A spacious home is a happy home, so leave enough space for your guests. Homes that don’t have enough room for movement can feel cramped, and guests may feel awkward moving around. You want to leave enough space for people to move in between your pieces, especially in the living room.
For example, if someone is sitting on the couch, another person should be able to maneuver between the coffee table and the person seated without bumping into their knees. You certainly don't want your guests to get hurt, nor do you want them to be uncomfortable trying not get hurt.
You never want to leave your home feeling claustrophobic. Cluttered rooms can make a space look much smaller than it actually is. While you don’t want to have too much space, you also want to avoid going overboard and putting too many items in one room and that can be easy to do.
The best way to avoid making your room look cluttered is to not buy too much stuff. It sounds easy on paper but when you are out shopping all the little things you have your eye on will quickly add up. Its naturally for people to want to collect things but if you don't show some restraint about what you put in your home, it can easily become cluttered.
Plants brighten up everything. Flowers, especially, bring a special feeling to a room that only live flora can accomplish. Decorating your home with plants is ideal whether you go for flowers, leafy twigs, ferns, or any other foliage. If you can’t have live plants, you can always get silk ones that look almost real.
But it should be said that fake plants and flowers can look tacky, so you have to be careful where you put them. Keep them it hard to reach spaces because if your guests see them up close, they aren't so impressive. Only live plants can bring your rooms to...well...life!
Corners can be easy to forget, but you shouldn’t! You can put nearly anything in a corner. You can throw an ottoman or even create a cozy nook for reading. Corners are also great for potted plants or lighting that can accentuate a room. An empty corner is just plain sad.
And if you don't have anything you want to put on the floor, you can always purchase corner shelves which are really practical space savers. Put one up with a little table and chairs and you got a nice little nook on your hands. Just something to think about, because corners are often forgotten.
Dark rooms can feel depressing, so you want to have plenty of light. Along with that, decide what type of lighting you want. Warm lights can make things feel cozy while cool lighting can make someone feel a little more energetic and alert. A dark home can be very depressing.
If you like the look of natural light, you can always go for some daylight LED bulbs that will give you that appearance, they can also help keep plants that need daylight alive and healthy. The downside is that these types of lights make your home not as warm and inviting.
When you’re hanging artwork, it should always be at kept at eye level. You want to make sure that your guests aren’t looking too high or low at your paintings. If you aren’t sure if the positioning is right, you can always get a friend to give you a second opinion.
Also, when your artwork is too high can be hard to determine, by yourself, whether the artwork is level. You can keep looking back at it and again it might not seem level, so you keep messing with it again and again. That's why it's best to use a picture hanging level.
Rugs are designed to pull a room together, and floating rugs are designed to do just this. Rather than putting your furniture right against the wall, leave a little space around the room. The rug should be large enough to allow the furniture to sit on it instead of around it.
To be clear, a floating rug is a rug that can be placed under your coffee table but the seating merely surrounds it. The rug should not make contact with the chairs or sofa. This makes the space look far less awkward. Typically this is done in a living room. You wouldn't do it for a dining room.
Frames can be restricting. Unless you plan on using a frame as an accent piece, it might be best to ditch it and hang your artwork without one. The items look incredibly modern without clunking down your wall. And if you are going to hang up multiple things, frames will make your wall look cluttered.
Now, to be clear on this one, we don't mean you should hang up posters and artwork on your wall with thumbtacks like you might have done in your childhood bedroom or college dorm. But some artwork can be put up on a canvas and while a canvas has a frame, it's not a visible one and that's what we mean.
You don’t want your home to look like you purchased it all at once. To do this, you should buy a variety of pieces, so your home looks curated. It will look like you collected pieces over time, even if you did purchase everything at once. Let your home go on a journey with you.
Having a variety of pieces makes it look like you have an eclectic taste and that you are an interesting person. Not that we are saying you aren't - we're sure you are - but having the same style of everything is just boring. Just make sure nothing clashes in terms of style.
No one likes a ton of accent pillows. They might look nice to you but don't decorate your home with a dozen or so pillows on your couch or bed. Instead, go for a few large puffy ones. This way, you can provide comfort without requiring guests to move a ton of pillows.
the thing about decorative pillows is that guests don't know what to do with them. They aren't going to lay on them comfortably like you have a nest on your couch. And if your pillows are too nice, they won't even want to lay on them. Usually, what happens is that people put them in their lap, put them on the floor, or toss them to the side. Don't make them stress over a bunch of pillows.
