The biggest sin I see repeatedly in home design is fear. Fear of being yourself. While I agree that you should dress and style your home for the life you WANT to live... it is important in both instances to design (or dress) fearlessly with things that YOU love.

Most commonly it is a desire to design so that the husband feels "at home" as much as the wife. But let me tell you something... most of them don't care. They just want the decisions made and the wife to be happy. You know the old saying, "happy wife, happy life"...? It's so true. If she (knowingly or unknowingly) designs the home to suit his tastes she may not "go for it" the way she would have if she lived alone. In the end, he'll hear how this isn't quite right or she doesn't really like that. It prolongs the process and makes the husband less open to her future urges to redesign a space. Design without fear and you'll design the space you want to live in for years to come. Both partners will be happy. It's true.

The other side of this is seeing homeowners designing for real or imaginary friends. What will "they" think? It doesn't matter. At all. You live in your home. Friends and family visit on occasion. A woman (or man, for that matter) should never, ever be plagued by insecurities about what others think. It will steal your daily joy of living.

Your home is just that: your intimate, private dwelling. It should be the space you long to be, the environment in which you feel at most (you guessed it...) at home.

Do yourself a favor: dress, live and decorate without fear. Be bold, courageous and full of confidence about your style decisions - both large and small. They matter.

Live the life YOU want to live. Style yourself and your surroundings the way that YOU wish to style them. In doing so you'll discover a richer more satisfying experience every single day. The bonus? I assure you, you'll discover you have opinions you nevr honored and style you had not allowed yourself to discover. Trust thy self.

{Image via Century Furniture}