3 Important Home Decorating Tips

Hi and happy Friday, everyone! Today we'll be sharing three important home decorating tips. Who here is a Home Goods fanatic besides me? Ah, I could spend ten hours a day, every day at Home Goods and I want to buy absolutely EVERYTHING there. But then as I approach the check out area I start to actually think about how everything would fit in my home and one by one they go back on shelves.  Sigh*

It's very true that one of the biggest home decorating dilemmas is how to arrange your accessories, whether it be a bookcase, shelf, or tabletop. Even the most beautiful pieces will lose their charm if placed in the wrong spot. So here are three important home decorating tips that will transform your boring or cluttered spaces into charming vignettes!

Harmony and Contrast

And one of the most important home decorating tips is finding harmony and creating contrast. When arranging a space with accessories, remember that what you're most likely trying to accomplish is to avoid ending up with a boring room! This has a lot less to do with the objects you choose than how you choose to display them. So to keep an arrangement from putting the guests down for their afternoon nap, remember to keep a balance of harmony (things that feel like they go together, like similar colors or styles) and contrast (things that spice things up by being different…smooth against texture, round against straight line, et…). You'll want a bit of both in your arrangement to keep things interesting. Perhaps you could create harmony by repeating a square shape or the color purple, and then add contrast by sitting a smooth candlestick next to a rough basket.

[Image courtesy of In Honor Of Design]

Scale and Shape

Make sure that the items you are using fit into their new homes scale…you don’t want one tiny paperweight on a large kitchen table, and you want to steer clear of using a huge ceiling high arrangement of flowers on a tiny end table. Most people tend to use things that are too small for their surroundings however. If you have small accessories you would like to display, but need to give them more oomph in the arrangement, try grouping them on a plate or a fabric covered box. You can also give them height by perching them atop stacked books or baskets.

[Image courtesy of Better Homes & Garden]

Layer and Soften

Once you’ve chosen your objects for the space following the basic design principles above, now it’s time to layer and soften. Start with a larger, taller piece slightly off center…this will be the defining piece in your arrangement. Now work to the outer edges in layers…Add a taller background layer, a middle sized medium height layer, and your tiniest objects in the front. Keep the eye moving up and down as it purveys the arrangement from left to right for interest. Add some fabric or twisted ribbon to soften the edges of the shelf or table, to bring in color, and to highlight certain objects.

Above all, keep trying new combinations of items until you find an arrangement that works for you. Use things in unusual ways. Tuck flowers or a live plant into an arrangement that seems too static. Even professional designers will occasionally be surprised by trying things in a new way! And remember, if your arrangement still looks cluttered and lost, chances are you are trying to display too much. Develop a prop box or closet where you can keep some of your treasures, and switch them our a couple of times a year for a fresh new look without spending a dime!