of the most common mistakes people make is diving into home decor without a clear design plan. It’s tempting to buy a piece of furniture you love without thinking about how it will fit into your overall color scheme or consider the size and scale. The easiest way to avoid this mistake is to create a plan—whether that’s a vision board or a Pinterest collection. You definitely need simple to-scale sketch of your layout – (I recommend graph paper).

• Expert advice: Think about the focal point of your room and build the rest of your decor around it. For example, your living room might center around a stunning coffee table, fireplace or TV feature wall.

2. Understanding Scale: Big Pieces vs. Small Rooms

A common decorating mistake in interior design is ignoring the importance of scale. When decorating a small room, using big pieces of furniture can overwhelm the space. On the other hand, opting for only petite furniture in a large room makes it feel sparse.

• Shopping mistake: Choosing furniture that looks great in the store but feels out of place at home. Measure everything, and ensure you have enough room for people to move comfortably.
• Make sure the scale of the furniture matches the space. For a smaller space, stay away from furniture pieces like billowing recliner sofas with tall backs.

3. Choosing the Right Paint Color: Avoiding the Biggest Decorating Faux Pas

Picking the wrong paint color can easily derail your design goals. Paint looks different depending on the light fixtures and natural sunlight in the room. A quick swatch under a single pendant light doesn’t tell the whole story, and that’s where many people go wrong.

• Great news: Test multiple colors with samples on your walls and observe how they look throughout the day and night. Trust me, you don’t want to skip this crucial step, it will help you avoid expensive mistakes!

WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO SAMPLE PAINT COLORS?

Look no further than SAMPLIZE!  Using a peel and stick paint sample is cleaner, easier to use, more affordable, AND more environmentally friendly.

Here’s why I recommend SAMPLIZE to my clients:

1. Cost-Effective: They’re more budget-friendly than traditional methods, which often require purchasing sample pots, rollers, and tag boards.

2. Easy to Use: Keep your Samplize samples on their white paper backing and you can effortlessly move them around the room to see how they look in different lighting conditions.

3. Speedy Delivery: Samplize samples arrive at your doorstep in just one day, depending on your location.

4. Lighting Makes All the Difference

Poor lighting is one of the most common mistakes in home decor. A room with only overhead lighting can feel cold and uninviting. Layering your lighting with table lamps, floor lamps, and pendant lights adds much-needed depth and warmth.

• Interior stylist tip: Make sure your lighting complements your design style. For example, modern spaces may call for sleek floor fixtures, while cozy interiors benefit from soft ambient lighting.

5. Rugs: Finding the Right Size and Style

When it comes to area rugs, size really does matter. Using too small rugs in large spaces is a common decorating mistake that can make the entire room feel disjointed. The rug should anchor the room and sit under the front legs of your main furniture pieces at minimum.

• Good room design: Choose a rug that extends at least a foot beyond the edges of your furniture. This gives the room a more cohesive look and ties the elements together beautifully.

6. Creating a Central Focal Point for the Room

Every room needs a central focal point to draw the eye. Without one, the space may feel cluttered or lack direction. The thing people often overlook is that the focal point doesn’t always have to be something obvious like a TV or fireplace. It could be an oversize artwork, a dining table, or a well-designed bookshelf.

• Pro tip: Arrange your furniture to highlight the focal point of a room. This creates harmony and helps each piece complement the room feel.

RELATED: 13 Stunning Fireplace Accent Wall Ideas for Your Home

7. Avoid Overly Matching Furniture Sets

While furniture sets might seem like the easiest way to decorate, they can make a room feel boring and uninspired. A perfectly matched set of a sofa, loveseat, and armchair will certainly strip the space of personality.

• Good idea: Mix and match pieces to create a curated, lived-in look. Try pairing a vintage coffee table with a modern sofa or adding throw pillows in different textures for much-needed softness.

8. Overlooking Window Treatments

Bare windows can make even the most beautifully designed room feel unfinished.  At the same time, choosing the wrong window treatments or hanging them incorrectly can become an an eyesore and an can be one of the more expensive rookie decorating mistakes.

• Interior designers’ advice: Choose materials that match your color palette and let in just the right amount of natural light without looking cheap. Lined drapery is always best unless you are using sheers.
• Functionality with Layers: Consider a layered approach, especially if you’ve got a space with great natural light. The first layer will be for light control, and privacy, in a shade or blind (inside mounted). The second layer, add floor to ceiling drapery or a faux Roman shade (outside mounted).

