Have you ever over-decorated a room? I have done it many, many times. Back in ‘the day’ there was no such thing as over-decorating. You could add and add to a room to your heart’s content. And the more you added, the better we all felt it looked. But now, things have changed. Now things are sleeker, simpler and more modern. Now, you need to use restraint when decorating.
Here is an example. The room is too full. In my defense, I didn’t plan to have this many chairs in the room. It was a fluke that I ended up with extra chairs.
I finally listened to my own podcast and thought, “I really need to take some things out of the house.” Look how much better it looks! I really love the way the room feel so light and airy now! I’m thinking of a slipcover for the ottoman, but I haven’t gotten to it yet.
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Another area that I changed recently was our hallway. I decided less was more here. I removed the tiles from the wall.
Yes there’s a mirror on the floor. It’s going to a new home, but I have it here temporarily. It’s not really meant to be decorative.
Here’s one more example of paring back and working with fewer things. Here’s the before.
And here’s the more simplified after
So how do you know if you are overdecorating?
Does your home feel cluttered?
Do you have room on table tops to put your keys there?
Can you see your bed under all the pillows?
If you have a collection, have you displayed every piece of the collection that you own?
These are all signs that you might be over-decorated. At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide if your home is over-decorated.
Yes, sometimes less is more. The only room I tend to overdecorate is my home office. Since I have shelves in there, I feel the need to overfill them and sometimes they end up looking cluttered. In fact, I should go through another de-cluttering soon!
Shelley
Shelley, I think we bloggers tend to overdo, because we want it to all look so pretty!
Your room above with all the chairs looks much better “after.” However, if one normally has a lot of guests (or a large family on a daily basis) who gather in such a room, it still was a very nice “overdecorated” space.
I live alone and seldom have multiple guests, so I have no excuse for overdecorated spaces – however I do have them, so thank you for the reminder that less is more. I have work to do, obviously.
Pat, you are so wise. We found we weren’t using those extra chairs, but I kept them in case we did. When we do have people over, it’s nice outdoors, and we sit on the porch. It’s a small house, and it can’t handle many guests indoors.
I’ve heard many say (when they’ve over decorated) that it’s cozy. LOL. There is a fine line between not having enough “stuff” and the room feeling cold and unwelcoming to over doing it and getting an overwhelming and cluttered sensation. I get stuck with the odd number thing; checking and counting and sometimes forgetting to step back and just look at what I like. Nice post. Off to here the podcast – I might be an over-doer! 😉
I think we are all at some point Cindy! But I’m also sure your home is lovely and welcoming.
Hello, My name is Karen and I’m an over-decorator.
Hopefully recovering over-decorator.
You ladies are awesome!
I am learning… Slowly. I love “stuff” and have been overdoing it for years.
I’m getting better, but it’s hard when it’s your own home. I sometimes become immune to my own clutter. I’ve been getting better on a day to day basis, but holidays are more difficult.
Taking pictures of my home helps (although sometimes not immediately) and seeing pictures of others “cluttered decor” forces me to look at my own space and re-think things. For some of us, it’s a process.
You’ve also convinced me to repaint my (Tuscan?) mac and cheese colored walls, lol. Although, I’ve seen some pictures recently where it may be coming back in style? I’m probably hallucinating.
Love the podcast. Thanks for the fun!
Karen, you are a hoot! That’s too funny! Who knows, maybe yellow is on it’s way back, but I am not sure about that one. Neutral is probably the safest. If you want to go with a soft cream, that’s a safe bet.
I tend to put flowers (real and or faux) in every empty vessel I now feel like my family room looks more like a funeral home. Need some suggestions. The vessels look unfinished if I remove the flowers
Janet, that’s funny. Okay, let me think about that one.
Hi. Saw your comment and thought I’d reply. Yes, too many artificial flowers makes a room look, dare I say it?, “tacky”.
Too me it’s the worst mistake in decorating. I try to keep artificial flowers in only one part of a room. And here’s the thing. Use a lot of them in that one container and it will really make an impact.
Store the others and rotate them for the seasons. And how about adding some live succulents?
Anyway, hope this helps.
Ps. I’ve never see a beautifully decorated home that uses lots of artificial flowers in every room.
Yes, and it is often prettier to put some empty verssels together.
Less is always “more”. Rooms with so many artifacts, although beautiful, take the punch out of the aesthetic. It clutters the mind just as does general clutter. Less gives one a much more tranquil feeling upon entering.
Thanks so much for realizing this. Sometimes I feel bloggers want to give so much to their readers that this type of ‘clutter’ takes over. Better to show a room in several different ‘options’ of the design plan than trying to crowd it all into one..
Love your design sense.
As a footnote, I pray that your home in NC withstood the recent rains there. It’s a beautiful area that we have enjoyed many times.
I LOVE chairs and tables……even do my own upholstering and redoing….each piece is a statement and I can’t decide which ones to take out, plus no place to store them. Love to see how others decorate and appreciate what they have done even though it may not be my taste. Decided to be ME, and keep trucking on the way that makes me feel good. That’s what it’s all about. Always happy when people say ahhhhh I could never do that……..what a wonderful, rewarding hobby!
Sure Carole, at the end of the day, you need to make your home the way you want it! I totally agree with you!!
There are so many things I love in this space. Thank you for sharing.
I remember when every inch of the walls had to have something on it. Every spot on the floor had something on it.
Now it’s a little bit harder to look at your space and say good that’s enough.
Especially when you are use to years ago.
I’m learning to work with less.
This was such a good post for me.
Thank you.
Thanks Rose. Yes, it’s hard to change if you are used to more!
It’s easy to say, but removing furniture from a room to have it look uncluttered doesn’t make much sense to me when you have company and there is nowhere for people to sit. We have a small house with an open floor plan. Removing two chairs might make it look better, however, I’d like to be able to offer visitors a place to sit and not have them all bunched in a row on my couch.
Limiting decorative items for a cleaner look is a good idea, but even these in a small house are often utilitarian. I would to have a lot of square footage but until I do, our friends and loved ones will have to put up with the clutter.
Yes Margo, in a smaller space, you have to weigh how you use the space against how open you want the space to feel. You are wise to make the space work for you.
I have too many treasures. Having said that, i don’t intend to throw/donate much….because they are my treasures. I have the good ole plastic tote boxes in my storage area in my garage and I rotate my treasures seasonally, mix it up and occasionally donate something…BUUUTTT I love to decorate, live here with my sweet doggie so I put on the music, and decorate, move things around and have a new look on a monthly/seasonal basis. Yes, too many things, but I enjoy them and it’s such a pleasure to create and enjoy my home. To each his own. BTW, I do receive compliments on my decorating style, very French country cottage/vintage.