It’s the small touches that matter — imagine how boring this bathroom remodel would have been if those strips of colorful tile had not been included.

Most of the time our clients call us before they begin their remodel or décor work. But other times, we are called in to correct a project that didn’t quite turn out the way the client expected.

I was reminded of this when I visited a client recently who had used a local firm that specializes in kitchen remodeling to do a gut-renovation of her kitchen. She admitted that the results weren’t exactly as she had hoped and that the remodeler did not use an actual designer for the plans. While the new kitchen certainly wasn’t bad, the space could have been so much better with a designer’s touch. Instead, it was a generic kitchen with neutral, single-tone tile and paint.

Speaking of paint, one of the biggest mistakes we see is wrong paint color — even neutrals. Just like bold colors come in shades, so do whites and creams. A white with a blue undertone has a much different effect than a white with a gold undertone. Similarly, paint can also be the needed accent for a room that is too neutral — think about the dramatic look of one painted wall in a room and how it splashes visual vibrancy into the space.

A designer will help you add color and texture to add interest to your space without overwhelming it. Look at how those neutral prints turn gray walls into something special!

Another top interior design mistake we see is furniture that is either too big or too small. Rooms have “rhythm,” and just like a song doesn’t stay on the same note, neither should your home. Linear thinkers tend to fill their rooms with same-sized furniture that fits really well but is like that one-note song — yawn! Or maybe you want big, comfortable sofas and thought you needed to pair them with huge tables and lamps. If you are in a tight space, such as an apartment or condo, perhaps you thought you needed to stick to undersized furniture. But the truth is, when you mix small and large pieces, you achieve balance in a space no matter how expansive or constricted it is.

A third mistake we often see is rooms treated as islands unto themselves with stark differences as you walk from room to room. As designers when we come into your home, we treat it as one continuous space. So while you might not have the spa feel of your master bathroom in your living room, the color combinations and overall palette will flow naturally as you move throughout your home.

The advantage of using a designer is you avoid all of those mistakes plus the time, effort and expense of buying and returning items that don’t work or re-painting walls or installing new flooring — or worse. While we love doing complete remodels, we find people are surprised to learn that we will assist you with your San Diego interior design for a modest fee with making the right design and décor decisions, even if you only need a few hours. Please click here to contact us for your complimentary consultation.