Lots Of Family Photos Lend To A Nostalgic Personality
Whitney Leigh Morris, author of Small Space Style: Because You Dont Have to Live Large to Live Beautifully and creator of the blog The Tiny Canal Cottage, notices immediately when she walks into a space boasting a lot of family photos. I think its really interesting to see if youre nostalgic and find comfort in looking back or if you take more comfort in creating these memories and look forward to human interaction, she says, noting that preserving memories isnt a negative thing, simply indicative of ones preferences.
Its Okay To Change Your Mind
Remember, when it comes to expressing your unique style in your home, theres no right or wrong. So keep experimenting until you land on a look that feels right for you.
Cultivating your personal aesthetic and discovering how to choose a design style isnt a process with clear steps or linear outcomesand thats part of what makes it so rewarding.
Your design style will likely evolve with time as you discover new sources of inspiration or your tastes shift, so dont force yourself to stick with a look that no longer resonates with you!
If you find that your decorating style has changed, give yourself permission to start over. What matters is that your style choices feel true to you.
Over the course of your life, youll probably go through many design styles as your taste evolves. I feel like my style changes all the time!
Below, you can see how the style of our living room has changed over the last few months, in comparison with last summers look, above. As you can see, things are always changing around here, depending on the time of year and where my decorating whims take me!
chairsrugstoolsvelvet pillow coverswood chainsimilar vasesimilar cabinet
Home Decorating Tips For The Diyer In You
Here are 11 home decor ideas from the pros that dont break the bank.
Professional home stagers know how to play up your house’s strengths, hide its flaws, and make it appealing to just about everyone. We talked to several pros across the country to get their tips for freshening up the rooms in your home without breaking your budget.
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How To Decorate Your Home Like A Professional
Whether you live in an apartment or a house, figuring out how to style and decorate your space can feel a bit overwhelming. From knowing which furniture to buy to figuring out how to settle on a color scheme, there are several moving parts that go into making a house feel like a home. While famous designers like Joanna Gaines of Magnolia and Amber Lewis of Amber Interiors have made the process slightly easier by offering tips online and starting their own home and lifestyle stores, there are still other tips that you should be aware of in order to create the home of your dreams.
While there are some technical parts like measuring and budgeting, decorating your home without the help of a designer can actually be a fun and inspiring experience. However, regardless of what your taste or style is, there are several important factors that you need to be aware of in order to avoid some major road bumps on your design journey. That being said, keep reading for House Digest‘s guide on how to decorate like a professional.
So You Have Two Options If Youre Stuck And And Find Yourself Saying Help I Dont Know How To Decorate My Home
This guide on how to decorate without getting overwhelmed contains affiliate links, but nothing that I wouldnt wholeheartedly recommend anyway! Read my full disclosure here.
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Bring Clarity To My Mind
When I see clutter, my mind feels cluttered.
I cant focus because my eyes cannot rest. Im sure Im not alone here.
Some things are bigger triggers than others.
For me, its the kitchen sink and the mail.
The mess ends up nagging at the back of my mind cluttering up my thoughts subconsciously until the issue is resolved.
When I have good systems in place, clarity is my reward.
This applies to the actual decor that I choose, too.
I would not call myself a minimalist by any means, but when I first began this decorating journey, I tried on a lot of decor hats.
One of those hats was the fill the space with lots of stuff hat.
As always, I lived in these various hats for awhile to see how it made me feel.
This particular one made me feel restless.
It was just too much to take in which, in turn, made my mind feel cluttered.
Therefore, when I begin a room makeover, I remind myself to make room for my eyes and mind to rest.
Start With The Basics
If you haven’t identified your particular style yet, or if you’re uncertain about how to proceed, you can consider four main styles to choose from:
- Casual Style: Casual looks bring comfort, warmth, and relaxation to the home. This can be accomplished with rectangular elements, rustic design, and soft furniture with textured fabrics.
- Formal Style: Formal styles invite elegance, symmetry, and exquisite furniture. Consider an elegant style with high ceilings, polished woods, and tall windows. Imported rugs, antique accessories, and decorative trims are a must for this type of interior.
