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Hanging your artwork too high.
Art should always be hung at eye level. A rookie move would be to hang a painting close to your console table or up higher near the ceiling. If you’re super tall or vertically challenged, hanging art at your own eye level will probably look odd to most of your guests; consider having a friend come over to help you eyeball it and find a happy medium.
Hanging your light fixtures too low
As I mentioned earlier, hanging a light fixture too low is a major rookie move (one that I’m guilty of—remind me not to ask my shortest friend for installation help). I love a low-hanging chandelier or pendant; it feels a little sultry. That said, it’s only acceptable if it’s hanging over a table (e.g., a dining table or a nightstand); otherwise you and your guests will bump into it—and that can hurt!
If you have the opportunity, you should definitely paint first, before you install carpet and lighting and other tricky elements of a room. That said, if you plan to do real decorating, you should always have a plan before you choose your paints. If you think you’ll be reupholstering seating, purchasing colored furniture, buying textiles, wallpapering, or remodeling in any way, your paint color should be your last choice. It’s so much easier to match a paint to a fabric or the marble on your new counters than to find a slab that complements a random paint swatch you’ve chosen on a whim.
A rug that’s floating in the middle of a room on its own pretty much always looks like a bath mat—even if it’s gorgeous and you dropped major bucks on it at the bazaar in Marrakech. Designers generally advise to ground it by tucking it under furniture, or the front legs of your furniture. If it’s not big enough to do so, try layering it over another rug (a nondescript natural fiber, for instance) or placing it as close as possible to nearby furniture.
I laughed hard—and also nearly injured myself—when I sat down on a bachelor friend’s dining chair recently: I immediately sank inches down. Not only had he purchased cheesy faux-leather chairs that had “bachelor pad” written all over them, but they also had zero support; I couldn’t imagine trying to sit through a dinner party in them. Not trying out your furniture—be it dining chairs, a sofa, or a mattress—before you buy is definitely a rookie move.
No one expects a home decorator to be as thorough with planning as an interior designer who’s using AutoCAD, but at the very least you should take some simple measurements. Hanging a few art pieces on one wall? Make sure they are evenly spaced. Having a new sofa delivered? Make sure your delivery men can get it in the door. Take special care when making online orders, and test out the measurements before you fork over your credit card.
Buying Curtains That Are Too Short
Many designers advise to go as high as you possibly can when it comes to installing your curtain rod (to give the illusion your ceilings are taller), but that choice is subjective. The length of your drapes, however, is one thing most designers agree on: They should “kiss” the floor. A rookie move would be to have them hit the window ledge or fall somewhere between the bottom of the window and the base of the floor. If you want to get super romantic with silk curtains, you can go for a glamorous “puddling” of extra fabric, but otherwise they should just meet the floor.
Buying furniture in sets might be the most rookie move of all. If anything about your home brings to mind Rooms to Go, you should start questioning everything. It’s okay to have, say, matching nightstands or a pair of matching chairs, but don’t even think about buying a bed, dresser, and nightstand set or a sofa and two matching armchairs. Introducing a little variety adds depth and keeps your home from looking like a showroom.
Using a Single Design Style
Just like you should have a mix of furniture pieces in your home, you should also have a mix of design eras and styles. Pair a modernist ’50s French wall sconce with a Downton Abbey–era sofa and a Chinoiserie-inspired wallpaper. Mix it up. Using furniture and accessories from only one era will make your home feel like a TV set.
We love accessories, but one of the greatest skills in design is editing. Even if you have the most beautiful pieces on the planet, putting them all out on display at once will instantly make your space feel cluttered and kooky. Instead, be thoughtful about which accents of yours complement each other, and be selective; if you need a guide, try not to have more than three to five items in one vignette.
Not Considering Traffic Flow
It makes me think you haven’t moved in yet if there’s no art in a room. Total rookie move! If there’s nothing on your walls, put something there! It doesn’t have to be expensive, but hang a painting or a photograph—or get playful with wall art, like a vintage sign.
