14 DECORATING TIPS: THE DETAILS THAT MAKE A ROOM FEEL STYLED AND FINISHED
Our best, no-fail decorating tips that always make any space feel complete and perfectly styled!
Decorating your home is exciting and can be so much fun, but it can also be intimidating and stressful when it comes to completing each room. Sometimes pulling together an entire space can seem like a daunting task and very overwhelming. If you’re anything like me, you want to get it all done as soon as possible to bring your vision to life! I’ve learned through the years that it’s not always so simple. It takes time and intention – thoughtfully researching and planning what you want your home to look like, finding the pieces right pieces that speak to your personal taste and style and then finally with a lot of trial and error, bringing it all together. These things truly take years for many of us – it certainly has for me! I can honestly say although one day we would love to build our dream home, our current home has evolved over the last 16 years into a sanctuary we love. Over time I’ve found these 14 decorating tips that I’m sharing today always help me to make a room feel polished and complete – small details with huge impact. I hope you find them helpful on your decorating journey!
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1. USE TRAYS TO GROUP AND GROUND OBJECTS
Trays are such a fabulous accessory, I use them all over our home in many areas. They help to corral your decorative pieces and bring them together as a cohesive grouping rather than having random items sitting on a surface. Trays visually ground your items and bring importance to them as well. They’re always a beautiful way to bring order to your vignette and create a neat and tidy look.
TO SHOP SIMILAR ITEMS : Gold tray | Tall navy blue jar | Double happiness ginger jar | Small ginger jar
2. INCORPORATE BOOKS THROUGHOUT YOUR HOME
One my favorite decorating tips is to use books – they’re a decorator’s best friend. You can use them in countless ways when it comes to styling your rooms. Whether it’s a collection of books you want to show off, or beautiful design or coffee table books that become part of your decor. I often love to use books as risers, or a base for something I want to display, or lamps. Similar to using trays as I mentioned above, books used in this way can help to ground an object, call attention to it give it visual importance.
TO SHOP : Lamps | Light blue ginger jars | Pedestal vase | Beautiful Book | Dream Design Live Book | The Fashion Book | Decorating in Detail Book | Interior Portraits Book
3. LAYER CANDLES AND HURRICANE LANTERNS FOR WARMTH
Everyone loves the glow and warmth that candles bring to a room. They’re another layer of lighting that add mood and ambience to a space. I especially have an affinity for hurricane lanterns – they are so versatile and can be used anywhere from your entryway console table to your outdoor dining table. Never underestimate the power of these beauties!
TO SHOP : Greek key ginger jars | Brass candleholders | Decorative shell | Hurricane lantern | Crystal sculpture
4. DISPLAY FAVORITE OBJECTS OR COLLECTIONS TOGETHER FOR VISUAL INTEREST
It’s no secret I have a ginger jar obsession! I have an extensive collection that I have been curating for several years. Inspired by my beautiful Mama in heaven and her love for anything classic, her love for these pieces has become one of my favorite items to collect. Creating a beautiful grouping with your collection, whatever it may be, makes a strong visual statement in your home. It also speaks to what you love and who you are. You can incorporate a gorgeous grouping just about anywhere from tables, to corners and everywhere in between.
TO SHOP SIMILAR : Left to right – Foo dog jar | Double happiness jar | Aviary jar | Leaf motif jar | Scenery jar
5. SHOW OFF PRETTY DISHES IN THE KITCHEN
The kitchen is one of the most fun rooms to decorate! I love showing off my beautiful dishware collections in various ways. From my beautiful blue and white platter from my Mama and a pretty bowl filled with tomatoes, to a stack of pretty dishes on the island with napkins and forks, or a collection of beautiful plates on the wall. Display those pieces that you cherish and your kitchen will become elevated to a whole other level.
TO SHOP SIMILAR : Blue and white platter | Bowl | Salt and Pepper Mills | Rechargeable lamps | Blue ginger jars | Kettle | Green scalloped plates | Bamboo cutlery | Block print napkins
6. USE LARGE SCALE PIECES THAT MAKE A STATEMENT
I often say go big or go home! When it comes to creating and styling vignettes around your home, using a large-scale item, when the space allows for it, always makes a such a statement. This is one of the most important decorating tips, as it helps to create a focal point in your room and draws the eye in toward your display. Creating visual balance is key as well, so you always want to make sure the other pieces in your grouping let that standout piece speak the loudest.
TO SHOP SIMILAR : Pedestal vase | Moss balls | Faux orchids | Blue and white jar | Small planter
7. LAYER PATTERNS TO MAKE A STATEMENT
Oh, the power of gorgeous pattern! Mixing prints is such a fun, dynamic way to bring life to any room. It creates visual interest, brings in color and makes a strong visual impact. I’m always mixing and matching new combinations together – it’s such a fun way to bring in a new seasonal look, as shown in the image above. I used a large scale floral and a contrasting stripe and animal print – the key is to mix prints that don’t clash or are too similar in pattern and scale – these above are all very different. If that is too much for you, try and use at least one pattern paired with a solid or a very simple, complementary pattern like a subtle stripe.