- Contemporary Style: Modern styles keep current trends alive. While what’s hot changes, typically the contemporary look includes a fundamental, simplistic, and subtle sophistication. There are often neutral colors involved, structural elements available, and furniture pieces that are smooth and geometric.
- Traditional: Take a look at traditional styles and compare them with some of the latest decorating trends. You’ll likely find that nothing is truly new, but rather revamped. Regardless, it’s fun to see how old favorite themes, fabrics, and details adapt to a fresh new look.
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Create A Style Vignette
Design cues can come from the most surprising places and things. Often, theres a little something, a detail or a twist, that resonates with you and feels interesting, such as the artwork in the bedroom below.
So the next thing I recommend is to walk around your home, go through your decor closet, and gather anything that captures the look and feeling you love.
Bring those things together in one area of your home and create a vignette or arrangement of objects that tell a story about who you are and how you want your home to look and feel.
Whenever I find myself getting distracted by what others are doing, I think about our entryway. It reminds me of the overall mood, tone, and style I want in our home.
I know Im happiest when I decorate in a way that expresses my own personal taste and style.
Wall Decor Ideas To Refresh Your Space
All products featured on Architectural Digest are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Looking for wall decor ideas to refresh your space? Those empty walls are filled with possibilitiesand a few additions can make a house feel like a home. If you’re ready to turn those stark, bare walls into stylish centerpieces, keep reading. No matter your style, we’ve got the tricks that can amp up your walls and bring out your personality and taste. Whether youre an art collector, a nature enthusiast, or a book lover, your walls can be customized so that you can be surrounded by the things you adore. Discover 27 wall decor ideas that are sure to add style to your home.
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Hang At Least One Mirror In Every Room
“Mirrors can make a space feel brighter because they bounce the light around the room,” says Breining. But placing one in the wrong spot can be almost as bad as not having one at all.
Put mirrors on walls perpendicular to windows, not directly across from them. Hanging a mirror directly opposite a window can actually bounce the light right back out the window.
Shop Flea Markets Consignment Stores Yard Sales & Craigslist
Purchasing furniture brand new is simply not an option for many people on a tight budget. The good news is that you can find great deals on furniture, light fixtures and art at flea markets, consignment stores, Craigslist and even yard sales. Hunting down deals can be fun and you often find pieces that are much better quality than many things that are manufactured these days.
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Anchor Rugs Under Furniture Feet
Follow these basic rules for an area rug: “In a living room, all four legs of the sofa and chairs in a furniture grouping should fit on it the rug should define the seating area,” says Breining. “At the very least, the front two legs of the sofa and chairs should rest on it,” he adds.
Even living rooms with less than generous proportions usually require an 8-by-10-foot or a 9-by-12-foot rug to properly accommodate a seating area. Go too small with the rug size and everything looks out of scale.
Look To Your Wardrobe
Take a good, hard look at your favorite clothing items. Pay attention to the colors and textures. Are they mostly neutral? If so, you may prefer a neutral color palette for your home. Are your favorite clothes made with lots of color and bold patterns? If so, go for a similar look when choosing textiles for your home.
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How To Decorate A Room For A Party
This article was co-authored by Rachel Weinshanker. Rachel Weinshanker is a Certified Event and Wedding Planner and the Owner of San Diego Life Events, an award-winning wedding and event planning business based in San Diego, California. Rachel has over eight years of event planning experience, and her work has been featured in many notable publications. San Diego Life Events has been awarded the Wedding Wire Couple’s Choice Award in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Rachel is a graduate from San Diego State University. This article has been viewed 112,979 times.
When you’re planning a party, there are usually so many details to take care of. With food, beverages, and entertainment to worry about, it can be easy to overlook the decorations, but they play such an important role in creating a festive atmosphere for your event. Decorating a room for your next party doesn’t have to be difficult either — with a little careful planning and a bold theme to guide you, you can come up with the perfect decor to celebrate your special occasion.
The Natural Order Of Things: How To Design Your Home One Step At A Time
The other day, I was speaking to a friend who laid a design quandary at my feet. She needed a few new items for her apartment and, since every choice she made would affect the others, she was feeling stuck on where to start the design version of the chicken or the egg.
