Simple Home Decorating Tips Anyone Can Use

Every homeowner has the constant desire to want to create a presentable environment in their house. It is only natural – if you make such a large investment as a house, you should maintain it to the best of your abilities. Using simple techniques to decorate your house, you can increase the aesthetics by a huge amount. It can be very expensive to hire a professional home decorator, and it is quite frankly unnecessary. Professional home decorators are simply people who have learned to spot certain fundamental truths about home aesthetics. So if you feel the need to decorate or redecorate your home, you should consider all of the following aspects.


The first step to home decorating is having tasteful furniture and accessories. This doesn’t mean you have to buy a ridiculously expensive set from a furniture store. You can do with thrift store goods if you’re careful. When you first start picking (or replacing) your furniture, you should decide on a certain theme that you want to stick with. You can buy furniture that is mostly made out of wood. If you buy a can of wood stain from your local home improvement store, you can magically match all of your furniture when previously they completely contrasted each other. Alternatively, you may decide to go with a modern theme, or any other number of themes and sub-themes used by decorators. You can get ideas from decorating magazines, stores, or homes of friends.


Once you’ve got your furniture and accessories all generally matching, you can consider your walls and carpets. Of course, this stage of the decorating depends on how much you want to overhaul your home, and how much you are willing to spend in time and money. The fact of the matter is, your carpet and walls are most likely not the best match for the rest of your house, since the builders of your home could not have known what sort of furniture you would have. Painting the walls is a relatively easy project, and you can do it in a weekend if you plan it out right. A tastefully-colored wall can lend a lot of aesthetic value to your home.


The hardest part of decorating your home is noticing small touches that you can make to lend to and improve the overall mood and theme of the house. The reason it’s hard is that you can’t analyze any specific aspect of your house and figure out how to change it for the better. Instead, you have to look at the big picture and creatively imagine things that you could be doing differently. If this doesn’t come naturally to you, then you can use many different sources as inspiration. But a few magazines next time you’re at the store, and look at the rooms pictured within. Most of them have likely been designed by professionals. You can look for the small details that give the room its great style, and figure out ways to apply the same thing to your home. Just make sure that the small details fit the color scheme and style of your overall decor.


The lighting of your rooms is also a very important aspect. When you have a very well-thought-out furniture layout, and specific decorations everywhere, usually the default lighting layout will not suffice. Think about changing the lighting to a different part of the room to change the focus. Think about putting a lamp on a table or even a track lighting system on the ceiling. There are many different options, and if you choose the right one then you can masterfully focus the attention of visitors to the parts of the room that you want them to be looking at.


Home decorating is never easy or quick, which is why so many people are tempted to spend a lot of money for professional advice. But before you do that, find out what exactly you are capable of, and see what you can do for your house.

Is Simple Home Decorating A Style For You?

What does the term ‘Simple Home Decorating’ bring to mind? For many, it can mean a quick, easy and inexpensive decorating style. An uncluttered, understated and natural style can also define simple home decorating. In fact, all of these attributes can be incorporated into a simple home decor that will appeal to just about anyone, particularly those who are decorating on a budget but still want to create an appealing look for their home.

One very important starting point that is crucial in any home decor project is to de-clutter the area you are going to decorate, or in many situations, redecorate. Remove everything that you can physically carry out of the room, to give yourself a fresh start and the ability to really see what you are working with. This includes any accessories on shelves, throw rugs and wall decor – everything must go, at least for now. The only furnishings in the room should be large upholstery and casegoods that are too heavy to remove.

With the thought that simple home decorating evokes light, natural and easy to look upon, consider the floor and walls in this area. Do you need a fresh coat of neutral colored paint on the walls and ‘Ceiling White’ on the ceiling? How about the floor? If your budget can handle it, consider light carpeting, wood floors (natural or faux), or tile, all in lighter, natural finishes. If your budget will not allow for that expense, make sure the floors are sparkling clean. If your decorating style includes a more colorful approach for the walls, then use just one color and opt for a shade that is not overly bright.

Your next step is to carefully consider the upholstery in this room. Is the fabric dated, dark, stained, or generally not pleasant to view? A quick, easy and inexpensive solution is to discover the world of slipcovers. There are so many more choices, styles and fabrics now than there were five or ten years ago. You can find slipcovers for sofas, easy chairs, dining chairs, etc. They are made to fit particular styles of upholstery and look great. This is a wonderful way to create a different look in a room without spending a lot of money. If you choose this option, look for fabrics that fit your lifestyle as the first priority,then seek out lighter colors and patterns. These choices, along with the lighter colored walls, will keep your room looking fresh, open and uncluttered.

Now that you have addressed the ceiling, walls, floor and larger pieces in the room, it’s time to think about the smaller items and accessories. Bear in mind the goal is to look for natural, uncluttered, simple and inexpensive. First, do an inventory of all of the ’stuff’ you have in your closets, kitchen cabinets and other storage areas. You are looking for something that you have never used in this room before, or perhaps never considered using as an accent or accessory. For example, you may have a lovely and unique piece that has been tucked away in a china cabinet for years. Or, you may come across a throw rug that was put away long ago and fogotten, and it may be perfect for this home decor project. If you come across a piece that is hand painted, hand woven or made from natural material, even better.

Bring each piece you have identified into your project room and try to find a place for it that will show the piece off to it’s best advantage, with a goal of minimal accessorizing. You want to avoid filling the walls with pictures just to take up space. Instead, try just one or two of your favorite pieces, a picture or mirror you just ‘discovered’ or an interesting combination of the two. By putting less on the walls and on display, each piece will gain more attention and dimension. For example, you may have placed an antique accent table against a wall in this room. You hung a beautiful oval picture above it, placed a hand painted pitcher on the table with an antique piece of lace as an underlayment, and as a finishing touch placed some natural type of organic such as Baby’s Breath in the pitcher (instead of the usual silk flowers). The particular style used as an example may not match your personal decorating taste, but the result would be the same; simple, understated, inexpensive and natural.

If your closets and cabinets are ‘bare’, try shopping at a discount home decor store and select one or two items that you love, to add to your decor project. Again, keep it simple and understated as you make your selections. When you add these pieces to your room, place them in a way that will emphasize their character and beauty (which is to say, if you purchased a new accent table, don’t put so much stuff on it and around it that you can’t see the table!)

Simple home decorating should be just that – simple. By incorporating these suggestions into your decorating project, you will create a room that is uncluttered and understated, and have accomplished this quickly, easily and inexpensively.