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    The Ultimate Decorating Guide

    Jul 28, 2021 by Ali · Leave a Comment

    Colab post
    Jump to:
    • Get Creative With Color
    • Display Books
    • Let Your Fireplace Take Center Stage
    • Add Character To A Rental Property
    • Enhance An Entrance
    • Be Brave With Block Color
    • Lay Down A Rug
    • Style With Stripes
    • Decorate With White
    • Experiment With Florals
    • Add A Wow Factor With Window Dressings

    Interior design creates rooms that meet the needs of the people living in them while reflecting their personalities through good design, space, and functionality. It's also about making somewhere feel like home and meeting the wants and needs of the people who live there while making the space practical for everyday living. 

    Image - free for commercial use

    Once you've met these requirements, you then want to make sure it looks beautiful and suits your taste. Try these ideas to redecorate your space. 

    Get Creative With Color

    It can be tempting to play it safe when you're adding color into your home, but experiment with bolder tones can make your rooms more striking. The key is to do your research and test out some contrasting palettes before you decorate so you can use color and fabric more confidently. 

    Adding some color to a room can instantly change the way a room looks and feels. Vibrant shades make the room feel uplifting, whereas cool hues or soft blush shades will make the room feel calm. Add a surprise, like a feature wall, a large rug, or a bright couch. This is a great way to add a focal point. 

    If you want to mix patterns, use large with medium or medium with small. Choose prints and patterns that have a color in common, so the scheme feels coordinated. 

    Display Books

    You can spend a lot of time, money, and effort on designing a beautiful space, but adding books is what makes it feel like home. Gorgeous furniture and pretty lighting are nice, but books are an essential part of completing a decor project and giving your rooms some character. 

    Start with some key books and build around those. Try to develop a system, such as spreading out any big books across the shelves with smaller books in between. Displaying books isn't an exact science. Move things around until you find the finish pleasing. It's doesn't have to be perfect. 

    Let Your Fireplace Take Center Stage

    There's nothing as cozy as a fire in the winter when you're curled up with a blanket and gently flickering flames. However, it's not just the fire that adds that feeling. The fireplace surround can also be a great feature to show off. Dress and accessorize the space around your fireplace to make the most of it. 

    A large fireplace, offset by a symmetrical arrangement of chairs and shelving on either side is a classic look and invites you to sit in front of it. 

    Add Character To A Rental Property

    If you're renting, there are lots of ways to make your home feel like your own. You can't make significant changes, like structural improvements, but you can still make the best of your home's best features with a few decorative touches, such as wall treatments and freestanding pieces. 

    If you plan to stay in your rental property long-term, most landlords will allow you to paint as long as you agree to paint it back to the original colors before you move out. If you can't do that, brighten up your walls with framed artwork. Large pieces work best. 

    Enhance An Entrance

    Hallways often get overlooked, despite setting the tone for the rest of your home and being the first thing that guests see when they arrive. Think of your hallway as a room, and not just an interim space. 

    Make the most of its features, and think about how you can personalize it. Dark colors can be hard to incorporate into the decor, but you should avoid the opposite approach too, which can make the finish feel bland. Choose a color that fits with the rest of your scheme and try to highlight skirting and door frames in a stronger shade for definition. 

    Add a texture with a rug or stair runners. An eye-catching rug makes an impression as soon as someone arrives at your home. Find the best quality cowhide rug at affordable price here to add wow factor. 

    Be Brave With Block Color

    Block colors can make your scheme really stand out and give a sophisticated finish. A look like this takes being brace, but it can really pay off. 

    The key to getting this look right is to contrast a bright color with plenty of natural tones and neutrals to stop the block color from being too overwhelming. If you get it right, this style makes a real statement. 

    Break up your brighter colors with a neutral base, like white, which will let your bright tones really pop and stand out. Choose a maximum of three colors, and introduce them in some creative ways. Look for some areas in your design scheme that will let a block color really stand out, like on your chimney breast, sliding panels, the back of a bookcase, or on a door. 

