101 Ideas to keep your home's interior fresh

Home & Garden Television, HGTV, enlists some of today's hottest interior designers to count down the top decorating crimes in American homes. On top of 101 good idea tips and tricks, they list the following 12 mistakes to avoid:

1. Following fads. Don't spend a lot of money on fads. Instead decorate with classic looks that will remain in style.

2. Everything matches. Make it eclectic, not like a showroom you can't live in.

3. Uncomfortable dining chairs. 101 You owe it to your guests to give them something comfortable to sit on so a padded seat and back are nice.

4. Too formal. Give the room a function, make it livable and welcoming.

5. Keeping something you hate. Your house is where you should feel good so never keep anything in it you dislike.

6. Lopsided furniture arrangements. Be sure to keep your furniture arrangements balanced to the eye.

7. Outdated accessories. Don't let your rooms feel dated by hanging on 101 to older cabinets and especially hardware, which is like wearing outdated jewelry.

8. Out of place themes. If you live in Alaska and have a Miami theme with wicker, it's just not going to work.

9. Undressed cables. Corral wires and cables.

10. Ignoring the foyer. A foyer is a terrific opportunity to make a statement about who you are and what your house is like so you have to make it count. 101 11. Too many photos. When you have a lot of photographs of family, friends and trips, organize them properly in photo albums so they're not all over your home.

12. Toilet rugs. These are cut to fit around the toilet and sometimes have the carpet-like matching seat cover. They can be disgusting for obvious reasons.

(For thousands of other ideas, watch Gulf Breeze News or visit www.hgtv.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)