Don’t try this at home

THERE’S no denying that at how you choose to decor- ate your home is a completely personal decision based on your own unique taste.

But regardless of whether you’re a slave to the latest interior trends or prefer a more timeless s style, an interior designer ner has now revealed the most common mistakes people eople make in their homes — and d they’re incredibly easy to rectify.

1. Placing furniture against walls

Darren Palmer — a judge on The Block — told Domain that pushing furniture up against walls was one of the most common mistakes he saw people make. Instead, he said, people should resist the urge to push their furniture to corners and create a hub in the middle of their rooms — using a rug, standing lamp or piece of art to “anchor” it.

He said: “You’ll be surprised by how much bigger your room will feel by just giving your furniture some physical and visual breathing space.” WE WANT

2. Tiny coffee tables

If you’re going to invest in a coffee table, Darren urged people to make sure it properly filled the space to avoid looking “stingy”.

After all, you want it to be easily accessible from your seating area.

Darren said: “So often I’ll see a small or medium-sized coffee table floating a distance away from the couches, or out of reach of some or all of the seating.”

To rectify this, the expert recommended placing your coffee table between 400 and 500mm away from the sofa and buying one that is roughly half the length of your settee.

3. Wrong-size rugs

Rugs are a great way to break up a room. Fact.

But Darren claims too many people impulse-buy tiny rugs when really they should be investing in a larger style.

The expert claims rugs should ideally be larger than your sofa and any side tables you have nearby.

He added: “But make sure the side tables don’t end up half on and half off the rug.”

4. Cluttered living space

While it’s tempting to pick up homewares whenever you come across them, Darren claims this can end up making your living space look too crowded and cluttered.

Avoid the temptation to display all your lovely things in every single empty space and instead group together your favourite items on shelves.

Darren recommends putting a “stack of books, a candle, something with life like a plant or flowers” in front of a piece of framed art or a mirror to make the most impact on guests. The Sun

A coffee table should be roughly half the size of your sofa, according to this interiors expert.

Tea, coffee and sugar will be safe and sound in one of these stylish retro canisters. Lovello carbon steel tea, coffee and sugar canisters in red.

Make any salad special with these rose gold Knot Serve spoons. Hand wash only.