Is Your Home Guilty Of This Design Mistake?

These three homes all share the same problem. Can you spot it?

Home A (left) & B (right)

👉 Did you catch the architectural chaos? It’s those jarring transitions where nothing quite connects:

A. Mismatched baseboards and door trims - painted vs. unpainted.

B. Mismatched finishes - tiles, wood floor, stairs, carpet - nothing relates to one another.

C. Mismatched baseboards and trims - baseboards are bright while door trims are cream.

Why Homes End Up Looking Like Architectural Frankenstein Monsters

I see this constantly, and the culprits are almost always:

Sloppy “weekend warrior” renovations done over decades
Previous owners with questionable taste
Budget constraints forcing half-finished projects

But here’s the thing that drives me crazy: fixing these issues often costs the same or LESS than creating them in the first place.

The Magic of Consistency in Architecture

Think of architectural elements as the “bones of your home”.

When your trims, moldings, and flooring flow together seamlessly, the entire house suddenly makes sense.

Millwork isn’t just decorative—it’s the framework that connects every room. Keep dimensions consistent, install from the same collection, and repeat architectural features throughout.

If you have arched doorways, don’t randomly swap one for a rectangular version (unless you know what you’re doing).

That’s like wearing one dress shoe and one sneaker—technically functional, but painfully wrong.

It Boosts Home Value

Talk to any realtor, and they’ll tell you the same thing: cohesive architectural details add thousands to your asking price.

Buyers may not consciously register matching baseboards, but they absolutely feel the difference.

Mismatched elements scream “unfinished” and “neglected” – two words that tank your property value faster than you can say “fixer-upper.”

When everything flows together, your home feels polished, intentional, and worth every penny.

It’s one of those subtle details that separates “just another house” from “the one we have to have.”

How to Fix Your Home’s Identity Crisis

If your home suffers from architectural multiple personality disorder, don’t panic. You likely won’t have to tear everything out and start from scratch.

Instead, focus on creating unifying elements. Here’s how:

3 Simple Ways To End The Chaos

1. Make Your Trim & Moulding Match

If various rooms have different baseboard or moulding styles, you have two options:

Best solution: Replace them all with one cohesive style.

Budget solution: Paint them all exactly the same color. Even if one’s ornate and another’s simple, a single color creates visual harmony.

👉 Check out this apartment. Every door trim, baseboard, and window frame matches perfectly. Notice how much more character it has with the original moulding than if they'd thrown in some random modern trims.

2. Create Deliberate Flooring Transitions

When your floors don’t match, you need to make those transitions work for you.

Transition strips placed thoughtfully can transform jarring changes into intentional design decisions.

👉 You can’t always avoid a transition, but they nailed it here. The transition strip makes it barely noticeable, and it lines up perfectly with the wall.

3. Standardize Switch Plates & Outlet Covers

This one’s so simple yet so often ignored.

If you’ve got white plastic in one room, black in another, and metal somewhere else – pick ONE and make them all match.

4. Coordinate Your Hardware Finishes

Nothing says “I gave up halfway” like brass doorknobs, silver faucets, copper handles, and black cabinet pulls all competing in the same space.

Pick one or two metal finishes for each room (or better yet, your entire home) and stick with them.

👉 They went all gold in this space and it works. Even the door hinge is gold (Left) & Here’s a kitchen doing it right: gold pulls, knobs and faucet. Looks good, right? (Right)

Time for Action

Walk through your home and identify one inconsistent architectural feature.

Where does your trim suddenly change style or color?
Where does your flooring make an awkward transition?
Do your doors match throughout?

Then make a simple plan to fix it. Sometimes it’s as easy as repainting, adding a transition strip, or swapping out some hardware.

These small changes transform a space from “something feels off” to “this feels right” – without requiring a full-blown renovation or second mortgage.

Cheers

– Reynard

Whenever you’re ready, here are 2 ways I can help you create a home you love:

Practical Home Design – Join 400+ students inside my signature course. You’ll learn a repeatable step-by-step framework to design a home that feels cohesive, personal, and complete—without the overwhelm or second-guessing. Perfect if you’re furnishing multiple rooms or want to finally feel confident making design decisions.
Timeless Living Room Design – Whether you’re starting from scratch or stuck in the middle, this course is your deep dive into getting your living room just right. You’ll learn how to plan smart layouts, choose the right furniture, and style your space beautifully—using real-life examples and practical tools.

Not sure which one’s right for you?

Practical Home Design gives you a clear framework to design your entire home—helping you discover your own style, make smart design decisions across different rooms, and bring everything together with clarity and purpose.
(Choose this if you’re decorating multiple rooms/entire home)
Timeless Living Room Design takes that same thoughtful approach and applies it to just one space—your living room—with more depth, more examples, and hands-on tools to help you design your dream living room, effortlessly.
(Choose this if you’re decorating only living room)