As you collect pieces, you want to think about height. Limiting your room’s design can decrease interest, while furniture of different heights can catch someone’s eye. Having furniture looking uniform is just plain boring and really puts a damper on your home's vibes. Variety is key to decorating success.
Having seating of various heights also allows you to be more accommodating to guests. Taller guests, for instance, might want something higher from the ground to feel more comfortable. Different seating arrangements will make people feel a lot more welcome and the overall look of your living space will be improved as well.
Never use more than three colors in a room. It can make the area seem too busy. Contrasting colors in a room will not be a feast for the eyes. It’s best to pick one accent color and then choose two colors that compliment it, but also don’t overshadow the primary choice.
Sure everyone loves lots of color in space but when it comes to American interior design, it's easy to go overboard with it. The good news is that with bedrooms, you can do what you want and maybe color your walls a separate color from the main rooms.
No matter how beautiful your home is, it doesn’t matter if no one has a place to sit. You want to consider who you may have in your home and then ensure you have enough seats for everyone if they are gathered together.
And even if you don't anticipate having anyone in your home because you have no friends and family, you never know what will happen later. Maybe you'll finally make a friend or get a surprise visit from family you haven't seen in years. Plus, it will just be good for your sanity to make your home as welcoming as possible.
Your home is all about you! You shouldn’t ever hide your personality. If you love to read, you should show your books proudly. If you’re the type of person that prefers to build model planes, it can be the perfect accent piece to start conversations.
Your home isn't just a place where you sleep and eat, it's a place where you have the opportunity to express yourself. If you make your home look like a hotel, that is exactly what it will look like and you will bore your guests. Have some conversation pieces or don't bother inviting anyone.
If a space is small, dramatic color can be the perfect thing to make it appear larger. Paint the walls and add furniture that is saturated with pigment. Then, you can pair monochromatic colors to compliment everything else. Dramatic colors can really bring the smaller spaces in your home to life!
A small space with bland, muted colors is not exciting. But you can also add some personality to smaller spaces with bolder colors. Just be sure not to go overboard with any contrasting colors, because as mentioned earlier, you can make your space look too busy.
It can be hard to drop a lot of money on a great piece, but you shouldn’t be worried. If it’s the one thing you’ve been looking for, get it, especially if it could complete your room. It’s also alright to splurge on accent pieces that will be the focal point.
Accent pieces are really going to be the life of your party when it comes to the aesthetic of your space. Sure, you'll get compliments on your couch but only after they sit in it to make sure it's comfortable. The accent chair will compliment that couch perfectly if you choose the right one and your guests will be awed when they walk in the room.
Instead of testing tiny little squares, go for something bigger. Some decorators go as big as 3ft x 3ft to get a good idea of what the room would look like in that color. While you don’t have to go that big, you should definitely think bigger.
There are always hundreds of options to choose from when it comes to paint colors and it can be exceedingly difficult to figure out exactly what works without some visual reference. Testing paint colors will give you a much better idea than just buying a paint color and hoping for the best.
Before you buy gallons of paint, take it home and swatch it. Home improvement stores are usually darker than natural light so the color can change quite a bit. You want to get the right paint before you spend hundreds on a color that doesn’t look quite right.
Testing paint colors is extremely important because paint isn't cheap. If you buy the wrong color and find out, too late, that it doesn't really work, you are going to feel compelled to use it anyway. And then you'll want to repaint much sooner than you would have and that's just money wasted.
Is your stomach telling you no? You may want to listen to it. There’s a reason that you may think your decision isn’t a great one. Trusting your instincts can save you money down the line when you decide the idea didn’t really work out, and you should have trusted your gut.
It's easy to overthink your decisions, and as a chronic overthinker myself, not following my gut has always led me astray. Your gut is your instinct and when you question that, you end up causing yourself more harm and anxiety than you would have. Don't stress it.
Architecture is what makes your home unique. It may be tempting to cover up something you consider unsightly, but embracing it may create a one-of-a-kind room you can’t find anywhere else. The architecture of your home is part of its personality. If your walls are talking to you, don't shut them up.
