© 2004 Pamela Cole Harris

I am assuming my readers have good taste - no hay on the walls (what WAS she thinking!), cardboard lined bedrooms, or plastic egg covered bathrooms. And after all, you DO read my advice! Yet, even so, you may be making little mistakes that change your home décor from amazing to awkward!

Here are some design mistakes you may be making!

1. Decorating your room based on a whim or the current fad instead of thinking how the room will be used. White sofas in a play room? Hay on the wall of a family room! (she will never live that down!) Frilly ruffles in a bedroom shared with your very macho husband. Think about the room's uses and users before you decorate.

2. Using incorrect lighting for the room's use. Sure, those little lamps are cute! But will they provide enough reading light in your family room? Will that chandelier cast shadows that will make the room occupants look like bad Picasso knockoffs? Make sure to buy lamps and light bulbs which ease the strain on readers. And as for the shadows, why not try frosted bulbs to soften those harsh angles?

3. Arranging furniture in awkward patterns. If you had to make your way from one side of the room to the other in the dark, could you do it without knocking your shins on a table? Can you do it in the daylight? While winding paths across a room might earn you extra exercise, they can be hazardous to our shins (and a couple of toes!) Arrange easy paths from one room to the next.

4. Putting all the furniture against the wall. Unless you have a paranoia about having someone behind your back, move your furniture further into the room. It adds more interest and looks less like a police line-up!

5. Awkward conversation areas. If your visitors have to twist their bodies, look under lamps and over tables to have a conversation, your furniture is placed incorrectly. Group furniture into small intimate areas where people can talk face to face.

6. Hanging artwork too high. Try placing your artwork at or below eye level (and not eye level for the Jolly Green Giant!) Unless it is over a fireplace mantel, try not to make your visitors look up to view your prints or paintings.

7. Scattering the accessories. If you have a collection, group it together. (Makes it easier to see what you have so you don't buy duplicates!) When individual pieces are scattered throughout the house, the collection loses its impact.

8. Including just one of everything in the room. Just one of everything makes people think that your kids broke the mate to the piece. Bring balance and unity to the room by choosing pairs of lamps, chairs, pillows or tables.

9. Having a lop-sided room. Don't put all the big, heavy furniture or dark colors on one side of the room. It will feel like you are on the deck of the Titanic. Distribute the pieces evenly to bring balance to the room.Are you making design mistakes? They are easy to remedy! A little furniture moving here, a little shuffling there and your home will be ready for Architectural Digest (or Field and Stream - depending on your décor!)

Pamela Cole Harris has been a writer and decorator for thirty-five years (YIKES! Has it been that long?). She is the author of "Home and Garden Design Tips", a free weekly syndicated home and garden content service for your website.