INTERIOR DESIGN MISTAKES TO AVOID

Interior Design.

What is Interior Designing?

Every one of us would have sketched what our dream house would look like during our early school days right?! That was the most beautiful thing that we thought we drew, but when we look at it now, it is not quite what we want because of our childish or frankly poor drawing skills! 

Now if you replace the word ‘drawing’ or ‘sketch’ with the word ‘Designing’, the whole context and perception changes.                         

Interior design is nothing but designing and executing an interior that is systematic, efficient, and aesthetically pleasing. This can be a very simple explanation of what an interior designer does. Organising and enhancing the interior of any place makes a drastic change to its appearance and also the whole ambience. It is an up-and-coming field where lots of emphasis is placed to generate new concepts for every new building, be it for commercial business purposes or for a family planning to reside. 

Here in this article, we will look at some common mistakes in interior design and how to avoid them. This article is designed for young passionate interior designers.

This reverse learning technique is letting people know the errors or blunders that can happen. Once he/she knows all the possible pitfalls, we can easily go past them and achieve what we want to achieve.

Common mistakes in Interior design

Let's look at some of the most common mistakes that can happen.

Once these mistakes are recognized, then all it takes is attention to not do the same thing again and learn from the past.

# 01: Proportions of the furniture

When furniture is not proportionate to the room size, it is going to look unattractive. Think of this concept as a city landscape. We can see buildings of various proportions. Some may be small, others are tall. We have to plan a proper composition to make sure every piece of furniture is not all too small and too big. There should be an order which has both big and small pieces. It is very important to pay attention to this detail beforehand. If this is not planned and the purchase is made, then the unnecessary fund is wasted on that furniture.

To approach this aspect one should be mindful of different shapes and forms. 

“Be bold and take a few risks along the way also. You might make your own rule or even create a signature style.”

# 02: The darker colour palette - fabric, furniture

As we all know, colours can create a mood. That's why all posters or billboards creatively use colours to indicate a certain message. There is deep psychology connected to colour and how they are seen. When a room has all dark-coloured furniture, fabrics and heavy decor, it will make the room look more cramped. 

It is important to choose pieces which are lighter in colour and which will also reflect light very well. This is an important tip that young interior designers can follow and make any 

space looks more appealing and cosy to live in.

# 03: Over Trendy designs

The entire design field is being guided around trends. While trends can be a great steer for us, if improperly used can dispose of the whole theme of our concept. Before we think in terms of what is currently trending and designing according to that, we have to take into account what the client wants. Or if it’s for our personal use, we have to think, “what does this place mean to me?”

This should be a key element when it comes to designing interiors of a house or anything for that matter. People don’t care whether it is the latest trend or not, but what they care about the most is whether it is comfortable and they feel solace in that place. 

A very famous American Interior designer, Nate Berkus, tells, “The mistake people make is that they’re often insecure. They look over their shoulder and listen to what everyone else is talking about instead of sitting down and asking, What do I really love?”

So, always address the personal choices first and then the trends, if needed!

# 04: Bad Lighting

Lighting is a concept and a theory which is used across the industries in multiple ways. There is a pro tip to this concept. Make Natural light your primary light source and add secondary lighting accordingly. One of the big mistakes that up-and-coming designers make is they try to think and plan about lighting at the very end. Or they try to consolidate it by having cheap light fixtures just to provide enough light. This makes the place look dull and at times extremely bright for the space. 

The key feature of any lighting source is its functionality. But at the same time, one should not forget the fact that lighting also accounts for aesthetics. So, be sure of what you are using for lighting and one can play around with different colours of lights and have accent shades.

# 05: Hanging wall art

Art is something that can elevate the ambience of a space with its composition, colours and general aesthetics. Generally speaking, if the hanging wall art is smaller in size, it can look zany. It is always better to go for a bigger size art than having small ones. If you want to have multiple arts hanging on the wall, it is critical to look over different proportions and placements before you order or buy the art.

The general rule of thumb is that art should always be hung at a proper eye level. If this is followed and along with the proportion that we discussed earlier, wall art will become the focal point of the space, which is a merit in itself.

# 06: Lack of focal point

A focal point is something that will immediately grab the attention of people when they enter a space. Imagine a plain white wall. If there is a small red dot on a corner, not even at the centre of the wall, still our visual apparatus glides and finds that small red dot. That is the Focal point. 

Having a focal point in a room adds a purpose to that space altogether. 

One can feel what this room is being used for without actually asking anyone. Usually, young designers miss this point and this costs them their entire hard work. A room without a focal point looks all over the place and will not seem to be connected with any theme or concept. 

# 07:  Room measurements

This point is of paramount importance. It’s very basic but at the same time, one that is taken for granted by many. If the room measurements of every nook and corner are not laid out and marked in the plan, then every step is close to a major blunder. Many just rely on their eyesight and buy furniture or whatever for that matter. But the fact is proper measurement is needed. Without knowing the volume of a room, purchasing decor items will often be a waste of money as they might not fit or look good. 

# 08:  Pushing all the furniture to the wall

There is a natural tendency for people to push all the Decor toward the wall. While it might work for a small room, this might not be the case for a large-sized room. 

DeMarrow, a famous interior designer says, “Create some interest in the room with a floating couch or a couple of conversation areas.”

If the room is large enough, we can also create 2 or 3 separate sitting areas to add depth and dimension to the room.

How to avoid these mistakes

Mistakes are the best way to learn. Think of it like this. With every mistake you make, you are getting a lesson for free. And those practical lessons are so much more valuable. 

So, as an Interior designer, be brave to make certain decisions and not think about what will happen in the end. If you work out your process or implementation phase good enough, then a good outcome is a natural consequence. So, don’t aim for the consequence. Focus on the process. The Online/Internet has made it so easy to learn many new things. Who knows a mistake can mark a new positive beginning altogether and change your way.

A practical example:

Let us say you are working on a new project. You are designing a room for a family. Now in this case, before you start doing anything, 

• Make sure you check all the basics.
• Make a note of what needs to be done and your plan ahead. Proceed to the next step only when all the previous parameters are checked and reviewed. 
• Always try to establish a positive working relationship with your clients. Be very open and friendly with them and don’t shy away from asking or confirming every small detail with them for a second or third time. Many people don’t want to ask or review with their clients on certain things. This lack of communication may come to haunt you in the end.
• Get inspired! And do new things. That’s the only way you will experiment with new things by yourself. Follow some designers' work and regularly update yourself with what’s happening in the industry.
• Networking is the key. You will learn a lot from the people around you. Have good contacts with brands who are into Home-Decor and other vendors. It’s because of them that we can assemble all the pieces and make them into a masterpiece.
• If possible, have a mentor and follow his/her guidelines. Their on-field experience can teach you so many things and thereby you can avoid making certain mistakes that they have made.

End note

Passion - The driving force

Anyone who is part of a design career or education would often say this one statement.“ The designing field requires lots of Passion to excel.”

It's not that other fields don’t require passion. They do. But what this statement is trying to convey is Designing as a career does not have fixed ends. It depends on what he/she wants to do and where they want to take their career. It is kind of like a wild, bouncy ride where if one wants a path, they have to make their way to stand out. 

For other jobs, there will always be a standard prototype to follow. But a designer always wants to be different in their way. So, passion becomes the only fuel. Without that ambitions begin to crumble. 

This article is all about some of the common errors that Interior designers make. I hope this was helpful to understand some key elements and imbibe them into your studies or project. Being aware of mistakes makes us more alert, and conscious, which in turn will make us ardent and dedicated designers of the future!