Design Mistakes

Although I LOVE design, I’m far from a design expert. I have no formal design training and everything that I know I’ve learned by reading blogs, magazines, and from my mom… our family design expert! When we moved into this house nine months ago I was in a hurry to get it in shape and may have made a few hasty decisions. Now, I’m learning to take my time and really think through each choice. I present to you: Eight Design Mistakes I’ve Made in this House.

1. RED- I kept seeing red rugs pop up on Instagram and blogs that I love, and somehow convinced myself that I needed a red rug or two. I got this one for my bathroom and a similar vintage one for my kitchen. Although they’re beautiful they’re just not “me”. They don’t fit the philosophy that anything in your house should fit within the design of the other rooms in your house. From now on I’m trying to remember to ask myself, “could I move this throughout my house and still fit within my style”. I just ordered this rug for the bathroom, and I’m on the hunt for the right one for the kitchen. Takeaway= Don’t follow a trend unless it works with the rest of your home.

   

   

   
   
2. Neutral Wallpaper- When I designed my dining room it was a mad dash during the One Room Challenge. At the final hour I ordered this wallpaper on Amazon and it was affordable and good enough. Then I recently hung THIS wallpaper in my bedroom and I realized that I had missed a great opportunity to use a bold wallpaper in the dining room. My husband also pointed out that the current wallpaper has a bit of a “female anatomy” look to it and that sealed it. I’m currently on the hunt for something better.

   

   

   
   
3. Black on Black- ANOTHER one of my design mistakes was also in my dining room! I already owned the black metal Windsor dining chairs and when I found my black wood table I automatically put them together. It was just too much black though. Recently I found these Bentwood chairs and they are so much better. 
4. Bedroom Wardrobes!- Even I’m a bit shocked that I’m typing this. So we have a small bedroom closet, and I thought wardrobes would be the ticket. What I’ve realized is that we use the wardrobe drawers far more than the hanging space, and two dressers would have been just as good. Thankfully the wardrobes will work perfect for our mudroom that we plan to remodel this Fall!
5. Butcher Block Countertops– OK, so this one is no surprise to me. The butcher block was chosen purely because it was the cheapest option out there and new countertops were not in our budget. We DIY’ed them for under $300 and honestly it was our only option. I’d LOVE to replace them with quartz though. The wood is very dark with the dark black cabinets. I also hate always having to wipe up water so that they don’t get damaged. Down the road I could see replacing these with white quartz. In the mean time they’re working and they still look decent.
6. Black on Black (YET AGAIN)- I bought these black kitchen stools when our cabinets were cream and they worked great. We ended up renovating the kitchen way sooner than we had planned and I wish I would have chosen wood or leather stools. Thankfully they were a great deal and I think I can sell them for what I paid for them! I’ll probably choose the exact same stools in leather.
7.  Purchasing the Rug First- For my daughter’s room I fell in love with and purchased this rug. I knew I also wanted to do wallpaper but I figured that would come later. BIG MISTAKE. I shared an entire post of wallpaper options, but already having the rug really narrowed my options. I still haven’t been able to pull the trigger on a wallpaper that I’m confident will coordinate.
8. Dark Rug in a Dark Room- Our living room doesn’t get a ton of natural light, but initially I put the same dark rug in the living room that I had used in our last house. Eventually I realized that it just wasn’t right, and I was able to use it in our bright Dining Room instead. Here is the room with both rugs:

   

   

   
   

Although I’ve made some mistakes, there’s also MANY things I feel like I got right! Here are just a few of my favorites:

• Painting the entire house Chantilly Lace (white)
• Re-arranging the layout of our kitchen using the old cabinets.
• The Subway Tile Bathroom
• The Board and Batten Bathroom
• Painting the fireplace black.
• Using Roman Shades in the Bedrooms
• Painting the vinyl windows black
• Raising up our sunken Den

Well there you have it! Eight design mistakes that I’ve made and learned from! In case you thought I was an expert now you know the truth. Honestly, none of these design mistakes are that big of deal. Just minor things that I’ve noticed while living in this house. I know that many of them could have been avoided if I wasn’t in such a rush. I’ll keep sharing as I make tweaks and edits to each of them!