Purchasing a new home is an extensive process that requires analyzing your living arrangement needs, design preferences and personal budget. With those rapidly approaching decisions, it’s easy to get stuck in the monotony of searching through endless catalogs and asking loved ones for opinions. Rather than blindly going into the design process, check out our list of things to avoid when choosing items for your home.

Here are our top five interior design don’ts:

1. Don’t push furniture against walls. When furniture is confined to four walls in a room, it eliminates the possibility of you being able to utilize more creative space. You want guests to feel comfortable and at ease when they visit your home, and having furniture grouped closer together can facilitate conversations and create a more intimate living area for friends and family to gather.

2. Don’t have loose/undressed cables. Keep your wires hidden with these easy suggestions provided by HGTV:

• Shop around for cord covers and try to match it closely to the color of your wall.
• If this is a doable solution, you can drill a hole in the back of your furniture for the cords to go through or purchase furniture with a pre-made hole for cords.
• For aesthetic appeal and functionality, keep unused wires in a labeled container to discreetly store wires and provide both accessibility and functionality to your design.

3. Don’t isolate rooms. Avoid the temptation of letting your inner creative genius shine to the point where there is no cohesiveness in your home. Having a lime green living area and a yellow kitchen will definitely give your home a unique appearance, but it is more advisable to find a common element that tie your favorite trends together throughout your entire home, or at least on each floor. You can achieve this by sticking to patterns, accent colors, specific architectural details of furniture pieces or other visual elements that will link adjacent spaces.

4. Don’t become a photo hoarder. Although a collection of your fondest memories serve as a heartfelt sentiment and an ode to those you love, excessively displaying this genuine appreciation sometimes reflect disorganization in your design choices. Find a happy medium by achieving top-notch designs and keeping it personal as well. HGTV suggests that photo lovers opt for a photo wall with a fixed amount of images displayed in identical frames. You can rotate pictures seasonally or in whatever frequency you like and the rest of your photos can be kept in labeled albums.

Don’t hang on to items that you don’t like. This is the most important home design don’t to remember. You can sift through an endless amount of magazines and consult designers, but your home should still be a reflection of what’s it’s like to live in your world. This can be subtly achieved through color choices, introducing patterns, textures or specific items. If you’re not comfortable with the items in your home, whether you received them as a gift or by default when you purchased your home, then it will show. Every home has its own unique aura; use your experiences, lifestyle and personality to spruce up your design without compromising its authenticity.