You’ve customized every inch of your home from the ground up with Acipe Design. Every room is the size you want, every tile on the bathroom floor and kitchen counter. Cupboard doors open the direction you want, and the custom made door for the front door is the statement piece you want it to be.
Design doesn’t end at the building and the basics. Your next step is to design a fun, beautiful, livable interior that reflects your personality. From choosing the right paint to the furniture orientation in each room, everything has to work for you. But there are several design no-nos you should take into account.
Here are some planning tips to make sure you’re designing for beauty, comfort, and function.
Table of Contents
Pinning Furniture Against the Walls
Rugs Are the Wrong Size
Inadequate Lighting
Non-Complementary Paint Colors
Light Fixtures Are the Wrong Size
Pendants Hung Too High or Too Low
Not Mixing and Matching Furniture
Wallpaper That’s the Wrong Orientation
Art at the Wrong Height
Hanging Curtains Too Low or Hemming Them Too Short
Final Thoughts
Pinning Furniture Against the Walls
We realize in some spaces this may seem unavoidable. Apartments with limited space don’t allow for the cozy living room and separated dining space. Instead it’s all lumped together in one big space.
Take a moment to think like an interior design professional and add these tricks to any size space: visible weight, proportion, scale, balance, and symmetry. It sounds like a lot. In a spacious home, the biggest mistake a designer can make is to push all the large furnishings against a wall. It leaves a giant hole in the middle of the space.
The pros say this move makes a space less functional, and causes disruption in a good flow. They recommend pairing pieces of varying sizes to create a more pleasant and livable space.
In homes where you can create ‘zones,’ this thinking beneficial. Great rooms can have a conversation area, a game area, a TV-watching area, a relaxation area, or whatever else you need. To get things right, mark out your furniture placement beforehand so everything goes exactly where you want it.
We at Acipe Design have programs to help you visualize your interior. You’ll see your home’s space to scale and we can help with placement if you can’t visualize it on your own.
Rugs Are the Wrong Size
That area rug at your favorite home store that you just had to have? You know it brings in the colors and textures you want, or will help define a zone, but does it actually fit size-wise?
Our pros say one of the most common home design mistakes a homeowner can make is a rug that is too small or too large. This hearkens back to the zone idea. Rugs help define those zones, and the size of the rug dictates the size of the zone. A small rug with furniture placed on and around it will create a smaller zone that feels confining. A large rug with furnishings lining the sides will make for a large space that separates people rather than bringing them together.
Inadequate Lighting
The staff at Acipe Design takes everything into account from the beginning of the design phase all the way through to the home you move into and begin decorating. Lighting is not an afterthought for us. A single light fixture on the ceiling in the center of the room isn’t necessarily enough to light the whole room. It also gives the impression of a smaller, darker space you won’t want to spend much time in.
Brighten up your home with a mixture of fixtures appropriately styled for each room. Layering lighting, the process of using a mix of recessed ceiling lights, gimbals, spotlights, ceiling fixtures, sconces, floor, and table lamps creates inviting spaces, no matter the size.
Non-Complementary Paint Colors
You may want an eclectic, fun, Hodge-podge of paint colors splashing across every wall in every room. Not only is it costly and time-consuming to use so many different paint colors throughout the home, it doesn’t make an impactful design statement.
Instead, reign in your creative side and choose a color palate that will flow seamlessly from room to room. Make sure you concentrate on ceilings and trim colors, too, as bright white default isn’t always the most complementary.
Growing up, my room was painted whatever color my parents chose, until I hit age 12. My mom decided it was time to paint my room to my taste and let me pick the colors. I chose purple and (unknowingly) a complementary green. This was long ago and I don’t quite remember the trim color, perhaps because it blended in with the purple and green. Up until recently, I had a cork board with the frame I had carefully painted the green color.
In my current apartment, every wall is painted what I consider Rental Gray with bright Rental White trim. While the colors may complement one another to an extent, the colors are not nearly as vibrant or pleasing to the eye as my childhood bedroom.
Light Fixtures Are the Wrong Size
Just like rugs, lighting fixtures can be too large or too small. Inexperienced designers or homeowners on a do-it-yourself mission don’t necessarily pause to consider size and proportion. They look for the light they feel is right and the light they want and make a purchase. That choice may be the single thing that makes or breaks the space, even when you’ve avoided all the other design no-nos on this list. Lights that don’t cast enough light or lights that cast too much light on a space ruin the beauty and impact of the space they illuminate.
