5 decorating mistakes you can fix in literally minutes

Some decorating mistakes are easily made, but not quite so easily fixed. You buy a sideboard without measuring properly first, or you paint a whole room without testing the colour and end up hating the results - it's happened to the best of us.

We've previously asked interior designers to tell us the biggest and most common home design mistakes they see, but today we wanted to take a look at some of the decorating mistakes we see that could be corrected without much fuss. No need for a weekend spent painting or to call in a contractor with these - these are quick fixes that will instantly make your home look better. Let's start!

Change your layout

Image: Emily Henderson

Many interior designers start with a room by simply looking at how the existing furniture can be put to better use in the room. Rearranging the furniture can, in some rooms, change the entire look and function of the space. For example, in large rooms, people still often place all their furniture against the walls, but pulling it away from the walls, and indeed, pulling it away from other pieces of furniture, can give the whole room space to breathe. Have a think about your room and the furniture you have, and see if there's a more considered way to use it to create a better flow in the space. A bit of pushing furniture around and you could have yourself a room that feels completely fresh, in some cases.

Consider your lighting

Image: Bolig

We're always banging on about how important lighting is to a room, but it's true! Most standard homes will have an overhead light and maybe a lamp, and that's it. But using light from all different angles and height can transform a space. Overhead lighting, a floor lamp, a table lamp, uplighting - it's all ready to be put to good use.

If you're on a budget and can't afford a whole new lighting set up, considering the bulbs you're using in the lights you have can make a big difference. Swapping out your standard lightbulb for ones that give off a pretty, warm glow, will make your space seem more inviting instantly.

Measure your curtains

Image: Elle Decor

Some people have curtains and drapery just for decoration, and some for more practical privacy reasons, but either way, it's making a surprisingly big impact in your room. Buying any old 90x90 curtains most often results in poor-fitting, and as such, cheap looking results, which has an effect on the whole room. While getting bespoke curtains made for your windows is not going to be a cheap (or quick) endeavour, it's the ideal solution here.

But, in the name of quick fixes, buying extra panels for each side of the window will double your volume, which will be key if your curtains are looking a little sparse on your windows. Moving your pins to artificially lower your drapery is not ideal, but can be an option if your curtains are coming up short on the length front. The simplest solution, though, especially if you don't use them, is to simply take down your curtains. It'll look bare initially, but your room will benefit from the extra light and will instantly look more expensive than it did with ill-fitting curtains hung.

Look at your rugs

Image: Miss Kyeree

Did you know you can actually place your rugs in the wrong direction? Most people have a more 'if it fits, it sits' approach, but actually your rugs should be wider than the area of the furniture they're framing so they extend part the right, left and front of the couch, bed or whatever furniture is resting on. It might be a simple case of flipping your rug around a bit to see what works best. Though, it's worth noting that this rule doesn't apply if the rug is behind furniture.

Declutter

Image: 204 Park

Declutter your whole home is the ideal, but we promised changes in minutes, so let's focus on one area of the home where it really matters - the hallway. Entryways always end up as catchalls, picking up clutter easily and crowding any guests' first impressions of your space. Start by decluttering, obviously, but on a more long term basis, look at your entryway and decide if you need more functional furniture, like consoles and ottomans, to help keep you on track on a day-to-day basis.

You can make your hallway a part of your home by decorating it with pieces that add interest, like rugs, mirrors and small accessories, to help improve that first impression in general, but you'll be surprised at how much impact some careful consideration of where you leave your stuff when you come in the door, can have.