The holidays are finally behind us and a new year is unfolding before our eyes. Now is as good a time as any to take a look at some common decorating myths and try to lay them to rest so that we can start the New Year off with a fresh perspective. Decorating and home interior design myths are like any other kind of myth; if you don’t nip them in the bud they take on a life of their own. So in order to set the record straight we’ll address as many of these myths as we can in this humble blog post.
Decorating Myths that can Undermine Home Interior Design
We’ve already set the stage so let’s just jump right in with our list of interior decoration myths.
- Myth #1: Thou shalt not break the rules – While ‘the rules’ of decorating and home interior design exist for a reason, one of those rules is that your space should reflect your individual nature, tastes and personal style. Adhering to ‘the rules’ at the expense of yourself will produce a calculated look rather than something that naturally and comfortably says “you”.
- Myth #2: Small rooms need small furniture – On the face of it this seems to make intuitive sense but the reality is that a room full of small furniture will have a bizarre, dollhouse feel to it. Certainly you don’t want to stuff a king size bed into a tiny room and push all the air out of the space, but that doesn’t mean you go tiny. Instead, think full-sized but practical.
- Myth #3: Patterns and prints don’t mix – Why not? There is no better way to plant your personal flag on a space than to mix prints, patterns, textures and colours that appeal to you. Certainly your choices should be well-considered (and this is where your decorator can help) but simply shying away from mixing things up altogether is a mistake.
- Myth #4: The couch is the most important piece of furniture in the living room – This is a well-worn myth that has no basis in practical reality. The fact is the most important piece of furniture in your Hamilton or Burlington living room is whatever you decide it is. While that piece should have something distinctive about it to justify its elevated position that doesn’t mean it has to be the couch. It could be anything.
- Myth #5: Don’t overuse area rugs – Area rugs add a sense of warmth and comfort to a room that is particularly appropriate and welcome in places like Hamilton and Burlington, where winters can be brutal and unforgiving. Area rugs can be layered to add colour or keep bare feet warm on even the coldest February night, or they can be used to visually tie various pieces of the home interior design
- Myth #6: A small room should be white – Or at least an appropriately pale neutral. That’s the myth. The reality is that not every small room needs to be white. Often homeowners wish to retain an air of coziness about a room and doing that using white is not going to work. Embrace the space. If small provides the warmth and charm that you’re after then by all means paint the room a darker tone and add bedding, throw rugs etc that ramp up the cozy.
We hope this list will help you gain perspective and clear the air as far as ‘the rules of decoration’ go. If you’d like to discuss an upcoming project or have home interior design and decoration questions call Decor Isabelle and set up an appointment to speak with Isabelle.