Pendants Hung Too High or Low
While we’re on the subject of lighting, the height from which ceiling fixtures shine their light matters. Popular places for pendents and chandeliers are above a dining table or kitchen island or in a foyer or entryway.
For your dining area, break out the tape measure and “mark” eye level (when seated). This is typically 30”-36” above the table. For your countertops and islands, that “mark” should be 32” – 36” inches above the countertop.
Tip: for standard eight-foot ceilings, measure 32.” Having higher ceilings allows for more clearance under the pendant, so keep ceiling height in mind when measuring.
Not Mixing and Matching Furniture
Many homeowners head to the furniture showroom and pick out a matching set of couch, chair, and love seat, or dining set with table and 4-6 matching chairs, among other ‘sets’ of furnishings.
Today’s professional designers say the rooms getting the most love on social media reflect a collection of various furnishings and décor from a myriad of sources. Many
The living room where I write this is part of this design style: we found a couch we love at a furniture store near our home. We shockingly found a beautiful console at Sam’s Club! Our end tables were ordered online, and the lamps that sit on top of them were picked up for a song at Target.
Our dining set includes a table with four matching chairs, but the bench does not belong to the set. The bookshelf is a separate purchase from where we got our dining table, but stands out on its own. Another console for some classic electronics is a wood piece from my parents’ home they’ve had since I was a kid.
Wallpaper That’s the Wrong Orientation
Is it “wallpaper” or “wall covering”? Wallpaper seems to trigger memories of bygone eras, while wall covering is a modern décor option that’s popping up in nearly every professionally designed home on TV.
The first step is to choose a wall covering that fits the space. The second step is to make sure you hang it in the proper orientation. Wall coverings are even creeping up onto the ceiling. No matter where you choose to apply a wall covering, make sure it is in the proper orientation and appropriate for the application.
Professional designers are excited about wall coverings on the ceiling, but to look up and see a pattern that is clearly for a vertical orientation is a no-no. Make sure to choose a ‘multidirectional’ pattern.
Art at the Wrong Height
Whether it’s an artfully framed and hung photo or a piece of art you’ve purchased elsewhere, to make an impact it needs to be hung at the correct height. Art that’s too high or too low doesn’t draw the eye in the way it’s supposed to. That proper height you’re looking for: the center of the work should be approximately 60” off the floor, or roughly eye level. Of course, that’s a starting point that may not be right for every piece or every room.
Not only can art be hung at the wrong height but it can be mis-scaled. Pros agree that art just doesn’t look ‘right’ when it is the wrong scale for the space. If you have a piece you’re not sure of the scale, talk to a designer for the best way to display it in the room you want. They can even help you offset it for a more intentional look. Many people want to hang a beautiful piece over the couch or love seat in their living room. Experts agree it’s best for the art to be rectangular, landscape oriented, and about two-thirds of the width of the furniture piece.
Hanging Curtains Too Low or Hemming Them Too Short
You’ve found a beautiful set of curtains you want to hang in your living room. Before hanging them, make sure the rod on which they’ll rest is high enough off the ground. Just above the window box is typically too low, and your curtains will drag on the floor and collect dust. An appropriate height is 10” – 12” above the casing. You’ll bring height to the room and draw the eye up above the window itself.
Hemming the curtains and hanging the curtains go hand-in-hand. Once you’ve hung your curtain rod and tested the length, you have some choices: 1) allow the fabric to graze the floor 2) allow the fabric to break at the floor and go on another inch 3) allow the fabric to pool on the floor.
When hanging curtains, there are three choices: The fabric can graze the floor, break at the floor and go on another inch, or be long enough to pool on the floor. While designers and homeowners may have different opinions on pooling, most agree that too long or too short is not great.
The choice is yours, of course. An ideal length for look and feel of a complete look is approximately 1/8” above the floor so the curtains are just “kissing” the floor. Lengths shorter than this may look unfinished. Keep in mind these are lengths for living room curtains for tall windows. Windowsill-skimming curtains made for kitchens, bathrooms, and dining nooks need not follow this guideline.
Final Thoughts
The staff and designers at Acipe Design help you create your dream home from foundation to completion. We can help steer you toward the right design choices for your home and your style. We believe rules are meant to be broken, and if any of these ‘no-nos’ make sense for your space, we’ll be glad to help you figure out the best execution for the best outcome, or refer you to someone who can. Contact us today!