5 things to stop buying for your home - and what to buy instead

I recently bought some African wall baskets for my home. I bought them off social media, from a page that was having a huge annual sale. I hadn’t planned to buy them – my home’s aesthetic isn’t African – I only bought them because they were on sale. And I had seen them at my pal’s place.

Now, I have buyer’s remorse. The baskets are still wrapped in the clear plastic cling they were delivered in weeks ago but I have little idea of how I will style them in my home. Too bad I can’t return them.

Buying these baskets like these is one of the countless costly mistakes we make in the pursuit of styling our spaces. We have to stop making mistakes like these. Here are five others that homeowners frequently make, and what you should be buying instead:

1. Wrong size of rugs

If there were ever a styling faux pas that upsets the balance in your home, it would be the wrong size of rug relative to your space. Small rugs look ridiculous, large rugs look scruffy and excessive. The right rug size beautifully elevates all elements in that space.

Your living room – the two front legs of all your chairs should be on the rug, while keeping them at least two feet away from the wall, to create an illusion of space. Living room furniture that leans against the walls gives an illusion of a tight space.

In your dining room, the dining table and chairs should all have their feet on the rug. Even when you pull a chair out to settle yourself in, its two front legs should still be on the rug. Same goes for your bedroom – three quarters of your bed should be sitting on the rug.

2. Throw pillows that match your couch or bed

You should stop buying throw pillows that are made from the same fabric as your couch, upholstered headboard or beddings. You have a navy blue couch, so you have the fundi make – or you buy – throw pillows with navy blue covers. Grey headboard, grey throw pillows. You may try to be exciting by picking shades of grey but still… they are all grey. And they match, anyway.

The styling tip with throw pillows is to mix and match, with your couch, headboard or beddings as the inspiration.

Mix patterns – plain, polka dot, geometric lines, modern, retro and whatnot. Mix colours – select colours that contrast and complement one another, in a mix of tones. Use your eyes to guide you on this balance. Mix sizes – from 24-inch European pillows to the 18-inch square pillows then the lumbar pillows. Style your pillows starting with the biggest one out, in descending order of size.

3. White bulbs

White light is harsh for the home. It illuminates everything in stark, unflattering, somewhat condescending burn. Switch out all your white bulbs and buy bulbs with soft yellow light instead.

Soft yellow light creates ambience and mood in your home. It is soft (of course), gentle to your eyes, flattering to every element of your home and whispers sweet romantic nothings into your ears, he-he.

Soft yellow light is especially ambient when it’s layered – from your head light in the ceiling, to floor and desk lamps, then to wall sconces. Buy dimmers for them as well.

4. Real houseplants

I know you want houseplants in your home for their greenery and that feng shui energy they introduce into your space. I know. But houseplants die in the house. Ironically. They become sad and lonely and imprisoned in their pot and all this eventually makes them die. You will kill your houseplants because you want them in your… house.

The only place in your home to keep potted houseplants is out on the balcony, or in your front yard or back yard. Better if you remove them from the constricting pot and plant them in the Earth. To reconnect with Mother Nature. Plants need plenty of sunlight and fresh air.

Buy plastic plants instead. (Some folk like to call them ‘fake’ plants but well...) Plastic plants are more expensive but they introduce the greenery you seek into your space. They last long, are sturdy and the only maintenance they need is wiping their leaves of dust.

Buy outsized plants to style your corners. My personal recommendation is an outsized fiddle-leaf fig tree or a banana leaf tree. Potted plastic succulents also look great in your home office, toilet or kitchen, styling the neglected windowsill above the sink.

5. Stop buying every piece of décor your favourite social media influencer tells you

It’s safe to say that we are all influenced by what we engage with on social media – from leather-strapped floating shelves for your bathroom, to painting a feature wall in a particular shade of blue, buying furniture from a hyped fundi or furniture supplier, to even deciding to move out of your small house into a bigger one. The influence is real.

Style is very personal. Your home, your space should be a reflection of you – your tastes and quirks, your budget, your family’s needs (kids, pets), the season you are in your life.

Let your favourite social media influencers inspire the styling choices that enhance the living experience in your space, but only buy pieces that will find a loving place in your home. Pieces that will bring you joy. Also buy within the boundaries of an on-going styling plan, that way you don’t accumulate junk.

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