4 Times I Broke Interior Design Rules in My Home

Who makes the rules anyway? I’m usually one for following the “rules” but I think some commonly held rules for home interiors do not always need to be followed. As long as spaces are harmonious and beautiful while working in a functional way, it is good interior design. While there are some key rules to follow, it is not math and there is a lot of room for interpretation.

In my own home, I have broken a number of interior design “rules”. Here is where I could get into some serious trouble with the interior design police:

1.When designing my kitchen, I did not leave a metre of floor space on all sides of my kitchen island.

The kitchen before the remodel with tape marking where the island would be positioned.

When we remodeled our kitchen a primary goal was to incorporate a kitchen island in the layout. Previously, the kitchen lacked an island as the room was just shy of the minimum width needed to incorporate a traditional island. Minimum width for a kitchen of my layout with an island would need to be 11 feet, allowing 2 feet for wall cabinets, 3 feet on either side of the island, 3 feet for the width of the island itself. My kitchen frustratingly comes just under this 11ft width.

The kitchen after our remodel with a newly installed island and 95cm of space between the island and wall cabinets.

While designing my budget-friendly kitchen with DIY kitchens, I consulted guidance advising a minimum of 90cm and preferably 100cm width is necessary for walkways on all sides of an island. This metre allows for cupboard doors to swing out on both sides of the walkway, and when doors are closed it allows for two people to move past each other easily.

A traditional sized kitchen island should allow for the two feet of depth for the cabinets on one side, and a foot of overhang in the bar area for bar stools on the other. This adds up to a 3 feet width for a kitchen island.

I left only 85.5cm of space on the left side of the island, while allocating 95cm of space on the right. The walkway on the right would be more trafficked due to appliances and cupboards on both sides.

My kitchen’s width became an obstacle here and I knew I would have to sacrifice space somewhere in order to have an island. I decided I did not want to compromise on the walkway to the right of the island in the below image of our floorplan. This walkway has cupboards on both sides, as well as a sink and hob- both regularly used appliances. I knew I should follow the rules for this high traffic walkway and needed to ensure the width would be within that width of 90cm to 100cm. Since the measurements for wall cabinets and worktops would need to be the standard 60cm depth, I would need to sacrifice the size of the island or the walkway on the left side of the island.

I decided to sacrifice the width of the walkway on the left side of the island. The walkway here ended up being 85.5cm wide, about 5cm short of the minimum measurement recommendation. I broke the 90cm minimum recommendation here because I felt it wasn’t as necessary to have so much space here as there are no cabinets or appliances on either side of the walkway. The 85.5cm width is just enough space for people to be seated at the island and there still be room to move around them.

The smaller walkway is somewhat of a tight squeeze but I have no regrets since I now have a kitchen with a large island and ample storage! I understand why the 90cm+ rule exists but I think there is some wiggle room for adjustments in narrower spaces if a kitchen island is a must.

2. I painted a small room a dark colour.

Our small loo-tility is painted a dark sage green.

My small loo-tility is painted in a dramatic dark sage green. Since the rest of my home is usually neutral and light colours, this small room makes huge impact. This is why I love the choice of a dark colour in a small room.

The rule that smaller rooms should be kept lighter to bring light in and make the space feel larger assumes that we would typically want a room to feel larger. I think embracing the size of a smaller room and using darker colours, creates warmth and depth. The darker colours may make a smaller room feel smaller, but I don’t believe that is always a problem! Small rooms are a great place for exploring colour and making impact.

In our loo-tility I used Green02 by Lick Paints, which is a dark sage green. The room is drenched in this colour, apart from the ceiling. Our flooring, a chequerboard vinyl from Tapi Carpets brings another wow factor to the space. This room has huge personality considering its a room of two functions- a bathroom and utility space. I have zero regrets choosing a dark colour for this space, and I honestly do not believe in this rule!

3. I mix wood tones in my furniture.

Using matching pieces of furniture of the same wood and stain has been a long held rule- though I believe there is now widespread belief that this rule is outdated. Many furniture companies sell furniture collections in which their customers can decorate their entire room with various pieces all in the same wood, stain, and style. While this is an easy solution, I don’t love these types of furniture packages.

Our dark oak Phoenix Armchairs from Olivia’s O&Co. Collection pair with lighter wood tones in our living room.

I love using furniture pieces that are harmonious with one another, but not necessarily “matchy matchy”. I intentionally look to mix wood stains and tones in one room. I also incorporate some painted furniture while blending various styles.

The key to mixing wood in one room is to limit the types of wood to two types- a lighter oak and a darker oak for example. Additionally, the furniture should have the same undertones. Wood can have warm, cool, and neutral undertones- the same way paint colours do.

I will never apologise for breaking this rule!

4. My chimney breast should have been wider to accomodate the mantle.

One of the many projects we completed during our new build home renovation was the addtion of a fireplace in the living room. This required us to build a faux chimney breast- a chimney breast that is purely decorative and has no utility.

Our fireplace chimney breast in progress of being built.

While I was designing our fireplace, I researched suggested dimensions for a chimney breast and came upon a rule I hadn’t known before. The general consensus is that a chimney breast should be wide enough so that there are a minimum of six inches of wall on either side of the mantle on the front facade of the breast.

Our completed chimney breast and mantle. The mantle sits just under the width of the chimney breast with about 2cm on either side.

In order to accomodate the vintage mantle I had sourced on eBay, my chimney breast would need to be another foot wider than the mantle itself if I followed the rule. Since the mantle was already about four and a half feet wide, the breast would need to be five and a half feet wide. I felt that width would be too large for the proportions of my room. Creating a breast that was that larger would feel out of place in a room with eight foot ceilings and smaller dimensions.

I decided to keep the width of our chimney breast closer to the width of the mantle. The mantle sits with about 2cm of chimney breast on either side of the mantle. I am happy I didn’t follow this rule and kept the chimney breast proportional to the room’s size! Making a larger chimney breast would have felt too large for the space and it would have taken up space that could be used for practical purposes- such as seating or storage. My chosen dimensions for the chimney breast are just right- the fireplace is a focal point but it doesn’t overwhelm the space.

Have you ever broken these rules or any other design rules? Let me know in the comments!