Living Room Design Mistakes to Avoid

1. Pushing furniture against the wall: If it must go against the wall, pull it out a couple of inches. You may lose a couple inches in front, but the shadowing behind the furniture adds visual depth, which makes the room feel bigger. Float furniture when possible, and anchor with an area rug.

2. Choosing a rug that’s too small:

3. Balance larger walls:

4. Scale mistakes with furniture:

5. Curtain placement:

6. Choosing your paint color first:

7. No established focal point:

8. Matchy-matchy:

9. No traffic flow:

10. Mismatched wood tones: Wood tones don’t have to match, but they should complement each other: warm tones matched with warm tones, cool/ashy tones matched with cool/ashy tones. If you have a permanent element (like hardwood flooring, railing, or mantle)- coordinate all other wood tones with the dominate tone , and only use 2-3 other supporting wood tones. An easy guideline: floors-main wood tone, large furniture-slightly darker or lighter, small accents- minimal contrast. Wood tones should be intentionally different, so it doesn’t look like you’re trying to match, but failed.

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