People buy very badly made furniture and fabric. Instead, buy a beautiful dining table, well-made upholstery. It's almost like dressing for success.

To have a 9-foot sofa in a small room can be kind of treacherous.

To be influenced by a magazine and, say, a Swedish theme, unless it resonates with you, it seems kind of odd and influenced.

People get trapped in the way things should feel and less focused on the way things should function.

Make sure furniture decor has similar scale. It's all about scale, proportion, measuring, being conscious of the overall plan.

Look at your world and your life, and look at what is personal to you. If you're living in an apartment, you need to stick with a narrative that's personal to you.

Avoid spending too much on one thing.