TO SHOP SIMILAR : Les Touches navy pillow | Stripe pillow | Huntington Gardens pillow | Planter
8. USE BEAUTIFUL LAMPS THAT STAND OUT
I have such a love for beautiful lighting – it’s an addiction for me! I’ve been collecting table lamps for many years as well, and I love rotating them throughout our home from time to time, to freshen up our rooms. If you’ve been reading here for a while, you will see how many lamps have traveled around our home. Gorgeous table lamps will always brings importance to any room. They key is scale and proportion – you never want a lamp that is too small, as it will get lost amongst your decor. I usually choose lamps on the larger side – no smaller than 25″ tall with the shade.
TO SHOP SIMILAR : Vase | Mirror | Lamp | Brass candleholders | Shell | Design book | Wallpaper | Console table
9. INCORPORATE ARTWORK YOU LOVE
Artwork is a very personal choice, but nonetheless it’s such an important part of elevating your home and telling your home’s story. I have several pieces around our home that I’ve rotated around through the years – from my own abstract paintings, to affordable digital prints that I change seasonally (like these chinoiserie prints above), to my mother’s beautiful artwork that is very personal to me – it’s such a subjective choice, but key to adding a finishing layer to your rooms.
TO SHOP SIMILAR : Chairs | Chinoiserie artwork | Gold frames | Pillows | Wallpaper | Rug
10. DON’T FORGET TO DECORATE THE CORNERS
Decorating and styling corners in your rooms help to complete your space. That said, I don’t mean to shove things into any corner. You want to make intentional choices and create a styled space that feels cohesive with the rest of your room. This corner above was left empty for a very long time, but when we layered in this side table and added a functional lamp (which is tip number 7!), it pulled this corner out of the abyss and into the room. Now it’s beautiful and functional. You can use large scale jars, floor lamps, small tables, chairs, the list goes on. There is a ton of styling power in these often forgotten spaces!
TO SHOP SIMILAR : Table | Lamp | Gold frames | Matisse prints | Wallpaper | Drapes | Yellow Ginger jar
11. STYLE SHELVES THAT TELL A STORY
The most important of all decorating tips – decorate with what you love. I say it over, and over in almost everything I share here, I also recently shared this in my post all about how to make your home more elegant – layer your home with objects that have personal meaning to you, they help tell your story. You will always have things that are simply just pretty, we all do, in fact I’m often picking up new pieces to style around our home – but the key to creating a truly finished space is curating items you dearly love, no matter where they come from – it will always feel more complete than any display you buy already done from a store.
TO SHOP SIMILAR : Blue decorative books | Blue ginger jar | Monogram vase | Coral Sculpture
12. SHOW OFF SOME STATEMENT-MAKING FLORALS
Another one of my go-to, no-fail, tried and true decorating tips – create floral arrangements that speak volumes! There is huge style power in a large scale arrangement – it creates an intentional focal point, it makes strong visual statement, it speaks to the season and time of year, it adds color and texture. Whether you like faux florals or real, this is a surefire way to bring gorgeous finishing detail to your room and make it feel complete.
TO SHOP SIMILAR : Vase | Mirror | Hurricane lanterns | Console table | Wallpaper
13. INCORPORATE NATURAL CURIOSITIES IN YOUR HOME
I always love to use beautiful natural curiosities (and sometimes faux) sprinkled around our home, at any time of the year. From coral sculptures to agate sculptures and bookends, to gorgeous shells large and small, to rocks and crystals. Bringing in natural elements add texture and interest and always creates a more dynamic vignette. I have a love for all things coastal as many of you know and it’s part of my signature style that I’ve developed over time, which goes back to my point about using what you love. You can read more about this in my post on coastal chic decorating, it’s a reader favorite!
TO SHOP SIMILAR : Coral sculpture | White trays | Marble coasters | Planter
14. DON’T BE AFRAID OF USING COLOR!
The last of today’s decorating tips – color is pure joy! I understand it’s not for everyone and I love a beautifully decorated neutral home just as much as a vibrant one. That said, color evokes emotion and has so much visual intent – it can truly bring a room to life. It can be as simple as a floral arrangement or a single ginger jar or vase, if you prefer less color. Layer it in your home with artwork, or you can use light, soft colors versus bright and bold – color doesn’t have to be saturated, it can be subtle and still make an impact. The point is color is emotional, visually stimulating and can truly bring happiness to your rooms!
TO SHOP SIMILAR : Green jar | Yellow Ginger jar | Blue and white jar | Gold tray | Lazy susan
Decorating your home and creating a finished, styled room takes time, intention and most of all patience. There is a lot of trial and error when pulling a space together and these 14 decorating tips are simple but high-impact details I rely on to make our home feel complete – I hope they inspire you on your decorating journey as well – thank you as always for reading with us today! xo
