Whether you're looking to renovate your home to increase your resell value, or making changes to fall in love with your space again, there's a few common pitfalls you need to avoid in order to create a beautiful, high quality space.
Today we're sharing 4 common renovation mistakes that will lead to your home feeling cheap or tacky. We'll also give advice for what you can do instead to achieve a designer look without blowing your budget or taking months to complete.
1. Overdoing DIY paint jobs
When it comes to your walls, less really is more. Not every wall needs to be an accent wall- especially when DIYed by an amateur. Sloppy edges and cheap paint aren't the only things that will make your renovation feel cheap. Bold trendy colors in every room will also date your home fast and make your space feel more tacky than timeless.
So instead, use just one wall as a focal point with either a piece of art or tasteful wallpaper. If you choose to DIY, consult a professional beforehand and practice applying the paint or wallpaper before diving in to your project. This will help ensure your DIY doesn't turn into a "Pinterest fail". A little more preparation and research will go a long way without costing you too much extra time or money. For help getting started, you can check out our social media posts about our most complementary color palettes for each of our Stoneform colors.
2. Ignoring lighting
Relying on generic ceiling lights (commonly known as "boob lights") to light your space will lead to your interior feeling cheap or uninspired. These builder-grade lights, and the incandescent bulbs that often go with them, don't add anything special to your design at best, and at worst, make your space feel dated.
Instead, opt for layered lighting. Use the timeless design rule of 3 layers of lighting.
- Ambient lighting (or general ceiling lights) act as a base layer. Choose a large, bright light that can mimic sunlight at night.
- Task lighting focuses on specific areas. These lights often come in the for of table or floor lamps, or under cabinet lighting.
- Accent lighting highlights focal points of your design: artworks, decorative elements, or the most important part of your space (think wall sconces or picture lights).
If you want to include wall lighting, but don't have electrical wiring to your desired spots, you can use battery powered sconces to avoid having to reroute your wires.
Using layered lighting will add interest to your space, soften shadows, and subtly emphasize focal points in your space.
3. Adding overly trendy features
Remember the mason jars and old barn doors of 10 years ago? In small doses, these features can feel quaint and tasteful, but in large quantities, they'll make your home feel tacky and dated.
Instead, take your favorite parts of home design trends and mix them sparingly into a more timeless design. For example, you can pair your bold, seventies inspired coffee table with a more modern and understated sofa to incorporate your style without it feeling overwhelming, or aging poorly over the next 10 years. Use our Pinterest mood boards to discover how to pair design elements in a variety of interior design styles to create a tasteful interior with personal touches.
4. Using low quality floors
We cannot say this enough: cheap LVP or laminate that only has 6 plank patterns is the biggest giveaway to a cheap renovation. Not only do these floors wear down incredibly fast, their lack of grain variation or complex, organic coloring will give your space the same feeling as a budget hotel lobby.
Instead, opt for a durable, natural looking floor to act as the base of your design. We may be biased, but in our opinion, Stoneform is the best option to achieve this goal. Made from 70% stone, Stoneform is incredibly durable while still looking and feeling like natural wood. Our Stoneform colors have at least 8 plank variations in our most affordable collection, and up to 20 in our designer collections. That's a floor that's built to last through trends and heavy use.
Not to mention, Stoneform is extremely affordable, meaning you won't break the bank investing in higher quality flooring.
Conclusion
In the end, creating a home that feels elevated and well-designed doesn't have to mean draining your savings or hiring an entire design time. By avoiding these common renovation mistakes, you can build a space that feels polished, timeless, and truly yours. Focus on thoughtful choices, simple upgrades, and materials that stand the test of time. Your future self (and future buyers) will thank you.