3 Decorating Mistakes You Might Not Know You're Making

Alright friends, we're talking about design crimes today. Over the past 6 years of owning my interior design business, I've seen a lot of rooms and houses! I don't think people do things because they think it doesn't look good (who would do that?!), I think people make design decisions because they just don't know the more pleasing way to do things. Don't be offended if you're making any one of these three mistakes!! I've made lots of decorating mistakes over the years-- thanks to my parents for letting me experiment with their house while I was in high school, so I could get a lot of them out then ;) Hopefully these will be helpful to you as you're creating a home you love. #3 is more of a decorating lesson, so I hope you learn a little something there! 1. Hanging art or wall decor too high or too low. I see this all the time! It mostly happens when a shorter or taller-than-average person is doing the hanging :) The center of your art should be about 55-60" high off the floor to achieve the "perfect" height!

 The other thing to note here is that if you're hanging an object (like a mirror or painting) above a piece of furniture or over a mantle, there needs not to be too much space in between the said mantle and the bottom of the object. If there's a huge gap, the two things look very disjointed. So if you follow the ~60" center rule and it's too high above whatever you're hanging it above, then you can cheat it down a little. Every rule always an exception, right?! ;)
2. Furniture pushed up against your walls.
This is a big one. A lot of people are misguided when it comes to furniture placement. Most would simply put their sofa and chairs up against walls, but often that can make a room look smaller and create an awkward pit right in the middle of a room, which also becomes the place everyone has to walk through the room. All that dead space in the middle of the room is anything but inviting!  When you pull furniture off the wall and really think about a functional layout, your room feels like it can breath, you create a more interesting layout, AND you can create intentional pathways for people to walk. Bonus is your space usually looks bigger and more inviting, because you are able to create better conversation areas! (Of course there are exceptions to this! A media stand and tv should always be against a wall, so should a buffet in a dining room. This is more specific to a living or family room...or even an office!) 

3. Not lighting your space. Builders don't always put the right lighting in a house to really make it feel welcoming, create ambience and give you good task lighting (lighting you need to complete a task). This is one of the reasons I love working with clients who are designing a new home or doing a reno on a current home from the beginning-- things like lighting often get overlooked! What I'm getting at here is that you can have a beautiful room with pretty decor, but if you can't see it, what's the point?! ;)
One of my favorite elements in a room is the lighting.  It's the light that truly highlights and brings to life the architecture and design of any room. It's like jewelry for your home! In interior design school, I learned all that technical stuff like lumens, wattage, foot candles, A-lamp, R-lamp, that is the not-so-fun-but-still-important-part. Lost you yet?! ;) I don't want to bore you with that stuff, but I DO want to educate you on bringing the proper light to your space. Remember to include 3-4 of the 4 types of light in every room:
1. General {the overhead lighting that generally lights up the room} 2. Task {light that helps you perform specific tasks, like reading or cooking. These are typically can lights or table lights.} 3. Accent {sconces, pendants, or recessed lighting that are used to highlight artwork, sculptures, fabric, or architectural details} 4. Decorative {primarily the ornamental chandelier lighting, wall sconces, candles, entry fixtures, that are meant to stand out and draw your eye to them as being a statement piece.}

Above images by Ashley Slater Photography for Michaela Noelle Designs

 Michaela Noelle Designs

How's that for a design school lesson?!  So, are you committing any of these design crimes? xoxo interior design website / services / portfolio