When two of my favourite interior designers, Sophie Robinson and Kate Watson-Smyth, got together to record a podcast I knew I had found my perfect match. I’ve been following Mad About the House and fell in love with Sophie Robinson when I started binge-watching The Great British Interior Design Challenge last year. Their podcast is so entertaining that I find myself laughing out loud as I walk to work. I’ve learned so much about interior design since the series began in the fall.
Fun Fact: Sophie Robinson was also one of the judges for the Amara Interior Design Blog awards that I was shortlisted for! I like to think that at some point she’s laid eyes on my little blog. She’s also written back to a few of my Instagram messages and Ifan girl every. single. time. (P.S.: Sophie, if you ever see this, what are the odds that a Canadian can compete on the British Interior Design Challenge??)
My favourite part of the podcast is when the pair discuss their design crimes! I listen along nodding my head or staring guiltily around my home knowing I’ve been caught in one of the design crimes mentioned!
01 | The Island Effect
Buying a rug for your home is a huge investment. Even when you buy them from budget stores like HomeSense they can still climb high above the $400 mark! But if there’s one thing to spend your money on it’s a rug. In your bedroom, the rug should fit under two-thirds of the bed and in your living room, it should be big enough so at two front legs of your couch sit on the rug. Otherwise, your coffee table sits awkwardly on a tiny rug like a forgotten island in the middle of nowhere.
02 | Cut off curtains
Nothing cuts off the flow of a room like curtains that are too short. If you want something that just covers the window, opt for blinds instead. Curtains should always touch the floor, and even better should have a bit of extra room to pool on the ground without hovering an inch of the ground. It allows your eye to travel vertically and makes space feel larger.
03 | Empty liquor bottles on display
Unless you feel ready to tell all of your guests that you wish you were still in college, using empty liquor bottles as decoration is a definite design crime. I don’t think I need to go into too much detail on this. My one exception is using wine bottles as candle holders for an al fresco dining experience reminiscent of a cozy Italian Restaurant if you’re planning a themed party.
04 | Fake plants
I feel like there are quite a few people who will take offence to this… I know that plants are the “trendy” accessory right now because of the whole focus on Instagram aesthetic. Aside from making your grid look beautiful, real plants have so many benefits in your home! They improve air quality and for people living in Northern areas give us hope that green still exists. Fake plants gather dust, look like they belong in a sad doctor’s office and never give off the desired effect.
05 | Pictures hung too high
When you’re hanging pictures you want to make sure you’re hanging them up on the wall centred at your eye line. Too often I see photos hung so high on the wall that one has to crane their neck to admire the art, or they’re so low that the wall feels empty. For a gallery wall, choose a midline to centre the art around and make sure the shape of the gallery follows the lines of furniture.
My favourite part of The Great Indoors is definitely when Kate and Sophie completely disagree on design crimes! Interior design style is so dependent on the person who is living in the room and I love that even the greats have a difference of opinion when it comes to the dos and don’ts of the trade.
Let me know what your design crimes are down in the comments!