    Lay Down A Rug

    Persian carpets are a really good starting point to add some rich textures to your decor. Get creative about where you put rugs too. You can use them for upholstery, wall hangings, and soft furnishings, as well as floor coverings. 

    Make a statement with a rug with a large-scale pattern. Balance it out with a monochrome wallpaper for a striking finish. 

    Style With Stripes

    Stripes can be used just about anywhere in your house, whether you opt for tailored pinstripes or bolder broad lines. 

    Stripes bring a sense of order and structure to your decor and have the ability to redirect the eye. When you use stripes in your interior design, they can make your rooms feel elegant and sophisticated. 

    Stripes can overpower a room if you get them wrong. To get them right, make sure you choose a color palette carefully and then add in some patterns and accents of your chosen color palette in darker and lighter shades. 

    If you're worried about decorating with stripes, you could start out with a smaller space in your home to see if you like the result. You could also use stripes as a way to bring some graphic patterns into your decor by using them in smaller details like striped cushions or vases. 

    Decorate With White

    White creates a feeling of purity, cleanliness, confidence, and sophistication, and is a very versatile color for interiors. 

    Small touches of white as an accent color can be a stylish way to lift and freshen the feeling of other color schemes. Accessories made of things like mother-of-pearl, white candles, and white flowers will lift your color scheme and pull the eye. 

    If your home is already mostly white, the texture is very important. If you use different textures through a mix of weights and weaves of fabric, you can add depth, warmth, and visual interest to a room that could otherwise be a bit plain. 

    Crisp white walls can also be a great backdrop for displaying some art and making your collection really stand out. Stick to a monochrome palette to give an impact. Use this idea for other parts of your decor, such as displaying a collection of black and white ceramic pieces. 

    Experiment With Florals

    Flowers can add new detail to your interior decorating, whether you prefer the look of delicate blossoms or larger blooms. 

    Flowers are a big part of interior decorating and have been popular for centuries. Floral textiles can be used to decorate every room in the house, whether through curtains, upholstery, and wall coverings. Florals soften your decor and bring some of the outdoors inside. 

    If you choose classic floral designs, they often have symmetry that is very pleasing to the eye and have proportions that complement both traditional and contemporary furniture. Historical floral designs can work well in modern interiors if you choose designs that have a lot of space between the floral motifs to create a sense of depth. 

    For a country-cottage style, you can use floor-length curtains with a floral pattern and mismatched florals throughout the room. To stop the decor from looking old-fashioned, keep everything else in the room simple. For example, untreated floorboards in the room can keep the look more modern.

    Add A Wow Factor With Window Dressings

    Whether you have an awkward bay window, an oddly-shaped recess, or a floor-to-ceiling window that needs to be covered, there are lots of clever design solutions that can finish your room off perfectly. 

    Look for window treatments that create a relaxed, informal feel. Instead of going for anything too complicated or flamboyant as this can feel fussy. Simple, clean-looking window dressings made from high-quality fabric look chic. Soften the look with hand-tied curtain headings. 

    Choose a curtain made in silk or linen, that has been well-finished and made with care. This will let the fabric and the architecture of your room be the star of the show. 

    Blinds work well where a curtain can't be fitted, such as due to awkward architecture around a window. Use flat-panel sheers for privacy and blinds to protect furniture and your curtains from sun damage. Beautiful curtains are the best choice to create balance and finish the design of a well-decorated room. 

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    About Ali

    Hi I'm Ali, a vegan mummy of four from Wales in the UK. I love reading, cooking, writing, interiors and photography, all of which I share on here. I also make videos on my YouTube channel. Come and follow us and share our journey.

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    I'm a mum of four living in Wales. I share interiors, recipes, parenting tips and lots more. I also have a popular YouTube channel if you want to see more of us!

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