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Expert tips: Avoid these five common decorating mistakes

May 12, 2021 Leave a Comment

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By Liz Hayward

You know that feeling as a kid when rearranging your room made it feel like a completely new space? Well, as we grow older, we never lose that feeling; it just goes from rearranging a single room to a whole house. Redecorating your home helps personalise any given space and gives you complete ownership and pride when you walk into a room.

Redecorating is a great opportunity to make a home feel clean, clutter-free and like an entirely new space. So, to help you out with achieving the right look and feel, Iโ€™ve put together a list of mistakes many people make when redecorating and how to avoid them.

Photo: Dominic Loneragan

Stop focusing on the minor details

Not focusing on the big picture is the single biggest mistake people make. Homeowners fall in love with one cushion or one piece of artwork, but donโ€™t think how about how it fits within the rest of the space. If you have already purchased a range of pieces in one style, and then purchase a piece that is in complete contrast, you are going to disrupt the cohesion of the room.

Not budgeting appropriately

I am a strong believer that you can have a beautiful home on almost every budget. However, if you spend a small fortune on a new TV setup, but donโ€™t have a sofa to sit on, the room doesn’t quite achieve its purpose. It is important to map out the space, decide what you need and how much you can afford for each item. It doesn’t all need to be done at the same time, but keep in mind feature items that go hand in hand. Itโ€™s like buying a designer top but having no pants to wear it with!

Photo: Dominic Loneragan

Itโ€™s not entirely about the visual

When redecorating a room, it is important to think past just the aesthetic, and take the time to contemplate how the space will sound and feel. The acoustics of a room can be altered drastically by having more or less furniture in a room, and by specific materials e.g. timber vs. cement flooring. Music can really help to evoke sensations or emotions in a room, and brands like Naim Audio provide excellent quality sound in their premium music systems.

Choosing the wrong size rug

This one is niche, but imperative. Often people will underestimate what size rug they need to fill a space. 2x2m sounds huge in theory but a perfect sized rug should anchor the room and allow for at least the front legs of all sofas or armchairs to rest on it. A quick guide to work by is to have at least 45-to-50cm of exposed flooring around the edge of your room. 

Photo: Rachel Tagg

Artwork hung at the wrong height

This can make or break a room. The rule of thumb is that the centre of the artwork should be at an average personโ€™s eye level, unless hanging above a mantel or furniture. In this case, you want to leave about 20cm clearance from the bottom of the frame. This creates space for the artwork and helps it not look cluttered. Alternatively, if you are doing a gallery wall it should be treated as one piece and mapped out clearly before hanging. It is almost impossible to build a gallery wall over time and looks much better if you can plan the layout from the get-go.

Liz Hayward is the founder of interior design company Hayward & Co.

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Before & after: Renovating a kitchen while keeping Before & after: Renovating a kitchen while keeping ALL the character!

What a great example this is by @huntingforgeorge 

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Letterbox kinder egg deliveries from a friend, dressing changes without a flinch and refusing to nap despite all the bribes (check the face on him in pic 3!).

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It's not just the award winning designer houses that get us excited here. It's also the beloved family homes which are renovated and extended to make them fit for purpose so people can continue to live where they love ๐Ÿค—

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Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into tiled steps ๐Ÿค•

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UPDATE: thanks for all the love! Charlie is so well this morning after a big sleep!
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Do I recommend a timber vanity top? A big fat NOP Do I recommend a timber vanity top?

A big fat NOPE! ๐Ÿ’ง 

Which is why we have recently covered ours with a Caesarstone top (thanks to @justinplace_sydney for the advice and supply) and the sweet RELIEF of not having to worry about this high traffic area anymore, I'm telling you!๐Ÿค—

Doesn't matter what they tell you or how many times it's sealed, I'm not sure it's a great idea in a room which is so, well, wet!

I love having the warmth of timber in the bathroom and it's a beautiful piece, but timber on the top? Never again.

Ours probably lasted a year (if that) before it started to go downhill (and we want a good decade out of a bathroom, right?!). 2.5 years on, everything else in this bathroom looks virtually brand new and the water marked vanity top was really letting the side down and making me sad!

But I'm so pleased with this solution, I have to say! Took the plumber less than an hour to remove the sink, install the top and connect the sink back up. We didn't need to move the tap and it isn't too close to the basin.

The kids are allowed to brush their teeth and wash their hands (liquid soap ๐Ÿฅด) in here again and I can leave my hair straightener on there with gay abandon ๐Ÿ˜†

The reflective surface (which I can clean with whatever I like!๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿป) brightens the room up too!

Next week I'll tell you what I really think of my brass tile trim too ๐Ÿ˜‰

#interiorsaddictbathroomreno2 #interiorsaddictfamilyhomereno #timbervanity
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