Home decor: 5 design blunders

You've decided once and for all to deal with those melamine kitchen cabinets, update the master bedroom or add another 300 square feet of living space. You've hired a pro to help with the design and now it's ready, set, go! But before you go shopping for fabrics, finishes, art and paint, we've asked the experts to weigh in with some design dos and don'ts that'll help you avoid blunders that are beyond repair.

Blunder #1: Not formulating a budget
Bill Adler has been designing spaces for more than 25 years and the majority of his work, through William L Adler and Associates Limited, is residential. Bill recalls a client who was doing an extensive home decor renovation. "We went through the home area by area and we came up with a budget of $95,000 to $125,000," he says. Bill used that budget to solicit contractors and found someone willing to do the work. "Then the homeowners said 'we only want to spend $50,000.' " No problem. "We'll just lop off half the project," Bill told them. But no -- that's not what the couple had in mind. "They wanted all of it, but for $50,000," he says. Of course, that was impossible and became an enormous headache for everyone involved. Be certain of your budget (and your limitations!) before you agree to anything.

(Discover how to stretch your decorating dollars.)

Blunder #2: Accessory overkill
"There seems to be a general feeling that if one accent piece is good, 10 are better," says Sue Bennett of Bennett Design Associates in Uxbridge, Ont. Wrong! "Stick to the KISS principal -- keep it simple and stop," she advises. Display single items of larger pieces or groups of three for smaller ones, otherwise you create a "cluster of confusion," she says. "If you're creating a theme room around an item -- like birdhouses, for example -- find one wall to display them on and then stop." That means no birdhouse patterned throw cushions, or birdhouse-themed wallpaper.