13 Decorating Mistakes That Are Making Your Home Feel Cluttered

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I’m sure you’ve probably been there: you try your best, but your home just feels… full. It could be the well loved knick knacks or that extra chair you just couldn’t leave at the store. These subtle decorating choices sneak up on us and before we know it, our space goes from cozy to cramped. Without even realizing it, you can start to feel a cluttered feeling creep in, and you’re left scratching your head wondering why your rooms don’t feel as open and welcoming as you’d like them to.

If your place is feeling cramped, it could be because of these decorating mistakes. Keep reading to find out if you’re guilty of any of these classic missteps, and how to avoid them with style.

Oversized Furniture

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Big, cozy sofas are fantastic, but if they’re too big for the room, you’re losing comfort for a crowded look. Furniture should be of the appropriate scale for the space it’s in; if something is too big it can throw off the whole room. Choose pieces that are proportional to the space you have so everything works together.

Pushing All Furniture Against the Walls

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It may be logical to use furniture to push against the walls to make room, but it can make a room feel boxed in, awkward. After all, pulling pieces, like sofas or chairs, slightly away from the walls can actually make for a more welcoming, airy layout. Also, this trick helps with better traffic flow and makes the room look and feel larger and inviting.

Ignoring Lighting Layers

A room deserves more than one ceiling light. Using only one source of light can result in heavy shadows and dark corners, consequently shrinking the space. Adding a few different types of lighting should do the trick: floor lamps, table lamps and sconces on the wall to brighten things up and provide some depth.

Decorating Every Surface

It’s fun to style your shelves, coffee tables, and counters with your favorite decor, but too much decor on surfaces makes the space feel busier than it is. Pick a few focal pieces and let them do all the work. Leave some areas minimal so your eye can rest and the room can feel calmer and more open.

Overloaded Walls

Art and photos can display personality, but it’s easy to do too much. It creates a visual clutter when every inch of wall is filled, which makes a room feel chaotic. Instead, go with a “less is more” approach and pick a few things you love. Let your walls breathe, and give them space to shine.

Storage Solutions Underestimation

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If your stuff doesn’t have a place to call its own, it’s going to spill out everywhere. If stored properly, they can be out of sight and out of mind with baskets, shelves, and cabinets. Instead of trying to ‘hide’ things in plain sight, give everything a home and you’ll have a cleaner, more organized space.

Neglecting Vertical Space

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If all your decor and furniture is at ground level you’re leaving a lot of vertical space to waste. High curtains or tall shelves or hanging plants draw your eye up, making a room feel taller and more spacious. Avoid a cluttered, crowded vibe by making use of the entire room’s height.

Overdoing Patterns and Colors

Adding personality and patterns and colors is great but too much can be overwhelming for the senses. Too many busy patterns or bold colors can make a room feel chaotic and closed in, so follow a unifying color palette with one or two patterns to brighten up but without overwhelming.

Ignoring the Need for Blank Space

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In the desire to fill every nook and cranny with decor, it’s easy to forget there is a need for blank space in a room, otherwise it can feel overwhelming. Leaving empty areas on the wall, floor or shelves makes a room feel calm and open. Blank space should be thought of as an ‘eye pause’ to the room, making it feel spacious.

Mismatched Decor Styles

Of course, mixing styles can be fun, but when there’s no unifying theme, a room can become cluttered and disjointed. Pick a dominant style and let accents play off of it, rather than against it. Intentional and harmonious will be the feeling you get from the space.

Overuse of Small Accessories

Candles, frames, and small sculptures are little decorations that give your space charm but when overdone, they take up too much space. Visual noise can be too many tiny pieces scattered around. Instead of a sea of tiny accents, pick some that you truly love and use them as stars, not just a bunch of little things.

Too Much Furniture

Filling a room with too many pieces of furniture is one of the quickest ways to crowd a room. It’s tempting to squeeze that extra armchair or side table in, but all these items fight for space and make the area feel smaller. Go for function than form—pick a few (simple, stylish) pieces which will let the space breathe around them.

Choosing Clutter Friendly Furniture

Furniture with open shelving, or lots of surface area, becomes a magnet for clutter. These pieces can be practical, but they usually end up creating piles of stuff you didn’t know you were going to display. If you’re not tidy, opt for furniture with closed storage to keep things out of sight.

Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.