Don’t Make These Top Home Design Mistakes
Oct 13, 2025
If you want your home to look the best that it possibly can, then you need to avoid these top home design mistakes. If you don’t, then you may find that you end up devaluing your property, and this is the last thing you need.
Harsh Lighting
One of the biggest mistakes that people tend to make is having lighting that is too harsh. Lighting, at the end of the day, can make or break your home. Overhead lighting can be the star of the show, but at the same time, it can also be unflattering, and it can make the room look odd. Harsh lighting is often chosen because it helps to illuminate a room, but at the end of the day, it can also detract from it quite a lot. It’s very important that you use different lights to create depth and warmth. You also need to create balance as well if you can. Consider tasks, accents, and ambient lighting. Ambient lighting is the lighting that illuminates the room, and you don’t have to choose harsh overhead lighting. Choosing different patterns and colours is a very good thing to do here. If you’re designing and building your home, the best custom home builder will be able to advise you on things like this.
Matching Furniture
Another thing you need to do is try and choose furniture that doesn’t match. Choosing mass-produced pieces or furniture that matches perfectly is one of the worst mistakes you could make. Try to mix some painted pieces with more natural woods, or inventory, and combine some vintage designs with ones that have a more layered or curated approach. This is one of the best ways for you to add timeless charm as opposed to trying to tie everything to a specific decade or trend. At the same time, relying on trends too much is another big mistake. Trends can guide you, and this is great, but at the same time, you should not be chasing decorations if they do not serve a purpose for you. One of the most common pitfalls would be trying to rely too much on specific designs. Bold finishes as well as high-gloss cabinetry can go out of fashion, and the more people that do it, the worse it will look.
Before you go ahead and embrace a trending look or pattern, try and think about whether or not you would love that item if it were not trending. If you don’t feel that way, then this is a big sign that you should try and do something about that.
Varnished Banisters
Banisters are very difficult things to paint. It doesn’t even matter what finish you go for, either, as they can really work against you. If you want to do this, then swap the bannister for something minimalistic, or even incorporate glass elements, if you can. This is a good way for you to get the result you need, and you would be surprised at how much of a difference it could make to you, as well as the overall design of your home. Keep this in mind, and you’ll go far.