Read all about how to Hang Curtains the Right Way HERE!

9. Too Much or Too Little Decor: Striking the Right Balance

Adding too many accessories and tchotchkes can overwhelm a space, while too little can leave it feeling sterile. The goal is to strike the right balance and give decorative attention to key areas of the room without cluttering it.

• Je ne sais quoi factor: The right pieces should evoke emotion or tell a story—whether it’s a sculpture you bought on vacation or a piece of art you love. I’m a firm believer that less is more, but make those items special.

10. Ignoring Traffic Flow and Functionality

Each room in your home should connect effortlessly with the next. One of the most sophisticated spaces doesn’t just look good—but even more importantly, it functions well, too. This means considering walkways, making sure there’s plenty of room for movement, and ensuring that your furniture layout works for daily life.

• Avoid obstacles: create as direct a path as possible from one space to the next.
• Allow enough space: for circulation to take place (i.e. paths between furniture are too tight)

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11. White Walls: Timeless or Too Stark?

Many people gravitate toward white walls for their versatility and brightness. But if not styled correctly, white interiors can feel cold. Adding warmth with hardwood floors, cozy throw pillows, and colorful or textural accents can help achieve that perfect balance.

• Design style tip: White walls work best when paired with materials that provide texture and visual interest, such as linen, woven grass, wood, or velvet.

RELATED: The 10 Best White Paint Colors that go with Oak

12. Avoiding the “First Place” Decorating Trap

Decorating your first home can be exciting, but it’s easy to rush into buying everything at once. This often leads to expensive mistakes and a room filled with things that don’t quite fit together.

• Main thing to remember: Take your time. Start with a few key pieces of furniture and add items slowly. You’ll enjoy the process more, and your space will feel more authentically you!

13. Pushing Seating Against the Walls

One mistake people typically make is pushing all their furniture up against the wall. Not only do you end up with a vacant middle, but you end up too far away to carry on a conversation or create that sense of coziness we all want.

• In a small space, pushing your furniture against the wall makes sense if that is your only option. But, when it comes to spaces that are a little bit larger, it’s always best to leave a little bit of a space between the wall and the back of your sofa
• Instead of anchoring furniture—especially seating—against the wall or into the corner of the room, I recommend prioritizing conversation circles. Seating should not be more than 10-feet away when across from each other.
• Again, traffic flow: Don’t force circulation through conversation or television watching areas.

14.  Don’t Skip the Coffee Table or End Tables

A common rookie mistake is neglecting to include a coffee table or enough end tables in a living room. These pieces are essential for both functionality and style. Without them, you lose convenient surfaces for drinks, decor, or table lamps, and the space can feel unfinished. Adding a coffee table and end tables not only makes your living room more practical but also ties the whole design together for a finished look.

• Pro tip: Your coffee table should be about two-thirds the length of your sofa and low enough to keep it accessible. End tables provide easy reach as well for that cup of coffee, or glass of wine 🙂 and help anchor the room’s layout.
• Want something softer? Use an ottoman with a tray instead!

RELATED: 39 Easy Center Table Decor Ideas (and tips) for your Living Room

15. Hanging Art Too High

Last thing, but most certainly NOT the least is the most common off all the rookie mistakes, hanging your art too high. This one goes for mirrors as well. Hang your art at the right height, pretty please!

• Art Hanging Tips: A good rule of thumb is to hang art at approximately eye level so that its midpoint is between 57 and 60 inches from the floor. This applies to a grouping or gallery wall, too. In rooms with ceilings higher than eight feet, artwork can be hung a little higher than 60 inches off the floor. The same applies for wall mirrors.
• Art Above Furniture: If you’re hanging your art above a piece of furniture, hang 4-8 inches above the piece to the bottom of the art or mirror. 

Final Thoughts: Decorating with Confidence

Avoiding these rookie mistakes will set you on the path to creating the perfect home for you and your family. With thoughtful planning, you’ll create spaces that look amazing and feel even better without making huge mistakes and wasting a lot of time. At the end of the day, decorating isn’t just about creating the most beautiful space—it’s about making a home that feels good to live in. Whether you work with an interior designer, browse Pinterest for inspiration, or follow trends, always stay true to what makes you feel comfortable and bring you joy! Happy decorating!