Eight Decorating Tips to Use In Your Home TODAY!

These are just a few of my top tips that I have used in my own home or taught my clients.  Most of them you can start by using right away, enjoy!

1. Purchasing  area rugs that are too small.

The general rule of thumb is that your area rug must be large enough to be placed under the first feet  of your furniture.  Anything less and your rug will appear to be floating in the middle of the room.  You might as well not bother with the rug purchase.

2. Choosing paint colours first.

You’ll go nuts trying to match your fabric, pillows, or bedspreads to the wall colour you’ve chosen.  Instead,  always base the decision of your wall colour from the fabric that has inspired you, or the stone that is being installed in your home.  Hard finishings are always chosen first by professionals, then soft furnishings, and then your paint colours.  Never paint, then try to find a sofa that works with the undertones of your space.  It’s just a bad idea, and I care about you too much to make this mistake.

3. Displaying collectables all over the house.

Create huge impact by placing a collection of figurines on a table or Family photos on one wall.  The larger the frames the better, and hanging small frames of your family around the house, just ends up creating a cluttered look.  Go Big or Go Home!

4. Highlighting too small of Molding or Trim work.

If you’re inherited a home with smaller or wimpy trim around windows and walls, then don’t despair.  My first method would be removing it, and get larger or to scale mill work done.  If this isn’t an option, then a good option is to paint the trim work  the same colour as your walls allowing for it all to blend in, instead of staring you in the face.

5. Positioning furniture against the walls of the room.

This is something that all of us have some done one time or another. Never be afraid to create a focal point using your furniture in the middle of the room if it’s what your room needs. Also never the scared to show the back of your furniture, but be mindful of creating focal points at the same time.

6. Buying a chandelier pendant light too small.

Purchasing a chandelier too small for your space, or too small for your dinning room table is a waste of money as far as I’m concerned.  If you’re room is 12 ft. wide, then generally a 24 inch chandelier or pendant is needed to fill the space properly in scale terms. This is a huge opportunity to create great impact for a lot or little money.

7. Getting scale wrong.

There are limits to decide what is the correct scale for a piece of furniture in your home.  In small spaces, simple tricks such as buying sofas that have lower, or thinner arms to create the illusion of more space.  In some cases, more furniture in a space provides the feeling of more space, regardless if  there are more pieces in the  space. Keeping your furniture lower also tricks the eye into thinking that your ceilings are higher and more abundance to the  space.

 8. Choosing the wrong hue Or Colour.

Most of us know exactly what colours we like, but sometimes miss the mark on choosing the right colour for your space.  The reason for Choosing the wrong colour is anywhere from not getting the undertones inline, choosing too light of a colour for the amount of natural or added light in our home, or plain old picking too bright or dark of a colour from the colour wheel.  Dark colours should be used for the right feel, but you have to be aware of the lighting scheme  and external lighting that will be present.

If you are looking to Use a Blue, but the end result is a  softer blue, then the blue you have chosen Must have either a brown undertone in it, or gray.  Brown and Grey always dulls the colour providing you the blue you were looking to use instead of creating a Baby Blue office for your husband… Save this type of  baby blue for baby rooms.

Well there you have it,  Eight Tips  to look out for when you’re decorating in Your Home.  Do remember that you also need to do what feels right for your home, and if you love it then don’t try to let anyone else tell you other wise.

Any other great tips you’d like to add?

  Jodi