There's a fine line between describing a scene to a reader versus setting the backdrop. Go too much into detail and you run the risk of losing the original point of the narrative. So yes, going overboard is easy to stumble into.
My example was simple one to illustrate visual triggers whilst reading, partly as an aid for easing the process of writing. I see no reason why a short couple sentence should set the tone and scene perfectly, giving the reader adequate enough information to fill in the rest.
RE: A Guide to Honing Your Literary Excellence