5 COMMON INTERIOR DESIGN MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE IN THEIR HOMES

Durban-based interior designer Buzwe Nxasana shares the most frequently made mistakes we make when renovating or decorating our homes

By Buzwe Nxasana | April 15, 2019 | Category

There are a lot of common mistakes that almost everyone makes when designing their interiors. Here are the five most common interior design mistakes people make when revamping or decorating their homes.

GET AN INTERIOR DESIGNER

This would be the first and most common mistake that home owners do, or maybe in this case do not do. The first thing most people think when getting an interior designer is arguably how pricey interior designers are. My take on this is that it’s all relative. If you go out to buy an item in a shop you would pay retail price. Interior designers help you to get discounts from many home shops. Interior designers assist you in project managing the construction process to assure that there is good workmanship and high quality finishes that an average person would over look in most cases. Interior designers assist you in the space planning process as well to assure that the space is ergonomically correct.

DO NOT FOLLOW TRENDS

Don’t follow trends, they date. If for instance in 2019 the trend colour is blue and the trending design is timber panelling, you have to realise that these styles will not be in- in the next 2 years or in the next 5 years. Another reason why you shouldn’t follow trends is that your home loses its personal touch and ends up looking too pinteresty (most designers know what I'm talking about).

MORE IS NOT MORE

This is a really cool phrase that my lecturer Lyndall Stols came up with which sounded really strange but really made sense in relation to this topic. The simply means that don’t try to add many different design elements into a space, in hopes of making it more beautiful or designed better. Also don’t try to match or theme everything because I’m going to have a stale face and call you weird.

PERSONALISE YOUR SPACE

Don’t throw away your family possessions or treasures, make the space personal. There has been far too many homes with weird looking objects all over the house all in the name of wanting the house to be perceived as a designer house. This really makes the house look superficial and takes away from the personal touch. My lecturer Michelle Reynolds expresses her view on the importance of involving everyone in the design process as well. You would be surprised at how your kids input can make such a huge difference in your interior design process.

INVEST IN ORIGINAL ARTWORKS

The feeling it gives you when you purchase an original piece of work is how proud I was when I first own my first pair of authentic Diesel denims. There can be a sense happiness and increase in well- being. The benefit of this is that at a later stage the value of your art might be more than what you bought it for. Many people such as Greg and Phillippe of Tonic Design and Jay Z have inspired me to purchase original art work.