6 Design Mistakes That Make Your Home Less Comfortable

wall with many nature prints on it

Making your home comfortable takes a lot more than keeping it clean and organized. Design mistakes can create anxiety and stress, rather than serenity and relaxation.

Are you making some of these easy errors in your home right now, creating negative feelings, rather than a positive flow of energy? Find out what you may be doing wrong and what you can do to improve it right now.

1. Packed Shelves

If you have a lot of shelves, open cabinets, and other visible storage areas that are packed to the brim, it can create a cluttered look even when everything is neatly on the shelf.

Leave some empty spaces to give your design a little room to breathe. Stuffed shelves and full storage areas will create a claustrophobic feeling even in the biggest rooms.

person working in cluttered home office with stacks of books

2. Too Many Colors

Color is always a good thing of course, but all things in moderation. Mixing and matching too many different colors and using too much color in one space creates a busy, chaotic feeling that you don't want.

Every space should feel somewhat relaxing and calming. A color explosion can have the opposite effect and actually create anxiety.

3. Excessive Pillow Placement

Accent pillows are great and they add a lot to any home design but again, sometimes too much is just too much. Your home will end up looking messy if you have too many accent pillows.

Use moderation for the bed, the couch, and your chairs. The fewer accent pillows you use, the more impact they're going to have.

In the same vein, you don't want to add a lot of throws to your spaces, either. Having a lot of throws on the furniture can make rooms look messy. It's more effective to have one or two throws.

While having a lot of throws can be physically more comfortable while you're lounging around the house, this creates an uncomfortable feeling from a design perspective.

4. Crowded Art

Wall art can be an amazing accent that adds life and color and interest to any space. But placement matters.

Too much wall art or art that's oddly placed will throw off the balance of any space. It can create an unsettled feeling that's hard to define but still definitely felt. This can make any space feel much less comfortable.

Use wall art sparingly and place it in the top one-third of the wall only, unless you're displaying a very tall piece.

5. Pattern Overload

row of pillows with colorful patterns

Too many patterns can feel a bit like a visual assault. When you walk into a space that's full of different patterns, you're not going to know where to look. It can be overwhelming and even a little dizzying.

In other words, it's definitely not a comfortable or serene type of space. use patterns to create impact, rather than using them to anchor a room.

6. Too Little or Too Much Lighting

The light will make or break any space. You want every room of your home to be well-lit but you don't want any of those lights to feel harsh. Lots of bright white lighting can feel off-putting.

Softer light is good but it can also feel dim, so be sure to add plenty of light sources to every space. This allows you to control the lighting and add more brightness when needed.

Creating a Comfortable Home

You always want your home to be comfortable, for you and for anyone else who comes to your home. Every room should feel restful, serene, and peaceful. Common design mistakes can make spaces feel chaotic and anxiety-creating instead, which is exactly what you don’t want.

Start fixing these common mistakes and you may notice that you feel less tense, less stressed, and much more peaceful and happy when you’re at home.