Decorating your home should be fun! You're getting to pick out pieces that represent you as a person. 

However, when decorating there are a few things you should avoid altogether in order to help your space look the best that it can be. Here are some the biggest decorating mistakes. 

1. Thinking You Have to Decorate Everything ASAP

Whether you’re in a brand-new home or you’re redecorating a room, don’t give in to the pressure that you have to complete it all at once. Decorating is an art form and when rushed it can become less than stellar work.

You could get lucky and find all the perfect pieces at once, but it more likely will take you time to find those special pieces. It’s better to wait until you find something you love rather than settle for something you only kind of like, just to fill the space.

2. Not Considering Foot Traffic

When choosing furniture and deciding where to arrange it within your space, it’s important that you consider your foot traffic. Foot traffic is essentially how you get from one space to another.

You don’t want to place the couch in such a way that you have to squeeze behind it to get to another room. You also don't want to continue to run into the corner of the table you placed in your narrow hallway. 

3. Placing Furniture Up Against the Wall

It may seem like the most logical place to put it, but designers say that you want your furniture to “float.” Pull your sofa out from the wall, it will make your living room cozier and you won’t have to fill in the strange dead space in the middle of the room. 

Depending on the layout of your space here are a few other ideas on where to place your sofa!

4. Only Relying on Overhead Lighting

Your apartment or rental may have some overhead lighting installed, but you should never just settle for that as your only light source. Invest in a few different types of lamps like floor lamps for the living spaces and table lamps for the bedrooms. This will allow you to control the amount of light you want as well as brighten up the dark corners where the light barely touches!

5. Going for the Cheap Stuff

You have a budget and want to make sure you aren’t spending more than you need to on each piece, but that doesn’t mean you have to go with the least expensive option. The lower the cost the more likely it’s made with cheap materials. The cheaper the material, the shorter its lifespan is. The shorter its lifespan, the quicker you'll need to replace it, leaving you wishing you had paid just a little more for a piece with better quality.

6. Choosing Style Over Comfort

The furniture is super stylish and the pillows have a fun texture, but are they comfy? This is your home, not a painting. Can you see yourself sitting on it and binging Netflix? What about laying your head on it when taking a nap? We know you want your apartment to look good and have everything blend together, but make sure it’s a comfortable space as well.

7. Not Checking for Outlets

When arranging all your furniture, make sure you check where all your outlets are. It’s way better to design your furniture around your outlets so they are easily accessible. It’s never fun when you’ve finished moving everything to discover the outlet is behind your bed or dresser, and the lamp is located on the other side of the room.

8. Keeping What You Have…Even When You Don’t Like it

Nothing is worse than moving with décor and furniture you don’t even like just because you feel bad getting rid of it. With bigger pieces like a bed or couch, it’s understandable that you’ll need to use it until you find another one. But how about the items you don’t need and can stand living without until you find something you do like? They are a waste of moving space.

Don’t feel comfortable throwing them away? Donate them to Goodwill or another thrift store in town! Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean that someone else will.

Other Mistakes to Avoid

9. Small area rugs in large empty spaces. 
10. Choosing short curtains or drapes for your windows - having them touch the floor will make the space seem larger!
11. Not measuring for scale - it may look like the perfect item but can it actually fit?

There you have it! Eleven mistakes you should avoid when decorating your apartment. Decorating is a process, but once you finish, it’s amazing how staring at the end result makes you feel.