10 design mistakes to avoid

A sweet reader, Sandra, wrote in and asked this very smart question, and I decided to give it a bit of a re-visit today!

…You guys are always pretty positive on your site, and I get the whole ’embrace your home as your own’ philosophy. I appreciate your stance. But now that we’re ready to take on a remodel, I am curious about what you see a lot of in the ‘easily avoided’ category. Are there common things or design mistakes I can look out for to help our home look better in general? Maybe this is an odd question but I think I am so overwhelmed with what I want to take on, I’d like to look out for them as a guideline…

This is a really interesting topic, and I thought we’d revisit it here. Obligatory disclaimer: We’re hesitant to cover “mistakes.” Mainly because we all make them, we believe in learning from them, and in doing what you love. Nothing makes us twitchier than those clickbait articles that show other people’s work as examples of what NOT to do. It’s giving rude. No home is created equally, and no statement can ever be blanket when it comes to design. But there are a few little issues we see happening over and over again that we think you can avoid because we love to help where we can. 10 Design Mistakes to Avoid, because sometimes, it helps to have a guide.

1. Easy decorating mistakes to avoid: Awkward Breaking Points for Tile. 

Always look for natural breaks in your tile placement. For instance, in a kitchen, if you have a wall with open shelving, take your tile all the way up that wall. Or fill it in around the cabinets all the way. Unless the tile is just stunning on its own and it works in the space, {there are exceptions} don’t make bad design choices because you want to be cheap about it. 

Let me say it again for the people in the back: Don’t make bad design choices because you want to be cheap about it. 

We take them all the way up into the showers and cover the ceilings, too. Not only does this help with leading the eye up and simplifying everything visually, it also helps with potential water damage. 

before 

When in doubt, question yourself. Am I trying to save on labor cost here? Will this make a bigger visual impact? Is it really that much more to take it all the way?  We really wish people would stop making their own made-up backsplash stopping points oh-so-awkwardly. Just fill in the whole wall and it makes more sense that way, visually.

Rant over.

2. Easy decorating mistakes to avoid: Stop Ignoring Your Ceilings. 

There are way too many homes out there with stamped ceilings, and since it’s 2026… it’s time to remedy that. This is a splurge for your future to-do list, if you haven’t tackled it already, and it’s a beautiful detail people often overlook.

It’s subtle, but it can make a huge difference in how you feel about your home. When you wake up in the morning, what’s the first thing you see? Smoothing out your ceilings is a great way to bring them up to date.

And… There are more options than smoothing them out.

Add planks. Add a color. Add wallpaper. Anything. Just consider the ceilings. They add so much more. Sometimes, a smooth white ceiling is all a space needs. But remember your options and get rid of the stamped and textured stuff. Don’t ignore that 5th wall.

We’ve lived in houses with both stamped and altered ceilings… and we can tell you firsthand, they make a big difference in how you feel about a space.  

3. Easy decorating mistakes to avoid: Missed opportunities with Lighting. 

Or skimping on it, period. Lighting could be a category of its own. It’s the best ambiance you can have in a space and the easiest to layer, too. See our posts about why are boob lights, here. 

Three things about missed opportunities with lighting: 

a. Missed opportunities with layering: from canned lights to lamps, there are awesome options in a room to make it multi-dimensional, especially at night. We love all the natural light we can get through windows, but in those darker areas, we’re especially grateful for the opportunities to create good lighting. 

b. Going too small. This isn’t 1995 and your pendants in your kitchen {hello builders everywhere… are you listening?} don’t have to be oh so mass-produced/tiny. Or anywhere, for that matter. Stop thinking small when it comes to lighting. Do what you love.

And a little note added here: Even if that means you love tiny lights, just make sure you have multiples.

c. The wrong heights for hanging: We always say eyeball it and go a little lower than usual, since every space is different. But not too low. It can get tricky. Here are a few guidelines we use when in doubt:

For pendants over countertops + chandeliers over tables: at least a 30″ clearance. It’s just a good rule of thumb to go by, but do what’s comfortable to you, since there are always exceptions to the rules: take our own kitchen, for instance. Our ceilings are high, and our lights are large, so we have a 45″ clearance above the countertops, and they work. 

Bonus point: Way too many people have higher ceilings (think two stories high) and just stop with the light, wherever it lands. Add an extender to the light, so that it actually hangs above the table, not twenty feet above your head. No one should walk into a room and wonder why light flies so high. Hire a professional electrician to help with that, so that it doesn’t look, well, kinda botched. 

There. I feel better now. Someone needs to tell the truth. It’s the little details that can go a long way.

4. Easy decorating mistakes to avoid: Going Too Small with Rugs

9. Easy decorating mistakes to avoid: Not Trusting your Designer

10. Easy decorating mistakes to avoid: Letting “the rules” Paralyze You.

Now that we mentioned some “don’ts,” let’s mention some “dos”. Because the last thing we wanted to do, was overwhelm you.

Do what you love! Don’t let the rules paralyze you and hold you back from doing what you want to do in your home. That’s it. We hope those little tips gave you a little guidance, but at the end of the day, we want you to love it, too.

These are just a few guidelines that we wanted to share to help along the way with the little things. As always, let us know if you have anything you’d like to add, or specific questions you’d like to see covered! 

Have an inspired day!