10 Biggest Home Makeover Mistakes
From buying fabric online to making the most of your budget, interior designers share their top tips - and tell you what not to do.
1. Fabric
"I'd never buy fabric online. You need to feel it, look at the colors, see the scale of a pattern."
-Stephen Shubel
2. Budgeting
"You have to make compromises when you build a house. I wanted antique wide-plan floors for my new home in Nashville, but that was unrealistic for a house this size. I got an end run of commercial wide-plank white oak for $3 a square foot and had someone hand-brush it with a deep stain. That's the closest I could get." -Jeannette Whitson
3. Accessorizing
"Have you ever slept in one of those beds with 60 pillows on it? You need a guidebook to be able to put them back. Good design does not have to be jaw-dropping - it just has to feel good."
-Jim Howard
Related: 5 Disastrous Rooms Transformed
4. Stress
"Enjoy the process! Have fun. And trust your instincts. Once the fear is gone, the fun begins. If it's not fun, don't do it." -Jeffrey Bilhuber
5. Paint
"An inexpensive paint job doesn't last more than a couple of years, whereas a good paint job can last for 20." -Eric Cohler
6. Seating Arrangements
"One of the five deadliest sins of decorating is a pair of sofas facing each other. That's seldom a good idea, because it creates this alleyway that you have to navigate through." -Joe Nye
Plus: Conquer Your Fear of Color
7. Mirrors
"People are afraid of the big mirror. They think, 'So 1980s…' But there's no reason to be scared. It's great - you double the size of the space. You want two chandeliers in a room instead of one? Put up a mirror." -Annie Brahler
8. Quality
"Have fewer, but better things. Obviously, it's a long process. It's not 10-minute decorating. If you buy one good thing a year, in five years, you'll have five really good things." -Suzanne Rheinstein
9. Small Spaces
"Small furniture in small rooms only emphasizes that they're small. A large-scale piece gives the room oomph and adds dimension." -Ken Fulk
10. Kids' Rooms
"Children rooms don't need Disney murals and sports figures on bedsheets. They do need someplace for the trophies to be displayed and the hobbies to be reflected, but kids are fickle about what they like. You have to listen to them, but filter it into something that's going to grow older with them." -Betsy Burnham
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