6 Top Decorating Tips To Help You With Your Home

Do you struggle when it comes to decorating your home? Today we are sharing 6 tips and it’s an easy read to help you decorate and design! These are not the tips that you might read in interior design columns, rather those from real life women who deal with real decorating. Designing with everyday life in mind! My own home tends to reflect the pale and light life that I enjoy, so I’m sharing a tip or two about soft colors. Let’s get started!

Add Natural Elements

From Ann at On Sutton Place

My best decorating tip is to always add natural elements to your space. Natural elements add warmth and life to any room. They can take a basic space and transform it into something wonderful. A few examples are preserved boxwood, a grocery store bouquet of flowers, or something clipped from your yard like branches, hosta leaves, or garden flowers. Place these natural elements in pitchers, bowls, or baskets, and layer them on trays or shelves. Natural elements say cozy and welcome. They immediately send out the message that you love and care about your home. That’s definitely a good thing! For more on the layered coffee table vignette, click {HERE.}

Add an Investment Piece

From Lory at Designthusiasm

One of the best ways to upgrade the look of your decor is to have one investment piece in each room. For me, that usually means a fabulous antique like a gilded mirror or an aged urn, but it can be any accent piece that fits your style. It could also be a smaller piece of furniture like a wonderful table or a statement chair, or a lovely piece of art. The key is to have the item be a focal point in the room, while the surrounding players are more like a supporting cast. I aim for classic and understated for my bigger pieces, saving money where it makes a difference, then use these powerhouse pieces to add personality and style. There are certain decorative elements I return to over and over to make this kind of impact and you can read about the 6 defining style elements I use in the rooms in my home. Join me at Designthusiasm for more decorating ideas and tips for living your life with casual elegance.

Decorate with Soft Colors

From Janet at Shabbyfufu

If you’re looking to decorate a room with soft colors, there are several points for doing so without compromising your budget. Freshening up the walls with a coat of white paint will bring in instant light, no matter what the previous shade was! Once you think about putting the room back together, it’s time to add a soft shade of color via an area rug. Not only will a rug aid in defining your space but it will give you that feeling of warmth and ground the furnishings. Today’s area rugs are so affordable and available in just about any colorway! Bring in soft shades with a new piece of art and make it large enough to create a focal point. From this artwork, draw out key colors and accessorize with coordinating muted pillows and throws. The final touch to your pale palette can be a floral arrangement, and there you have it! Soft colors in a minimalist style that should reflect your own taste and without great expense.

 

Five Essential Textures Every Room Needs

From Sheila at Maison de Cinq

Wondering why you’ve bought furniture or re-done a room and yet it feels like something’s missing? Do you look at rooms in magazines or online and wonder what they have that yours don’t? Try adding texture! Decorating with texture is key to creating a space that has depth and interest, and something that we all see, whether we recognize it or not. In fact, texture can make a difference between an average room and one that really wows.

There are five essential textures that every room needs; antiques, wovens, metallics, glass or mirrors, and woods. Go here to see how they make a huge difference in any space, as well as why you absolutely have to mix your wood tones!

Add Architectural Interest to your Home

From Rhoda at Southern Hospitality

One of my favorite things to do in my home to give it a sense of age and create interest is to add architectural features. From real beadboard, to beadboard wallpaper, board and batten and other wainscot and millwork ideas, even if you don’t have a lot of moldings and trim work in your home, you can add them for very little money and some DIY planning. Take your space from plain to wow with just a few elements of architectural pieces. I’ve added them to both my houses in the past 6 years and it made a huge difference. Read more {HERE.}

 

Know Your Decorating Style

From Yvonne at StoneGable

Knowing your own unique decorating style is one of the most important things a home decorator can know. It will help you decorate a home that works with your lifestyle and feels beautiful and comfortable! And knowing your decorating style will help you know what furnishings will work in your home and also decor that will not! One of the big advantages of knowing your style is you will avoid lots and lots of costly decorating mistakes! Here’s a great way to think about the importance of knowing your decorating style. Just pretend you want to get a puppy. So you go to your local dog shelter and there are tons and tons of puppies!!! Who doesn’t love darling, cuddly puppies? And you love them all! They are all so cute and sweet. But you wouldn’t take them all home with you, right? That would be crazy!!!! They would make a mess or fight and they would be a whole lot of work! You would pick the puppy that works with your lifestyle and one that would be a wonderful addition to your family. Think of decorating the same way. You would not, or should not put everything you love into your home! Styles would fight, your rooms might look messy and disjointed and decorating will be a whole lot of work! Knowing your unique decorating style is the key to decorating a home you love! You can see HOW TO KNOW YOUR DECORATING STYLE HERE.