Spruce Up Your Living Space
Check out these 14 home decor tips for creating a new and exciting space.
1. A Little Lighting Goes a Long Way
No one wants to sit in a dark room. Light up your home decor with lamps that are both functional and fashionable. Lighting can set the mood of a space and elevate the décor, so don’t overlook a good floor lamp or table lamp when designing your home.
Brands that can help you light up your rooms:
- Lamps Plus: For all of your lighting needs.
- Vivint: Control your lighting with Vivint’s smart lighting.
- Lumens: For lighting of all types and styles.
- TCPI: An easy way to plan your lighting design project.
- Franklin Lighting: Your lighting design experts.
- Macy’s: For a wide selection.
2. Adding a Rug to Your Space
Rugs can be an excellent addition to spruce up your home decor. They not only add warmth and comfort to a room but also contribute to the overall aesthetic appeal. Here are some tips for using rugs to enhance your home decor:
Define the space: Rugs can help define different areas within a room, especially in open floor plans. Use rugs to delineate the seating area in a living room, create a cozy reading nook, or define the dining area in an open-concept space. Choose a rug size that fits the dimensions of the furniture and the space you want to define.
Choose the right size: The size of the rug is crucial for achieving the desired effect. A small rug can make a room feel disjointed, while a large rug can anchor the space and make it feel cohesive. Ideally, all the furniture in a seating area should have at least the front legs resting on the rug.
Consider looking into Ruggable to find your next rug.
3. Flooring Installation
Installing new floors can be a great way to improve the overall look and feel of your home. Here are some tips on how to choose and install flooring to enhance your home decor:
- Consider the style of your home: Your choice of flooring should complement the existing style of your home. For example, if you have a modern home, you may want to consider sleek and polished concrete or hardwood floors. On the other hand, if you have a rustic or farmhouse-style home, you may want to opt for distressed or reclaimed wood flooring.
- Choose the right material: There are many different types of flooring materials available, each with its own unique characteristics. Consider factors such as durability, maintenance, and cost when choosing your flooring material. Some popular options include hardwood, tile, laminate, and carpet.
- Plan the layout: Before you begin installing your new flooring, plan out the layout of the room. Consider factors such as the size and shape of the room, the direction of natural light, and any furniture placement. This will help you determine the best way to lay the flooring to achieve the desired aesthetic.
4. Add Windows and Blinds
Windows and blinds can have a significant impact on the overall aesthetic and ambiance of your home. Windows allow natural light to enter the space, creating a bright and inviting atmosphere. Choosing the right type of blinds can enhance the style and sophistication of your decor. For example, sleek and modern blinds can complement a contemporary interior design, while traditional curtains can add a touch of elegance to a more classic space.
Additionally, the color and texture of your window treatments can be used to tie together various elements of your decor, such as matching the hues of your furniture or accent pieces. By carefully selecting the right windows and blinds for your home, you can create a cohesive and polished look that elevates the overall feel of your space.
5. Find Your Style
Are you lost on where to start when it comes to interior design? It’s okay to not have a clue. Your first place to start can be as simple as finding your style. What do you like? What doesn’t strike your fancy? Peruse places like Pinterest, magazines and catalogs to get an idea of what style you like. There are several that have become popular this year: modern farmhouse, mid-century modern, traditional Colonial, eclectic interior, contemporary classic, minimalist, modern chic and boho.
Brands that can help you find your style:
- Pottery Barn: For classic interior design.
- Anthropologie: For eclectic, high-quality décor.
- Ikea: For Scandinavian minimalism.
6. The Mirror Trick
You’d be hard-pressed to find an interior decorator who doesn’t recommend adding a mirror to a room. Because mirrors reflect light, they’ll add even more illumination to a room (both from a natural light source like your windows and your established lighting). The tried-and-true mirror trick also expands a room using reflection. Our brains see the reflection of the room in a hung mirror, and we feel like we’re in a bigger space.
Brands that can help you find the perfect mirror:
- Home Depot: For a standard go-to mirror.
- Ikea: For mirrors on a budget.
- Wayfair: For a wide range of mirror choices.
7. Throw Pillows & Blankets
Your interior design can be functional and trendy, there’s no need to sacrifice one for the other. The perfect crossroads of useful décor and on-point décor are pillows and blankets. You’ll probably want to cuddle up on your couch with both, so why not make them work for your overall interior design? Brightly colored pillows can liven up your neutral spaces, and large, cozy blankets can make your space more inviting.
