Whether you’re sprucing up your first apartment or giving your long-time home a refresh, plenty of misconceptions about decorating can trip you up. With so many trends and myths floating around, it’s easy to confuse which principles are helpful and which are just passing fads.

To help you cut through the clutter, we’ve created a myth-busting guide to prevent you from overhauling everything or abandoning your wall decor ideas.

Let’s get started!

Buying things in sets may be more time-efficient and cost-effective when you’re looking to invest in large and necessary furniture pieces such as couches and storage cabinets. However, for smaller items such as wall decor that really define a space's personality, buying everything as a set is robbing yourself of the opportunity to personalize your home as you like it.

Wall decor is best curated over time.It’s far more interesting when you can look at your walls and share the story behind each piece. Growing with your decor and acquiring meaningful pieces organically will create a more meaningful personal space. Even if you source pieces from different places, you can create a cohesive look by focusing on colors, materials, finishes, and textures you love and using those as a guide to bring everything together.

It’s tempting to think every wall needs something to feel complete, but not every wall has to be a gallery. Adding too much art and accessories can quickly make a space feel cluttered, especially if you already have a lot of furniture and decor. 

Leaving some walls undecorated can provide visual breathing space and enhance the overall interior. This approach allows focal points and featured pieces to stand out more effectively. Kitchen wall decor, for example, would not benefit from a lot of visual clutter. By intentionally choosing which walls to decorate, you can create a more thoughtful and harmonious space. 

So many people will tell you to look away from trends because they’re going to look tacky in a few months or years. While this is true in some cases, remember that many design styles began as trends, and they will keep circling back around at different points in time. Focus on what you like, and consider those elements as your classics, even if they don’t conform to sleek lines, minimalist setups, neutral colors, or whatever is touted as “timeless.”

Don’t be afraid to explore trends and see how they fit your style. You don’t have to go all-in—just pick a few elements you like and weave them into your current setup. Trends come and go, but bits and pieces often pop up again in new ones. You might find that a little trend here and there actually enhances your decor.

Many renters believe that personalizing a rental space isn’t worth the effort. With a lease that might end in a year or two, it can feel pointless to invest time, energy, or money into making the place truly yours, especially when potential changes can stir up some feelings about your deposit. The temporary nature of rentals often leads to a mindset of “I’ll save the decorating for when I own a home.”

The truth is your environment significantly impacts your mood and well-being. Just because a rental is temporary doesn’t mean it has to feel impersonal. A thoughtfully decorated rental filled with art, colors, and textures you like can make coming home something you can genuinely look forward to as a reprieve from the stresses of a day-to-day routine.

If your deposit is your main concern or your landlord is strict about preserving the walls, simple rental-friendly decorating is possible with low-effort frameless pieces and rental-friendly hardware such asadhesive hooks andpush pins.

Symmetry has been a fundamental principle in art and design for ages. It creates balance, harmony, and a sense of order. Symmetrical wall decor also amplifies a room's purpose: offices and dining rooms benefit from the formal and organized feel that symmetrically arranged frames encourage.

We don’t think symmetry is always the best starting point for decor, but it’s not an either-or situation. Both symmetry and asymmetry are key in design: symmetry offers structure and balance, while asymmetry brings energy and movement.

The trick is to balance both. Pure symmetry can feel cold or stiff, while pure asymmetry might seem chaotic if overdone. To create a dynamic setup, you can use symmetrical furniture with an asymmetrical gallery wall.

You’ve heard this before: mirrors can make any space feel larger and more open. While hanging a wall mirror can enhance the lighting and give a sense of openness, it doesn’t always make a room feel bigger.Like painting a room a light color, sometimes a room is simply small, and no trick will completely change that

Mirrors double the visual elements within a room. If your space is cluttered or has many busy details, the mirror will reflect that, potentially making the room feel more chaotic. For bedroom wall decor, especially, the mirror should be strategically placed to reflect something visually pleasing, like a window or an open area, rather than adding to the room’s visual complexity.

While eye level is a good starting point for most people, it’s not a hard and fast rule, especially for rooms with unusual proportions, which can be more common than you think for some rental buildings. In some instances, it’s okay to bend the rules if you’re intentional about your choices.

Think about the relationship your decor will have with the room as it is. Hanging art higher or lower than the usual eye level can better fit the room’s proportions, especially if it doesn’t fit into the standard measurements. For living room wall decor, remember to consider the distance from furniture and other fixtures, such as the fireplace, to ensure everything remains balanced. 

In small spaces, “less is more” often gets misinterpreted as meaning large art pieces are a no-go. But really, it’s more about minimizing the number of frames. Instead of cluttering a small room with lots of tiny pictures, a single large piece can do wonders. 

In a small room, a single large piece of art can serve as a powerful focal point and create the illusion of more space. By drawing the eye to one standout element, you can simplify the room, enhance its proportions, and make it look more cohesive. This approach often has a more striking effect than a collection of smaller pieces, making the room feel cluttered.

Many people play it safe by sticking to one color, finish, or material, thinking it’s the key to a cohesive look. That’s why mixing metal finishes, like gold and silver, can feel intimidating—there’s a fear it might look mismatched or gaudy. 

Mixing different metals can add a rich, layered look to your decor. The trick is to blend metals carefully so that they complement each other instead of clashing. Bathroom wall decor, in particular, is perfect for experimenting with mixed-metal combinations, where various metallic accents can shine.

When mixing metals, think of it like designing a color palette: consider the contrast, undertones, warmth, and coolness. If you're using more than two metals, a 60-30-10 ratio works well. Also, remember that some metals suit certain styles better—nickel, gold, brass, and bronze fit classic interiors, while black, chrome, and other polished metals are more common in modern spaces.

Seasonal decor often gets a bad rap for being the enemy of timeless design. It can seem unnecessary—taking down Halloween decorations only to put up Thanksgiving ones, and then doing it all over again for Christmas decorations—and many people prefer a classic look that works year-round.

However, people often consider seasonal decorations simply a holiday ritual. This perspective misses the potential benefits of embracing seasonal changes as a continuous project, especially considering how a space’s interior can often influence your mood. Over time, you’re bound to switch up old photos for new ones and try out new interior layouts for a sense of change. Using seasonal decor to rotate your homewares and rearrange some placements is a great way to breathe new life into your space every now and then.

Check out our article on sampling seasonal decor trends: How to Incorporate Fall Decor Trends to Your Space 

We recommend picking specific things to switch out from season to season so you can spend some time redecorating your home without feeling like you have to do a big overhaul. Colors, patterns, and textures are a great place to start: colder seasons go with moodier colors, heavier prints, and rich textures, while warmer seasons invite brighter hues and playful partners. This way, when you decorate for the holidays, the interior’s colors and textures are already prepped as the base.

Decorating your space is a deeply personal journey. While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, understanding these common myths can help you make more informed choices. Remember, rules are more like guidelines—feel free to adapt them to fit your style and space.

Which of these myths have you done and are now thinking of correcting? Sound off in the comments!