Amish furniture is famous for its great looks and durability mainly because it is constructed from solid wood. With solid wood as the basis for most, if not all, the furniture items in your home, it is possible to enjoy a great view inside all the time. However, take note that decorating your home with wood furniture might also cause you to deal with a few decorating mistakes.
It could be because you are too excited to start shopping for furniture that you fail to determine your needs, wants, and budget first. To avoid overspending and prevent the remorse that might come with it, ensure to keep these tips in mind when shopping for furniture that you can use to fill your home.
#1 – Pushing the furniture against the wall
While arranging your furniture in a way that it is pushed up against your wall can make your room look and feel bigger, it is still not a good idea if, in the end, it results in having a hard time holding a conversation without shouting. If that is the case then you may want to start rearranging your solid wood furniture.
One way to rearrange one part of your home, specifically your living room, is to let your sofa float in the middle part. It should be closer to the chairs and fireplace, creating a much cozier area for conversations. This can be considered as intentional placement of your solid wood furniture, like Shaker furniture items, which is a big help in defining how you use the room for several more years.
#2 – Applying a coat that is too thick
This might be a mistake you will most likely commit if you refinish your wood furniture. The problem with a coat for wood furniture that is too thick is that it can lead to an unattractive and uneven finish, causing you to fail to complete the job soon. With that in mind, resist the urge to coat your furniture all at once when you apply a paint or stain. A wise tip is to put on the product then wait for the paint’s first coat to dry before applying another one. Check the container to determine the perfect waiting period.
#3 – Not sanding the furniture
This is a mistake you should avoid committing if you plan to paint your furniture. Even if some tutorials, paints, and primers say that sanding is unnecessary, you still have to do it for solid wood furniture as this procedure has a say on how the paint will look like in the end.
When sanding, make sure to do it in all surfaces using 150-grit sandpaper. Avoid gouging the surface. Your goal should be to rough the furniture up a bit in the sense that the primer will have something that it can adhere to. Do not try stripping the furniture’s surface, too. If possible, make use of 80-grit sandpaper in case you plan to sand a furnishing that already has an existing varnish.
#4 – Blocking a room’s natural flow because of the seating arrangement
Make sure that your chosen seating arrangements do not block the natural flow in the room where you placed it. You may be tempted to arrange your sofa in a way that it faces a fireplace or window. However, if this results in you seeing the back part of the couch each time you walk inside the room then this might not be a good idea. It is because this might feel unwelcoming.
To fix it or avoid this possible mistake, make sure to ground the sofa if you have a large wall. It is not that bothersome to view the backs of accent chairs since they do not have as much bulk as the others. If you do not have any other choice but to expose the back of the sofa then you may want to use a console table and put it in front to soften this look. Style it with decorative items or low stacks of books.
#5 – Ignoring a room’s focal point
A focal point refers to an element capable of grabbing attention. It serves as the primary focus of those who decide to walk into the room you are decorating. When decorating your home with wood furniture, do not forget the focal point as this can contribute a lot to your property’s final look.
Among the most common focal points are French doors, fireplaces, and windows. Take note that while not all rooms have focal points, it is still vital to make yours important if it has one. You can then decorate your home with wooden furniture and some artwork and accessories based on this vital element.
#6 – Forgetting color undertones
Keep in mind that there are undertones of all colors. This means that you can’t expect all whites or blues to be identical. With that said, it helps to reflect on the primary color to determine if the color is dark or light or crisp or dull. Note that even the subtlest difference can already make a difference when setting a theme or mood in your home.
When designing your home with wood furniture, therefore, it helps to choose coordinating colors that have similar intensity. The good news is that the selection process is easy in most cases because you can find a few paint manufacturers who offer color swatch cards that have different shades from a similar hue. This gives you the chance to choose a group of colors that blend well together.
#7 – Creating barriers
Make sure to arrange your wood furniture in such a way that it creates or builds barriers. Remember that your living space is a place for entertainment and relaxation. You might have a hard time achieving that goal if you bump into pieces of furniture constantly. To ensure that your home will look more welcoming and accessible, do not put tables or chairs in front of your archway or doorway. Your goal should be to leave enough room so you can easily access anything and move around.
#8 – Forcing a color scheme
When decorating your home’s interiors with wood furniture, make sure that you do not force a color scheme to work. Note that several decorators often wrongly assume that they need to pick matching colors for these to work smoothly together. However, remember that you can also find other ways to make use of various colors as a means of creating a more coordinated look.
A wise tip is to pick your color family first then determine the major items or pieces that will fill a room. Once done, all the elements should be recovered, repainted, and coordinated.
#9 – Choosing incorrectly sized furniture
Regardless of the room you intend to decorate, it is crucial to be fully aware of the amount of space you plan to work with. For example, if you have great ideas for the bedroom, make sure to polish them in a way that they can save a lot of space inside the room. Remember that space may become too tight in case you add a large dresser, giant recliner, or nightstand near your bed.
Also, your tiny couch inside your old apartment might be fully dwarfed by your new home’s large living room. To prevent that from happening, it helps to measure the room’s dimensions as well as the size of potential furniture. Note that your goal in decorating your home with wood furniture is to make sure that your rooms will feel cozy. It should not feel empty, cluttered, and non-breathable.
10 – Over-furnishing
Another mistake you should avoid when planning to decorate your home with wood furniture is furnishing it too much. One vital fact to keep in mind is that it will not take too much for your room to get transformed into a dumping ground containing gathered wooden furniture and accessories from a well-thought-out and carefully planned one. Your chosen wooden furniture should be just enough to fill the space while making it look functional and appealing.
You should find adequate space inside the room as a means of creating natural flow and movement. It should not feel nor look cramped. In case it feels cramped, make sure to move or remove a piece or two of furniture and find out if it helps. Also, take note that there are times when the matter is not because of excessive furniture, but the placement.
Still, remind yourself that furnishing a room too much will not only cause it to look smaller but also result in difficulties moving and maneuvering.
Conclusion
Decorating your home with wood furniture is one of the best decisions you can make. It is because of the perks and rewards offered by solid wood furniture, including its attractiveness and durability. However, you have to avoid the mistakes mentioned here to ensure that you decorate your space well. Your goal is to build a sense of balance and order through the wood furniture decorations you implement.