Decorating Guides
Top 10 Interior Stylist Secrets Revealed
Give your home's interiors magazine-ready polish with these tips to finesse the finishing design touches
It happens to the best of us. Even professional designers get stuck at times when putting the final touches on a design job. We take a moment, stand back from our work and fuss with this detail and that one until everything is perfect — at least in our eyes.
Homeowners are often thrilled with the results long before we're complete, which is encouraging. But how do designers finally find their groove and complete the job? We employ the same concepts photo stylists use when they finesse spaces for portfolios and magazine spreads. So when you hit a design dilemma when something just isn't right, try one of these 10 stylist secrets.
Homeowners are often thrilled with the results long before we're complete, which is encouraging. But how do designers finally find their groove and complete the job? We employ the same concepts photo stylists use when they finesse spaces for portfolios and magazine spreads. So when you hit a design dilemma when something just isn't right, try one of these 10 stylist secrets.
1. Photograph your room in slices. Seeing the room in a photograph provides you with a more objective look, like seeing it in a magazine. Your eye becomes more critical, and needed adjustments become more obvious. For example, by looking at the living room from this angle, the designer may have felt the need to add glass bottles at the top of the shelf to continue the color to the ceiling.
2. When styling multiple rooms, use a color thread throughout to bring cohesion to connecting spaces. It isn't necessary to use the exact same color in each room. Applying layers of the same color, varying the hue, makes the room feel more natural and less intentional. Blue accents in this room complement audaciously clever blue countertops in the neighboring kitchen.
3. Add a pop of red. You don't have to be a fan of red to appreciate it in small doses. Just a hint of this peppery hue is enough to grab attention and make a room interesting.
4. Instead of a prepackaged bouquet, buy a mass of the same flower. Buying fresh flowers every week gets pretty expensive. A group of one kind of inexpensive blooms, such as these carnations, makes a lovely, subtle impact and leaves you with dollars to spare.
5. Corral tchotchkes in one place and feature them as a collection. Knickknacks scattered around a room look more like clutter and tend to lose their importance. When grouped together they make a statement and become more relevant to the homeowner.
6. Know that less is more. Be careful not to overaccessorize every corner of a space, especially when its functional needs are simple. Here, magazine files are mounted to the wall and camouflaged by paint. The remaining accessories are minimal, and the desk's beauty isn't diminished.
7. Create your vignette in the store before you buy it. Auditioning potential purchases helps to save time standing in line at the returns desk. Moreover, if you have questions about a proposed look, an experienced store associate is always happy to give his or her expert opinion.
8. Create vignettes that reflect your personality. There's nothing wrong with mimicking a look you love, but be sure your add personal touches that give clues about who you are, not just the store you shopped at.
9. Go graphic. When a budget doesn't allow for wallpaper, painted stripes are always a high-impact, low-cost alternative.
How to get painted stripes right
How to get painted stripes right
10. Add life to a room with real greenery. Thanks to the view of the outdoors and the fig leaf in the far corner, this room breathes. Real trees also help to naturally improve indoor air quality.