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In 2018 there were 5.34 million existing homes sold. Then there were another 667,000 new construction homes sold.
This equates to a lot of families facing the challenge of furnishing new homes. Many of them will attempt this task on their own, and many will make a lot of mistakes.
If you plan to move into a new home this year, you can learn from their missteps. That way, your decorating job will go smoothly, and you end up with a home that you love.
Avoid these five mistakes when decorating your new home.
1. Buy it All at Once
You’re excited and want your new rooms to feel like home as soon as possible. But don’t let this desire drive you to buy everything at once. The last thing you should do is whip out your laptop and go on a shopping spree.
Instead, take a pause. Get out a piece of paper or a notebook and start creating a plan. Slowly work your way through each room and think about what you want.
Create a master list of everything you want for the house. Once you have a master plan, focus on the most important rooms first.
Most people consider the most important rooms to be the most visible ones. This would be the kitchen, living room, and family room.
Try to find pieces that you will love, or at the very least, deeply like. It will also allow you to find pieces that blend together to create a cohesive look. But going slow allows you to create your own look and not have a home that looks like you bought everything in the model.
Don’t be afraid if it takes you a year to finish decorating your home. You’ll be living there for a lot longer.
2. Decorating Around a Legacy Piece
We all have that one piece of furniture that we aren’t willing to give up on. Maybe it is a chair that you bought when you were single. It has sentimental value from a time when you were young and starting out in life.
Or maybe you inherited a large wood armoire from your great-grandmother. It’s been in the family for years, and now it is yours. Then there is the furniture you paid way too much for that decorated your previous home.
Stop saddling yourself with these pieces of furniture. By doing so, you commit yourself to a particular layout or aesthetic that may not work in your new home.
Instead, consider moving the piece to a different room. Let’s say you have a set of chairs from your old living room. They worked well in that space, but in your new home, they are just too large.
Try putting one in each of the bedrooms. This breathes new life into them and frees you up to create new decor in your living room.
If your furniture doesn’t work in another room, ask if anyone else in the family would want that family heirloom. Or you could sell or donate the furniture and let someone else enjoy it.
3. Skipping the Measuring Tape
Too many people trust their eye over the tape measure. This is a huge mistake. Then there are those who measure to see if the piece will fit but fail to consider how it will look; this is another mistake.
Think about dimension, space, and scale. Everything in the room needs to feel proportionate with each other and the entire room.
Let’s consider this example; you love that overstuffed Chesterfield you saw in the store. Technically, its dimensions fit your apartment. Once you put it in your tiny living room though, it looks overpowering.
Another mistake is to forget how you will get the furniture into your home. You need to measure the doors and hallways. Keep in mind that for most people, it is the height of the sofa that sabotages them.
4. Cramming in Too Much
For some reason, people think they need to fill every empty space. While you don’t have to go with complete minimalism, it is good to have some breathing room in your decor.
You need to think about how people will move around the room. There needs to be an open pathway all the way around the room. Otherwise, you create dead ends, and this kills the flow of your home.
You should also consider the aesthetic you are aiming for. If you want modern or minimalist, then choose a few well-placed pieces and one or two pieces of focal art.
Country and traditional will require a few more pieces that will be plusher. The bohemian aesthetic will have more pieces throughout the room to create sitting spaces.
5. Straight From a Decor Magazine
Furniture stores make it easy to walk in and buy a complete set. It all looks great in the show model, so you assume it will look good in your home too.
The problem is that these styled rooms don’t take into account the specific dimensions of your room. You also end up with decor that isn’t personal.
Start with the basics, but then throw in one of a kind of vintage pieces. This will give your home a personal touch that will make it feel like your home and not just a house.
Become a Pro at Furnishing New Homes
Facing the challenge of furnishing new homes doesn’t have to be overwhelming. If you learn from these common mistakes and take your time, you will end up with home decor that you love for many years.
Find pieces that speak to you. Only work on one room at a time, and don’t be afraid to mix and match things that you find from multiple sources.
Follow the home improvement section of our blog for more tips on caring for your home.