Show your home some love. If you are hiding things in your home, you won't have a confident, happy home. Just as you carry yourself through life, being confident means embracing your "flaws." You also need to embrace your home's flaws because it won't feel like home unless you do.
You want to have a focal point in every room. This is something interesting like a sofa or a painting that will get guests exploring the room with their eyes. However, you don’t want their eyes to stop there. They should continue to explore with accent pieces that accentuate the beauty of the focal point.
Make your home a feast for the eyes and you won't have to worry if it has enough personality. You have to consider whether you want your home to look like "home sweet home" a model home, like the bland ones you see people on TV have.
Too many knick-knacks can seem haphazard. This goes double if they’re seemingly scattered around the room without any overall pattern. Some of the worst offenders are angel statues and mismatched candlesticks. Consider showcasing the best ones and rotating them seasonally.
It's really difficult not to go overboard with knick-knacks as you try to express yourself. You'll collect them like yu collect everything else but they won't look good in your home. They'll make your home look cheap and you'll totally announce to the world that you are a boomer, even if you aren't.
When you’re hanging curtains, putting them higher and wider than the actual window increases the size of the room. It also makes your windows look larger in comparison. You’ll want to go as far as you can, but make sure that they barely cover the first few inches of the window when fully opened.
If you live in a warm climate with lots of sun, keeping your windows covered with curtains will help keep your home cooler, even cooler than blinds. Blackout curtains are really the way to go if you really can't stand the heat.
When purchasing art for your home, you need to think about where you’re putting it. One of the worst things you can do is buy a small work of art and put it on a large wall. It will look disproportionate and off in some way.
The reverse is also true – you shouldn’t put a large piece of art on a small wall. It will take up most of your wall and make your room look like just a place to display art. And I mean, unless that's what you are going for, that makes your room totally useless.
To keep things interesting, you can mix different textures throughout the room. This can include shag, fringe, marble, and any other texture you can think of. Just make sure you can match the color scheme or else it will look random. Textures definitely matter in your rooms, so don't be afraid of them.
Generally, people prefer their walls have some texture, as well, so make sure that if you are repainting, you go for that as well. If everything is flat - that is exactly what your home will look like - flat.
One of the biggest tips most designers will push is that you shouldn’t make everything symmetrical because it’s boring. Rooms with more on one side than the other can be visually stimulating. Your home is not a restaurant, and even restaurants are not usually perfectly symmetrical, so please don't try it.
We understand if you feel your inner perfectionist yelling at you about things not being symmetrical but if that's the case, you need to power through it or rather maybe get some therapy. Don't let your home suffer because you want things to look perfectly neat. There is such thing as too perfect.
As you walk through your home, each room should seamlessly blend into the other, seamlessly. It doesn’t have to be anything too much – just a repeating color or pattern. It will link each room without too much effort. You can create flow through color and through pieces of furniture.
Your home is an open space that should synchronize together like a beautiful symphony. A house is not just a collection of rooms. Don't try to make everything separate or it just won't look good. Sure, with bedrooms, you can do your own thing, but the main living areas need flow.
The smallest details are exactly what can make your room seem customized to your tastes. Whether it’s inlaid floors or custom pillows, it can make your home look like a professionally designed one from top to bottom. As they say: it's all about the details.
Don't disregard details like flooring patterns and molding when it comes to designing the look of your home. And at the same time, don't neglect to add the necessary details to make your home more expressive. Details are just another thing that you and your guests will appreciate. The overall look is just a first impression.
If you’re unsure where to start with your home, begin with a piece you adore. That’s all it takes. Then you can design a room around that and repeat a color or pattern until everything is together. Or rather, what we mean to say is that everything will come together if you have the perfect inspiration.
That piece might be something small like a painting or a decorative pillow, or it might be an entire sofa that you work around. There really is no limit, so express yourself any way you know how. If you love one thing enough, you can spread that love into every corner of your home.
Measure once, cut twice. It isn’t just something you should do when building. You don’t want to measure the dimensions of a space with your eyes, and then find out that the furniture doesn’t come together. Always write down the size of an area or item before you purchase it.
Measuring things is key to figuring out just what will fit in your home. If you try to cram things into your home anywhere you want, your home can quickly start to look cluttered and unappealing. This is a thing you can't really trust your gut on; you need to do a little math. Yeah, it sucks, but sometimes our eyes are bigger than our stomach, metaphorically speaking.
