‘Expensive’ interior ‘faux pas’ to avoid – rooms will look ‘rubbish’

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When households are looking to renovate a space, it can be easy to get carried away with a particular theme. Calling on the services of an interior designer means you can be politely steered in the right direction and potentially avoid having to redecorate again sooner than you’d planned. Therefore, Lucy Henderson, Head of Design at My Bespoke Room, has shared a few interior “mistakes” to avoid.

She said: “We’d like to stop expensive mistakes before they happen, so we’ve shared the most common design faux pas that we see. Hopefully, this will make design ‘no no’s a thing of the past.”

1. Bad lighting 

Lighting is often left as an afterthought, when really lighting should be one of the first things that households consider when planning a home update as it “really makes such a difference”, urged Lucy. She said: “This works both ways – if you have fantastic lighting, it can transform a space, if it’s a bit rubbish, your room is in danger of looking a bit rubbish too.”

The designer argued that the trick is to layer your lighting. This means having lots of different light sources that have a different purpose, all working together to create a “beautiful” light scheme.

Lucy recommended: “Start by making the most out of the natural light in the room. Use mirrors to bounce the light around and make sure you’re allowing an optimum amount of light coming in through windows/doors/any other glazing you may have.

“Then, include your main light. Yep, the big one in the middle or the spotlights that are going to ensure the least amount of shadowy spaces.”

The next step is where risk lighting comes in, this is the lighting that allows you to carry out your day to day tasks. Once the essential lighting is done, households can add a soft touch to their room with ambient lighting. 

These are your floor lamps for a reading corner, wall lights above a sofa or table lamps on a side table. Lucy explained: “These add decor, character and warmth, ensuring a cosy finish to your room.”

If you want to add even more lighting then you can add some decorative lighting – these don’t really provide any other function than looking great. Whether it’s fairy lights, small lamps or candles, the designer claimed that it’s going to add that “extra wow factor” to your interior.

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2. Only using a certain shade of white

While many low white, light and bright decor, in the world of interiors there isn’t just your “pure brilliant white” available on the market. 

Lucy warned: “Sometimes, if you just have your plain white walls, the room can look a bit cold and clinical. 

“There are so many ‘off-white’ shades to consider – some are warmer, with red or yellow undertones to give a softer, creamier look, others have purple or blue undertones that give a more grey finish. 

“These off-white shades are the unsung heroes of interior design because they can add depth, warmth and atmosphere to your room before you have even started with the furniture.”

3. Keeping furniture pushed up against walls

Walls don’t have magnetic forces that pull furniture towards them, so households don’t need to plan their layout like they do. 

While there are many instances when furniture has to be against the wall and looks the best this way. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t have a central coffee table and an accent chair.

The designer said: “You have the entire space to play with, so please don’t feel restricted to pinning furniture against the walls – in fact, we suggest that you don’t.

“The room will feel larger and more spacious if you create more walkways by centring your furniture or creating a couple of zones with furniture and rugs, depending on the size of your room.  This is especially important in open space.”

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4. Trying to change small bathrooms

Every room deserves TLC and small spaces are often where you can have the most fun, according to Lucy.

She said: “The biggest mistake is to fight with your small room, trying to make it look light and bright if it’s actually naturally quite dark and dull. 

“If this is the case, then embrace it. Paint the room dark or go for a bold and dramatic wallpaper. Don’t be afraid of patterns because it’s ‘too busy for the space’, nine out of 10 times it won’t be, as long as you don’t have patterned flooring, a wall mural and every other wall wallpapered.”

If your small room actually benefits from a lot of light, then try to emphasise this. Use light furniture made out of natural materials and large mirrors to bounce light around the space. 

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