1.    Matching furniture: When all the items in a room look like a set–matching leather sofas, chair, and ottoman; matching coffee table, end tables, lamps.  It looks like you went into a furniture store and bought exactly what you saw on the floor. Do you want your guests to think see this blandness and lack of individuality?

2.    Furniture poorly laid out: You may have great furniture that is stylish and tasteful, but a poor space plan can really make a room feel uncomfortable.  Think about the flow of traffic in a space, and make sure that you don’t create dead ends and block off spaces that are used daily. Crowding a space with too much furniture can also contribute to this problem. You want a beautiful AND very livable space.
3.    Don’t allow “ugly” anywhere: Of course, ugly is in the eye of the beholder. But don’t think you can learn to like something if you really don’t. Why would you keep something you don’t like in your living room? Get rid of it!
4.    Don’t forget the details:  Painting the walls and placing the furniture around the room is not enough. Learn about details that bring out your own unique decorating style. Find interesting lamps, arrange books neatly, add decorative pillows to furniture, and include candles and flowers.
5.    Trends: Don’t throw all your money away on trends. More often than not, they lack function and are liable to run their “trendy” course sooner than you think…
6.    Grouping and scale: Grouping accents can be important, as can proper scale. Sometimes using something oversized or miniature in the right place can really add a wow factor to a space or create surprising drama.
7.    Floor covering: There is no excuse for not budgeting money for – or not understanding why you need – a good quality area rug.
8.    Better never than late: Do not hire a designer so late in the project that you are paying them to fix your mistakes! Designers do not like having to work around huge mistakes that could have been avoided if you’d called them at the beginning.
9.    Dusty fake flowers or plants: There is no excuse for this. Ever.
10.    Architectural honesty: Be true to the bones of the architectural structure, and don’t try to shoehorn in a design because you like it if it conflicts with the house itself.