I am assuming my readers have good taste - no hay on the walls
(what WAS she thinking!), cardboard lined bedrooms, or plastic
egg covered bathrooms. And after all, you DO read my advice!
Yet, even so, you may be making little mistakes that change
your home décor from amazing to awkward!

Here are some design mistakes you may be making!

1. Decorating your room based on a whim or the current fad
instead of thinking how the room will be used. White sofas
in a play room? Hay on the wall of a family room! (she will
never live that down!) Frilly ruffles in a bedroom shared
with your very macho husband. Think about the room's uses
and users before you decorate.

2. Using incorrect lighting for the room's use. Sure, those
little lamps are cute! But will they provide enough reading
light in your family room? Will that chandelier cast shadows
that will make the room occupants look like bad Picasso
knockoffs? Make sure to buy lamps and light bulbs which
ease the strain on readers. And as for the shadows, why not
try frosted bulbs to soften those harsh angles?

3. Arranging furniture in awkward patterns. If you had to make
your way from one side of the room to the other in the dark,
could you do it without knocking your shins on a table? Can
you do it in the daylight? While winding paths across a room
might earn you extra exercise, they can be hazardous to our
shins (and a couple of toes!) Arrange easy paths from one
room to the next.

4. Putting all the furniture against the wall. Unless you have
a paranoia about having someone behind your back, move your
furniture further into the room. It adds more interest and
looks less like a police line-up!

5. Awkward conversation areas. If your visitors have to twist
their bodies, look under lamps and over tables to have a
conversation, your furniture is placed incorrectly. Group
furniture into small intimate areas where people can talk
face to face.

6. Hanging artwork too high. Try placing your artwork at or
below eye level (and not eye level for the Jolly Green
Giant!) Unless it is over a fireplace mantel, try not
to
make your visitors look up to view your prints or paintings.

7. Scattering the accessories. If you have a collection, group
it together. (Makes it easier to see what you have so you
don't buy duplicates!) When individual pieces are scattered
throughout the house, the collection loses its impact.

8. Including just one of everything in the room. Just one of
everything makes people think that your kids broke the mate
to the piece. Bring balance and unity to the room by
choosing pairs of lamps, chairs, pillows or tables.

9. Having a lop-sided room. Don't put all the big, heavy
furniture or dark colors on one side of the room. It will
feel like you are on the deck of the Titanic. Distribute
the pieces evenly to bring balance to the room.

Are you making design mistakes? They are easy to remedy! A
little furniture moving here, a little shuffling there and your
home will be ready for Architectural Digest (or Field and Stream
- depending on your décor!)


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Pamela Cole Harris has been a writer and decorator for
thirty-five years (YIKES! Has it been that long?). She is the
author of *Home and Garden Design Tips*, a free weekly syndicated
home and garden content service for your website. Get the code at
http://www.homeandgardenmakeover.com/content_syndication.html .
And while you are there, sign up for her monthly newsletter! And
visit her other sites at http://www.pajamabusinesses.com and
http://www.thewellfedtraveler.com .