We love when homes use decor to tell a story, but there’s a difference between curating your items and simply having too much stuff. With the latter, you’re likely to create a room that feels overdecorated.

“There is a fine line between a carefully curated collection of pieces that elevates the design of a space and a hodge podge of stuff that is cluttering the design intent,” says designer Esther Ellard.

But what is that line, and how do you know if you’ve crossed it? We turned to a few designers to find out the top signs you’re living in an overdecorated home.

You Can’t Find the Focal Point

It’s an well-known design rule that every room has a focal point that draws your eye, and allows you to take in the space from there. But if you can’t find the focal point because there are just too many options, Ellard says your room might be overdecorated.

“I would say a major sign of overdecorating is not being able to see the couch or area rug,” she says. “The main pieces of a space have been chosen for a reason and they should not be covered up.”

This can happen if you’ve plopped too many furniture pieces on your area rug, or you’ve overstuffed your sofa with throw pillows and blankets. But Ellard says it can also happen in a bedroom, if you’ve layered too many items and now you can’t even see the headboard.

“In short, there needs to be a scaling back of items so that the main parts of the design can still shine through,” says Ellard. 

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No One Style Stands Out

While you don’t have to follow one specific aesthetic to the letter, designer Brittny Button says when you use too many design elements, it becomes hard to follow what’s happening in a room.

“It comes off as confused or messy looking,” says Button. “Ultimately, there’s a buzzy nonsensical effect.”

This can happen if you incorporate heavy, ornate objects into a space that’s otherwise classic and traditional—think a Victorian armoire in a modern farmhouse home. It might be a beautiful piece, but that doesn’t mean it works in this context.

“Remove items that aren’t in your genre or detract from it,” Button says, who also notes this mistake often happens with pieces people inherit or fall in love with before considering how they practically work in the room.

In this case, you can also consider reupholstering, re-staining, or reinterpreting the piece to see how else you might be able to use an item you love but can’t quite make fit.

Your Items Lack Purpose

One key sign of overdecorating, says designer Gregor Feller, is a home full of items that don’t have a clear meaning or purpose. To help curb this problem, he suggests doing an edit of your space and asking yourself if you remember your items’ origin stories.

“If not, chances are they don’t mean that much to you,” says Feller. “Take a hard look at your rooms and be critical in that respect.”

There’s No Negative Space

Every room needs negative space, says Ellard. If your home is lacking this critical visual break, you’ve overdecorated.

“Just as in life you need some down time, your home needs moments of rest,” says Ellard. 

If you’ve ever heard that a cluttered desk makes for a cluttered mind, then you won’t be surprised to hear the same applies in every room of your house. Without a place for your eyes to rest, you’re needlessly overstimulating yourself. 

“Negative space gives a visual sense of rest and simplicity.” says Ellard.

It’s Hard to Appreciate What You Have

Accumulating items you love over time leads to a visual story in your home. But if you amass too much, it becomes hard for these pieces to stand out.

“It causes a depreciation of all your items because there are so many ‘wonderful’ pieces,” says Ellard. “No one can pause to admire and appreciate the design of a space.”