Brands that can help you find cozy throw pillows and blankets:
8. Add Texture
What does it mean to add texture to a room’s home decor design? Interior designing engages all of our senses. It’s much more than just a visual approach to decorating our homes. Although sight is the most important sense to consider, touching and feeling a room’s decorations is just as key to making a space your own and elevating its style. Rough, bumpy, soft, smooth, scratchy, nubby—all of these textures should be used to make the room more interesting for our brains to consume.
Use common sense when playing with textures. You’ll want your pillows and furniture to be soft and buttery, but hanging wall art can be rough, and your floor rugs can be woven for a bumpier feeling.
Brands to help you add texture:
- Target: For trendy textured wall art and pieces at a low cost.
- Crate & Barrel: For textured area rugs with a modern twist.
9. Add Patterns
Just like with texture, the addition of patterns satisfies our visually hungry minds. Too many solids can bore a room’s design and the same goes for too much of a neutral color scheme. While neutrals and solids are safe, you’ll want some patterns to balance out a room. As far as décor ideas go, patterns are always a top choice. Incorporate patterns in your throw pillows, your rugs and your drapery.
Brands to help you track down the perfect patterns:
- West Elm: For mid-century modern patterns.
- Wayfair: For a plentiful selection of patterns.
10. Get Organized
A messy room is distracting and diminishes your overall home decor design. You don’t have to have a space perfectly put away, but it helps de-clutter as much as possible. Out of sight, out of mind should be your mantra when it comes to tackling difficult organizational problems. Find furniture with plenty of storage and be thoughtful about how to stash away clutter.
Brands to help you get organized:
- Ikea: For the mass organization on a budget.
- Target: For a wide selection of trendy bins and baskets.
- The Container Store: For anything and everything organization.
11. Painting Walls
You’d be surprised what a fresh coat of paint will do to your interior design. Lighter paints will brighten a room because they have a more reflective surface. Meanwhile, darker, bolder colors will make a room feel warmer. You can find out just how much light is reflected off of a paint color by reading the labels on the paint or finding the reflective number on the back of a paint sample.
Brands to help you get your paint on:
- Lowes: For basic paint needs.
- Sherwin Williams: For straight-to-the-source paints.
12. Artwork
Every home should have artwork on its walls because a home without it feels naked. But don’t buy art for the sake of buying it—find something that speaks to you. Your acquirement doesn’t have to be a painting. It can be anything from handmade straw baskets from the South to framed prints from your latest vacation.
Brands to help you find art that speaks to you:
- Etsy: For thoughtful, handmade art.
- Society Six: For fun prints by individual artists.
13. Green in Every Room
Here’s a tip that will update your home decor: grow a houseplant. There are easy-to-grow plants like Golden Pothos or snake plants that hardly need attention. Sit them on bookcases or shelves, grow them in containers you hang on the wall, perch them on your fireplace mantle or have a collection of greenery on a side table. Green makes your brain happy—it’s scientifically proven!
Brands that will add green to your rooms:
- Amazon: For exotic house plants of all kinds.
- Lowes: For ready-to-go plants in trendy containers.
- TJ Maxx: Plastic plants for those without a green thumb.
14. Creating a Fun Space with a Patio Deck Enclosure
Adding a patio deck enclosure can transform an outdoor space into a fun and inviting area that can be enjoyed year-round. Enclosures come in a variety of styles, from fully enclosed sunrooms to partially enclosed screens, and can be customized to fit any design aesthetic or functionality needs.
One of the primary benefits of a patio deck enclosure is that it creates an extension of your home's living space. This allows for entertaining guests, enjoying meals or simply relaxing in the fresh air while still being protected from the elements. Enclosures can be constructed with durable materials such as aluminum or vinyl, ensuring they can withstand harsh weather conditions and last for many years.
Check out some brands below that will help you create a patio deck enclosure:
- Homary: An online retailer that offers a wide range of high-quality and stylish home décor and furniture products.
- Deck & Drive: If you're looking for hardscape design and build service, their experts can help you get any project done.
- Home Advisor: Find a local professional quickly for any of your home projects.
- Betterliving: Do you want to add to your space? Betterliving has an amazing selection of sunrooms and awnings.
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