Anyone whos decorated a home, or even a room, knows that the choices you make early on can influence those further down the line. That sofa wont go with the existing flooring, those drapes will clash with the sofa, those cushions will fight with the drapes, and so on. Each choice you make limits the options for subsequent additions to a space, and so it should be, lest we all end up living in a hot mess of clashing colors and fighting finishes.
As a designer, I tend to choose finishes, fixtures and furniture in a particular order, one thats become so second nature to me that I rarely think about it anymore. Generally speaking, I start with the larger, fixed finishes that are costly to replace, and work my way down to the details. By the time Im choosing small items like lighting and accessories, the answers practically present themselves.
Obviously, few of us will ever have the chance to design our dream home from scratch , but most of us can still use this design hierarchy. Simply use the larger, more expensive items earlier on this list to inform your decisions about the smaller stuff further down, and you cant go far wrong.
The Exceptions:
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If Your Kitchen Is Stacked With Appliances Youre An Entertainer At Heart
Its much easier to whip up a quick get-together when you have kitchen helpers at the ready for assistance. If you have a lot of cocktail glasses, appetizer plates, and things of that nature, that suggests to me that you like to host, says Morris. I also think the types of appliances in your home is indicative of whether you like to cook or eat out. Check out these 13 ideas that make your kitchen look expensive.
If Your Desk Is Busy Youre Going Places
In a perfect world, many of us would like to have one of those pristine workspaces where theres a place for everything and everything in its place. But Filicia, who works with Kressley to revamp clients spaces on Get a Room, admits that makes him a little nervous. I think when someones desk has a lot happening you can see theres a lot happening around them, he says. Make your home look more expensive with these cheap decorating tricks.
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Start With The Biggest Piece In The Room First
Now that youve broken down your decorating plan to one room at a time, take the same concept and focus on finding the most important piece in the room.
The biggest piece in the room is usually the most important and most expensive. Thats why its important to start with that one piece and work your way from there. In a dining room, start with the dining table. For your living room, choose your sofa or sectional first. In your bedroom, the bed is the most important piece in the room.
Pro decorating tip: The biggest piece in the room is likely where youll invest the most money. It usually gets the most use in the room, therefore quality is important. You can probably save some money on accessorizing, picking up secondhand bedside tables or finding an inexpensive coffee table, but never skimp on your sofa!
Dont Be Afraid To Try New Things In Your Home Decor
Many times, it is the unexpected that makes a room really stand out. Learning to decorate like a pro involves a ton of trial and error. Dont afraid to try every combination of decor before getting it just right.
In fact, when Im planning my wall decor, I usually lay every that I plan on hanging on the walls out on the floor first to play around with different combinations. Then, I typically have my wonderful hubby hold it up on the wall so I can visualize. If it is possible, I always use velcro command strips for wall decor. They are your best friend because you dont have to commit to nailing a big hole in the wall if youre not too sure that you will like the piece right there. Sometimes you cant use the command strips. In those cases, I use this simple method of how to hang a picture the easy way seriously, this will change your life.
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Add In Texture And Color
Now this might be my favorite step of all. I can do this final step everyday and its probably why I redecorate my house a million times. And for the most part this step is where most of my DIY projects are born. This step can take your house from snoring to beautiful. Its the little things that make such a big impact.
Pillows, plants, throw blankets, baskets, flowers, vases, lighting, window treatments.and more. Slowly layer in texture and color into your home and youll be amazed by the difference it can make.
And if you know me, I love pillows more than I love chocolate . Its a great way to add color and texture to your room. What more can you ask for?? Check out this post to see the many different ways I make my no sew pillow covers all pictured on this couch
This past year, I have embraced plantsreal ones, the ones I can kill in a hot minute Guess what though.. I have not killed any of them . I amaze myself everyday. If you cant handle the real deal, dont fear the faux. I say it all of the time. Add in some faux plants and greenery. A pop of greenery can take a room up a notch. Baskets are also a great way to add texture into your room, throw a plant in a basket and you killed two birds with one stone. Poor little birdie
Window treatments are a great way to add color into your space. I have made most of my window treatments. And one day I will do a round up of all the ways I have made my own curtains
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