Big Mistakes To Avoid in Your Home
Spaces that don't function and buying the wrong things can be easily avoided.
When I have to tell clients that the sofa they’ve bought doesn’t work as it’s too small for the space (or too big, wrong shape or the colour sucks the life out of the room) it’s super awkward. They have just spent thousands of dollars and waited for months for this sofa to arrive.
It’s really disappointing when I have to tell them that there’s nothing that we can do. It’s simply was the wrong decision and it doesn’t work in the space. I can transform a space and even though sometimes it feels like a miracle, I don’t possess a magic wand!
The only thing worse than the wrong sofa is when a whole renovation has been completed and they have realized that the space isn’t working. You’d be surprised how something that sounds so obvious can be overlooked; you never analysed how you want to live in the space.
For instance, the living room doesn’t accommodate for people to relax on a sofa and watch TV easily or have a conversation because there are awkwardly placed windows (no allowance for a tv) or the circulation doesn’t work (having to walk right through the living area rather than around it).
It makes it really challenging to furnish these spaces when they haven’t been planned correctly for living.
I am constantly amazed of the floor plans that I see that show a sight-line from the kitchen sink straight to a toilet. Now, I don’t know about you but when I’m in the kitchen, I don’t want to see a toilet.
Here are some more mistakes I see my clients encounter:
windows in a shape that make it impossible to furnish, especially when in a bedroom and they want a completely dark room.
fridge located in the kitchen too far away so that when someone wants a drink they have to walk past the person cooking and get in the way.
window placement that disregards the view - such as when a window is used for a splashback and it simply looks onto the fence. Why?
a living room with a fireplace and no allowance for a tv, so the tv is mounted over the fireplace which makes it too high and unsightly.
an entry with no space for keys, bags and shoes so it always looks messy.
large open plan spaces that are too noisy.
buying pieces yet it never looks ‘complete’ and comes together.
getting stuck and not knowing what to do so don’t do anything and the years roll on…
space too dark in the evenings.
nowhere for the family to come together comfortably even though there’s space- the furniture doesn’t work.
Rugs that are too small and the room doesn’t come together.
The kitchen is always a disaster!
These are some of the things that my clients come to me for when they are looking to make their homes work for them after getting stuck, and I don’t want you to make these mistakes either.
They are actually pretty simple things to look for, but sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know. And once the time has been spent, and the money has been invested, they really tricky to reverse. Most of the mistakes that I see can be avoided with creating a plan and that’s what I want to help you with in my course called the Style Studies Essentials.
We talk about what makes us space successful and what doesn’t, so that you can identify that for your own home.
I’m not talking about one style that you overlay into your space. That’s not it!
It’s not a cookie cutter solution. I help you define your own style so you feel confident to make decisions because there is a reason behind every selection.
There’s a formula, a process that we use to capture any of these big mistakes before they happen. We’re going beyond moodboards here. It’s about function and then it’s about building a plan to make this happen. The course is open now if you want to jump in and, we kick off on 4th November there are four modules that are released each week and you can take your time to do the course.
If your space just isn’t coming together or you’re about to embark on a renovation or new build, come and join us! I can’t wait to share my 20+ years of interior design experience with you inside the Style Studies Essentials.
Talk soon,
Lauren
That is so true. It's amazing how often people choose their interiors entirely by "how it looks" and never seem to think about the fact that they actually have to live in the space...