Best Home Decorating Ideas – 80+ Top Designer Decor Tricks and Tips

Designer Darren Jett echoed the arches of this Brooklyn apartment’s windows in the rounded custom sofa, cushions, cocktail table, and circular rug. A bonus: The rounded seating area gives the clients ample room for entertaining.

Designer Vicente Wolf used furniture—instead of walls or screens—to create separate seating areas throughout his Manhattan loft.

A gallery wall of eye-catching artworks in minimalist frames makes a bright statement in this Montreal home.

A bright blue rug brings the color of the ocean inside this glass house in the Hamptons. The otherwise white palette creates a bold contrast.

Layering patterns in a range of styles and scales is an easy way to add visual interest to a room. Here, former Refinery29 global editor-in-chief Christene Barberich pairs black-and-white pillows with green chevron bedding in her Brooklyn Heights bedroom.

“You mix things up with old and new,” suggests textiles and interior designer Kathryn M. Ireland, as she did in the living room of her Santa Monica home—a room where the furnishings include 17th-century French chairs, an 18th-century Mexican console, and a cocktail table from her furniture line.

Floor-to-ceiling shelving never fails to add character to a room. In his Los Angeles home, acclaimed chef Ludovic “Ludo” Lefebvre opted for this shelving style for his collection of more than 1,000 cookbooks.

Looking at your home from a holistic perspective—seeing how each room works in balance against the others—can help craft a welcome variety in your spaces, like this emerald-and-charcoal dining room that adds a touch of formality to an otherwise contemporary Los Angeles home.

“Bringing a touch of the old world into the mix creates a home that will never feel dated,” designer Alex Papachristidis explains of the art-studded Manhattan apartment he designed for a family friend. For example, note the silver leaf–and–rock crystal chandelier from Liz O’Brien that he hung in the otherwise modern dining room.

Instead of meshing a color scheme with a sense of place, designer Irakli Zaria used rich gold and turquoise as an antidote to gloomy London days in this chic pied-à-terre. “In a place where there are such cloudy skies, it makes no sense to have a gray interior,” he says.

Looking beyond the traditional with wallcoverings can create a truly standout design presence. “I do think I might have scared [architect Ken Linsteadt] a little bit when I announced I was planning to install two levels of green floral fabric on the walls of the grand salon,” says Ken Fulk of his Sonoma Valley lakeside retreat, yet the fabric gives the high walls a richness that wallpaper alone might not have achieved.

If Chip and Joanna Gaines have convinced you that your abode needs shiplap, you’re usually best off installing the boards horizontally rather than vertically. “It can really expand a space, making it feel larger than vertical boards can,” says Jason Arnold. “Horizontal boards also feel more contemporary.” Vertical boards, however, can be ideal for rooms with high ceilings.

Sure, your eyes may want the most modern, chic couch in the showroom. But your back may not. “In my experience, it’s really better to test out seating and take the time to look at the dimensions,” says Sharon Blaustein. If you’re tall, for instance, you might want to opt for a depth of between 40 to 42 inches for a sofa (rather than the standard depth of 36 inches).

This is not the time for e-shopping, people. “It’s just so hard to tell on a computer screen what the color really looks like,” Arnold says. “You might think it looks red, but in reality, it’s watermelon pink.” Not to mention the texture of the rug may be totally different than what you were expecting.

Instead of hanging a painting on a bare wall, accent it with a rich velvet curtain background. “Curtains just create a great, calming energy in which you feel very shrouded and comforted, making for a luxurious and restful environment,” says Framel. “And being able to put a really great pop of artwork in front of that textural colored backdrop has a lot of impact.”

When Lee Cavanaugh and Sarah DePalo of Cullman & Kravis make their yearly trip to the Paris flea market, they send finds home in a group container to keep costs down.

…Especially before vintage shopping. Emily Eberhart of Viyet recommends researching how similar items of interest are priced or have sold.

It’s so simple, you’ll kick yourself for not thinking of Emily Henderson’s rule yourself: A large room should have large furniture, medium rooms should have medium-sized furniture and small rooms (you guessed it) should have more petite furniture. Scale the rest of the furniture to your sofa.

Grant K. Gibson suggests using outdoor fabric for indoor furniture to safeguard against stains and enhance durability, especially if you have kids or pets in the house.

“When initially loading your roller with paint, make sure the roller nap is fully and equally saturated,” says John Hoskins, vice president of Behr. Before you begin painting, test the roller on an extra piece of board to ensure it applies smoothly and evenly.

Paint a room that doesn’t get a lot of natural light a saturated color. “Adding some pigment makes the space feel intentionally moody and romantic,” suggests Orlando Soria, West Coast creative director of Homepolish.

Don’t be afraid to get creative with your storage space. Joy Moyler likes to use ladders to display towels, as in this bathroom designed by Rebecca Ascher and Joshua Davis.

If you’re setting furniture, like a dining table, in the middle of the room, your rug should be big enough so that all furniture fits comfortably on top, according to Janice Simonsen, design spokesperson for IKEA U.S. In large living rooms, however, it’s OK to have just the front legs on the rug.

Your front hall is the first thing people see, so Dana Gibson suggests you make it inviting with a mirror and furnishings that foreshadow what’s to come in the rest of the house.

Lisa Adams of LA Closet Design is one of Hollywood’s favorite closet designers. To make closets she creates even more luxe, she paints the metal trim or ceiling gold.

To maximize daylight and visually increase square footage, Jon Call of Mr Call Designs relies on large-scale mirrors.

J. Randall Powers has a motto in his office: “If you look at it and you question it—put it away.”

Kazuko Hoshino of Studio William Hefner employs one of writing’s most famous rules in her design: arranging decorative pieces like candles, vases, table plants, or flowers in groups of threes.

When it comes to styling a coffee table, try Meredith Baer’s formula: Start with something large in the middle, like a floral arrangement in an interesting pot or a huge bowl filled with a collection. Then build out from that with stacks of art books, candles, sculptures, or pottery.

When creating a tablescape, Ron Wendt starts by choosing a linen. Then he uses flowers or candles in a deeper or lighter hue to give the table a bold, completed look.

When Lili Hart buys upholstery, she always selects a neutral shade, then uses pillows and throws to add color and pattern to the room. Change them out according to the seasons—just like you would with your clothes.

For an extra layer of style and unexpected dose of glam, Jeff Andrews suggests adding wallpaper to the ceiling.

“If your neighbors are doing it, you probably shouldn’t,” says designer Summer Thornton. “You can use plenty of traditional pieces as the core, but always intentionally do something that throws it off just a bit!”

For a layered look that combines fun and function, Jennifer Wagner Schmidt of JWS Interiors and ELEVATE Design Collective adds a chunky knit throw or a soft Moroccan wedding blanket to a sofa or chair.

To elongate the visual ceiling height the way stilettos seem to add inches to the legs, Elaine Griffin hangs curtains as close to the ceiling line as she can get them.

Rather than buying curtains in patterns, designs, or florals—which can date a room very quickly—Randal Weeks of Aidan Gray Home buys two colors and changes them out seasonally.

Thomas Jayne chooses vintage carpets, which offer more interesting texture and a wider range of nuanced colors than new ones.