Top 5 Home Design Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Avoiding common home design mistakes can make all the difference in creating a space that feels cohesive, functional, and stylish. Yet, many homeowners unknowingly fall into traps that leave rooms feeling disjointed, cramped, or impractical. The biggest mistake? Not planning before making purchases. This often leads to uncoordinated furniture, poor scale, and an unbalanced aesthetic. But don’t worry—these mistakes are easy to fix with a few simple strategies. Let’s break them down and ensure your home looks and feels its best.

1. Impulse Buying: A Fast Track to Design Regret

You see a gorgeous sofa that you love the comfort of, fall in love, and buy it on the spot—only to realize it doesn’t fit or clashes with everything else in your home. Sound familiar?

• Pro Tip: Always carry a list of room dimensions and photos of your space when shopping for major pieces to ensure new pieces complement what you already have.
• The Problem: Buying furniture without measuring, planning, or considering how it fits into the overall space.
• What to Do Instead: Before purchasing, measure your space and map out furniture placement. Use painter’s tape on the floor in the room, or graph paper scaled by square, to visualize how pieces will fit.
• Real-Life Fix: A client bought an oversized sectional that overwhelmed their living room. Instead of returning it, we reworked the layout, shifted the sectional closer to the walls vs. floating it, swapped out bulky end tables and up-sized the rug to create more visual space and ground the furniture layout as a whole.

2. Ignoring Scale and Proportion: When Furniture Feels “Off”

Have you ever walked into a room where the furniture just feels wrong? Maybe that huge sofa dominates a small room, or a tiny coffee table leaves a space feeling unfinished.

• Pro Tip: Follow the “two-thirds rule”—a coffee table should be about two-thirds the length of your sofa for a balanced look.
• The Problem: Choosing furniture that’s too large or too small for the room’s dimensions.
• What to Do Instead: Think in terms of balance. A large room needs statement pieces, while a small space benefits from sleek, proportional furniture.
• Real-Life Fix: A homeowner bought an oblong glass coffee table that was visually too small to support the seating group. Swapping the coffee table for a solid wood rectangular piece in a similar scale, immediately made the seating area make more sense and gave the room a more inviting vibe.

3. Lack of Cohesion: Why Your Home Feels Disjointed

Does your home feel like a collection of separate rooms rather than one cohesive space? That’s often due to a lack of design flow.

• Pro Tip: Use area rugs, artwork, and lighting to unify open-concept spaces while still defining individual areas.
• The Problem: Using different styles, colors, and materials in each room with no unifying elements.
• What to Do Instead: Stick to a core color palette and incorporate repeating materials or textures to create a sense of continuity.
• Real-Life Fix: A client’s home had rooms painted in a high contrast palette, making transitions feel abrupt. We introduced a neutral base color throughout and added accent colors strategically to create a more connected feel.

4. Overlooking Functionality: When Beauty Gets in the Way of Practicality

A space that looks stunning but doesn’t work for your daily life is a recipe for frustration.

• The Problem: Choosing decor and furniture based purely on aesthetics without considering usability.
• What to Do Instead: Design with function first. If you entertain often, prioritize seating and surface space. If you have kids or pets, opt for durable fabrics and smart storage solutions.
• Real-Life Fix: A couple wanted a minimalist dining space, but they needed storage for their kids’ school supplies. We found a sleek sideboard that blended seamlessly into the design while offering hidden storage.
• Pro Tip: Before making a design decision, ask yourself: “Will this piece support my daily routine?”

5. Poor Lighting Choices: The Overlooked Mistake

Lighting can make or break a space, yet many people rely on a single overhead fixture and call it a day.

• Pro Tip: Place lighting at different heights to create balance and avoid harsh shadows.
• The Problem: Not layering lighting properly, leading to dark corners or overly harsh brightness.
• What to Do Instead: Use a mix of ambient (overhead), task (reading lamps), and accent lighting (wall sconces) to add depth and warmth.
• Real-Life Fix: A dimly lit living room was transformed by adding table lamps, pendant lighting, and LED strips under shelves to create a cozy, inviting atmosphere.

Avoid Common Home Design Mistakes with Our MMDH Furnishing Rules of Thumb

Great design isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about creating a space that’s functional, inviting, and tailored to your needs. By avoiding these common home design mistakes and implementing smart design strategies, you’ll create a space that truly feels like home.

But if you’re still unsure about furniture placement, proportion, or styling, we have a tool to help.

The MMDH Furnishing Rules of Thumb is your go-to resource for taking the guesswork out of design. Whether you’re trying to find the right scale for furniture or struggling with layout decisions, this guide walks you through every step.

Inside, you’ll find:

✔ Room-by-room guidelines for selecting the right furniture scale and arrangement
✔ Styling strategies for coffee tables, shelves, and entryways
✔ Expert insights from 20+ years of design experience to help you avoid costly mistakes
✔ Step-by-step layouts and real-life examples to guide you through the process

If you’ve ever struggled with awkward layouts, mismatched furniture, or rooms that feel unfinished, this guide is your shortcut to a more cohesive and functional home.

If you‘re looking for more tips for your home design projects, check out these posts:

It All Comes Down To Install & Styling Your Space

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Space