They say your home is your castle, and how your decorate your castle says a lot about who you are. Even so, there are some things you should avoid doing when choosing how you present your home, because not only do they give off poor signals to your guests, but they can also effect your daily mood. Here are some top things you should avoid.

Lack of Lighting: You might like things being a little on the dark side, but your guests may not. Sitting in the dark not only makes your eyes strain to see things, but it also gives off a creepy vibe that you really don’t want.   It can also make your room feel cramped and cause your claustrophobia to kick in. Always make sure you have enough lamps and overhead lighting.

Choosing Style over Comfort: We get it, you want to show off your home and make it look great, but sometimes those expensive chairs and couches are hard as a rock and not at all comfortable. The whole point of having a nice dining room table and chairs, or a living room, is to have a place you can sit back and relax, alone or with company, and it’s kind of hard to do if you can’t get comfortable. Trends come and go, but comfort is consistent. 

Having No Houseplants: Does your place feel a little lifeless and stuffy? If so, we’re willing to bet you don’t have a single plant in your entire house. And we’re not talking about those fake flowers you’ve had sitting in a vase for years either, which you desperately need to get rid of. You don’t have to turn your house into a garden by any means, but adding a plant or two or regularly buying some fresh flowers can help clear the air and bring your place back to life. 

Having Everything Match: Whatever you do, don’t go to an Ikea and buy everything in one of their room arrangements. Your house will look like a catalog, and nobody will believe you actually live there.  Not even yourself. Design the room like a place someone would actually live, and not like a place meant to sell furniture.

Choosing the Wrong Shade of Paint: You wouldn’t buy a car without test driving it would you? The same goes for painting your rooms. You can hold little colour swatches up against the wall all you want, but you aren’t going to get a feel of how it will look on your wall until you try it. Buy a sample of the paint first, give it a try in a small area and see how you like it. If it works, great, if it doesn’t, try, try again until you find something you like. Then you can paint the entire thing, and avoid being unsatisfied. 

Buying First, Measuring Later:  You need to know your space, so measure before you shop to make sure things will actually fit properly. Sure, the couch may look perfect in the store, but if it crowds your room you’re not going to be happy with it. 

Being Trendy: As we said earlier, trends come and go, and once they are gone, you will find yourself with a bunch of things to get rid of that everybody already owns. Don’t rush out and buy that Lava Lamp everyone is talking about, instead buy something that you really want. 

Covering Heating/Cooling Vents: Air ducts are in your rooms for a reason, and covering them over with carpeting or putting a big piece of furniture in front of them if a good way to keep your home too cold or too hot. You are also stopping the air flow from happening properly. Instead of looking at the vents as being a hassle, decorate around them. 

Not Hiding Your Cords: Not only are those tangles of cords a hazard, but they look ugly as well. There are several ways to neaten them up and make them look better at the same time, including finding cord covers that match your wall colour, tying the cords together, hide them behind large pieces of furniture (and thankfully most newer pieces already have holes in them to the cord can easily hide behind the shelf), and getting rid of cords that are no longer needed.