Ideas For Decorating A House

byron and dexter peart montreal apartments

Maxime Brouillet

While designing your home is no doubt exciting, the process can also be overwhelming. Trying to achieve the right balance of form and function has its challenges. Regardless of your style, the big picture and the small details are equally important. From choosing the right furniture to finding the perfect color palette, here are 82 designer-approved home decor ideas to inspire you as you create your dream home.

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Use Your Wall Space

A suzani hangs high above an Indonesian rattan sofa bed in this Cartagena home. The gorgeous textile adds interest to the white walls and mixes well with other prints.

$49, Vicky Brago-Mitchell for Deny Kermina Suzani Tapestry, Urban Outfitters

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Drape a Bright Rug

ELLE Decor A-List designer Sheila Bridges added texture and color to her home in New York's Hudson Valley with an emerald green sheepskin throw rug.

$54, Green Sheepskin Rug, Etsy

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Create a Bold Gallery

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

$55, Wood Gallery Custom Mat Frames, Pottery Barn

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Deploy Color on the Floor

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Go Bold in Small Spaces

Graphic prints can have major impact in a small space such as a powder room. Here, an Ellie Cashman floral wallpaper is the star in a New Orleans manse designed by Sara Ruffin Costello.

$120, Birmingham Modern & Contemporary Accent Mirror, Wayfair
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Experiment with Patterns

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.

$118, Tufted Mila Pillow, Anthropologie
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Use Color in a Hallway

If your color choices are usually more reserved, step outside of your comfort zone by choosing a bold hue like purple for a hallway. It is unexpected and can be a chic backdrop for showcasing an art collection, as in this design by David Hicks.

$38, Vigorous Violet, Sherwin-Williams
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Display Collectibles on a Table

Every room can benefit from accessories with a history. Rather than showcasing your collectibles on a shelf, set them out on a table, as seen in this Italian apartment. Just be sure your collection is highly curated to maintain a sense of balance in your display.

$1,695, Brooke Club Chair, One Kings Lane
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Group Antiques by Color

There's a fine line between kitschy and curated. Rebecca Robertson unifies vintage and new pieces by grouping them by color.

$90, Joveco Tufted Storage Ottoman, Walmart

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Mix Your Time Periods

"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.

$530, Kraus Coffee Table, Wayfair

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Try Floor-to-Ceiling Shelving

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.

$660, Soleil Armchair, Perigold
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Look at the Bigger Picture

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.

$2,462, Saiba Dining Chair, Design Within Reach

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Embrace the Fear of Commitment

To avoid being locked into a single style, lighting designer Lindsey Adelman switches up the fixtures in her Park Slope home on a regular basis. "It's part of my creative process," she explains. "I love to see things in context, in real life—to live with them."

$560, Sphere + Stem Chandelier, West Elm

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Use Your Walls as a Canvas

Rather than art, a high-impact wallpaper can give a subdued room some wow factor. The 19th-century wallcovering from this luxe Milan apartment was purchased at auction in France and adapted to the room. "We created the missing parts—the plinth and the ceiling frame—to depict an Italian capriccio, a fantastical and bucolic landscape with architectural features," says Laura Sartori Rimini of Studio Peregalli.

$122, Amazonia Wall Mural, Perigold

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Anchor Your Room With a Classic

"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.

$3,660, Rococo Iron & Crystal Chandelier, Restoration Hardware

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Create Moody Contrast with Color

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.

$1,400, Reflections Abstract Handmade Flatweave Teal Area Rug, Perigold

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Add Playfulness with Repurposed Items

Art director Vivia Horn's Zen upstate New York home makes use of an unexpected gift to give her traditional kitchen a dose of fun. This breakfast table is made of a refurbished hibachi, a present from the late wrestler and Benihana restaurateur Rocky Aoki.

$1,178, Bertoia Counter Stool, Design Within Reach

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Use Fabrics Beyond Soft Furnishings

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.

$399, Hayden Orb Chandelier, Pottery Barn

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Balance New and Old

When renovating a building that already has plenty of character, like this 1920s Spanish Colonial home in Los Angeles, it's all about striking the balance between what you add and what you leave. "We wanted to make it feel more holistic while still honoring its heritage," designer Steven Johanknecht says of the decision to keep the original hand-carved ceiling beams and wrought-iron chandeliers while removing mismatched materials from previous renovations.

$1,995, Ebonwood Chair, One Kings Lane

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Mix Metals for Added Warmth

To soften the modern edge of stainless steel, decorator Alisa Bloom put a traditional spin on the kitchen cabinetry of her 1920s Chicago penthouse with brass inlays. With the help of a local hardware maker, she even designed her own hinges and drawer pulls. "I would never go into a store and just buy something," she says. "It's all about the process and the hunt."

$323, Cate 26.5" Counter Stool (Set of 2), AllModern

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Don't Underestimate the Power of High-Low Design

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Layer Decor over the Years

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Combine Your Favorite Design Styles

"A lot of people love the idea of really simple, modern living—it's appealing, it's nice, and it seems serene," says Erika Yeaman, a Homepolish designer and owner of YES Associates. "But the reality of maintaining that is a little trickier. Mixing Scandinavian design with bohemian style warms it up and makes it feel more homey and attainable."

$480, Arturo 8-Light Rectangular Chandelier, Ballard Designs

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Play with Texture

It's easy to gravitate toward the usual suspects like wood and leather when trying to craft a textured living space, but branch outside of your comfort zone. Emilie Munroe of Studio Munroe recommends drawing from your own personal style, especially the articles of clothing and patterns you're attracted to.

$1,109, Matégot Bar Cart, TRNK

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Create a Bouquet of Colors

Want to make a variety of bright colors cohesive? Think about how you would arrange a flower bouquet, as Sasha Bikoff did in this SoHo apartment. "The same can apply to a space, but you need to find a connection," she says. "Here, that connection is the fabric on the dining room chairs, which showcases colors also found throughout the room."

$695, Mid Century Dining Chair, Mod Shop

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Installing Shiplap? Go Horizontal (Usually)

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.

$75, Shiplap Interior Siding, Home Depot

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Don't Sacrifice Comfort

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).

$3,599, Aidan 2-Piece Sectional Sofa, Crate & Barrel

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Always Shop for a Rug in Person

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.

$225, Safavieh Adirondack Round Area Rug, Bed, Bath & Beyond

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Let a Locale Inspire Your Space

It's exactly what Jenny Cipoletti, founder of fashion, beauty, and travel blog Margo & Me, did in her decidedly Parisian office (which is actually in West Hollywood). "Just like when you walk into a café in Paris, and you see all the details and the golds, silvers, and light blush tones, all of these elements in this space really sing to me," says Cipoletti. This lets you travel to your favorite destination without stepping outside.

$169, Round Tufted Linen Ottoman, Wayfair

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