Interior Design Tips That I Don't Follow

Here’s a post I have wanted to draft for a while because, as much as I like to follow rules, some rules were made to be broken. This has been a tough one for me since I have been taking interior design classes, and I don't feel I have the authority yet to say no to certain rules. Most of the rules I have broken have been for functional or practical reasons, and others are due to my personal taste. Read more to find out where I break the rules.

Panel Curtains Do Not Touch or Pool Onto the Floors

When I had to get the dining room curtains hemmed, I decided not to follow the “correct” measurements, which would have put the panels grazing the floor at about one inch off the floor. The reason I decided to hem those curtains as “high water pants”? Well, the answer is simple. My Roomba would eat up the curtains and get stuck. Since I value a clean house over perfect-length curtains, I decided to prioritize the Roomba and make sure that my floors would still stay clean.

I Love My "Outdated" All White Kitchen

The truth is that I did not design my kitchen when the house was built, but I was very happy with the white cabinets, countertops, and light tile flooring that the builder chose. My last kitchen in my condo also had white cabinets, and I was very happy with those as well. I know that most content creators online today are jumping on the cottage trend where white cabinets are being replaced with off-white or beige. That is fine as long as you love off-white and beige cabinets. I mean absolutely love those colors and can live with them for the next 10-20 years. Personally, white cabinets are a classic color that I won’t get tired of, and I will keep these for the foreseeable future. I am also keeping a log of when the beige and warm color trend for kitchen cabinets swings back to white because something tells me it won’t be long.

I Still Love Millenial Gray In the Right Doses

Along the same lines as the all-white kitchen, I do still love millennial gray when applied in the right dosage. My entire house was painted Sherwin Williams Crushed Ice, which is a very light gray and very neutral. This color works in some of the larger spaces in my house, like the foyer, kitchen, and family room, which are one large space. Where it doesn’t work is in the smaller and more private spaces like the dining room, bathrooms, and the main bedroom upstairs. Recently, I have been getting tired of seeing this same paint color in my office, so I will be posting more on the changes I am thinking of to break up so much of the light gray in there.

I also like gray as an accent color. My favorite color is blue and I find that different tones of blue work well with gray. The key is to not overuse gray on your entire space (walls, flooring, furniture, and even light fixtures). It is ok to mix it up and add more color to your space if that’s what you truly love.

I hope you found some inspiration with my design rules to break in your own house. Remember, if it is a rule that works better for your home, don’t be afraid to break it. Your home, your rules.