90 Home Decor Ideas That Designers Swear By
It’s time to rid your rooms of the “blahs” for good!
Designing a home, though no doubt excruciating in moments, is an amazing opportunity to flex your creative muscles. Any house or apartment, whether a new build or a historic property, comes with it's own sets of quirks. The trick is to see these details as opportunities rather than road blocks. Once you've done that the whole world is your decorative oyster. We combed through both new and old projects from the pages ELLE DECOR to bring you 75 practical and fun ideas to make your dream home from whatever you have. Whether it be a small space with little room for grand gestures or a spacious house with more room than you know what to do with, we have the answers.
Go Big with Art in Small Spaces
In a historic house in Los Angeles's Hancock Park neighborhood, interior designer Ashley Lavonne leaned into the client's considerable art collection to enliven her design scheme. In the snug family room, a large scale painting by Tiffany Alfonseca overlooks the room, offering a place for the eye to land and color inspiration for the textiles and upholstery.
Make the Most of an Alcove
In this Manhattan studio, interior designer Robert Rowe had no choice but to maximize the space at hand. In a windowed alcove he slide in the only bed in the apartment, using the rest of the room as a living area.
Follow the Curves
In the sitting room of this Paris Apartment, interior designer Sarah Dray let circles lead the way. From the vintage de Sede sofa, to the Beije Avenue cocktail tables, to the custom ceiling lights, one simple shape pulls the room together.
Furniture can double as Art
In this Brooklyn dining room by Studio Dorion, two Tony Blahd floor lamps flank the window, operating like decorative columns, while providing a necessary function to the room.
Use Mirrors to Deepen a Space
In this Hollywood Hills home, interior designer Mike Moser and architect Tyler Thomas hung a mirror in their bedroom to expand the space. Now, instead of looking into just a sleeping area from the living room, guests are given the impression of an expanding enfilade just past the bed.
Clad Your Walls in Cork
The material is multi-use as well as attractive. Perfect for damp environs like Miami (where this cork-covered bedroom by Charlap Hyman and Herrero lives).
Paint Your Floors
What would otherwise be a simple, paired back dining room in this 19th Century Connecticut home becomes a lively space due to a single coat of green paint. Interior designer Jenna Chused coated the floor instead of the walls with the bright pop of color, adding surprise and rotting the neutral woods of the table, chairs and ceiling light that dominate the rest of the room.
Install Curtains Behind Your Headboard
Veere Grenney is known for his good taste and sense of grandeur. In this London townhouse of his design, the feeling of grandeur extends to this bedroom via curtains hung behind the headboard all in Michael S. Smith fabrics.
Elevate Everyday Essentials
Pegboard is one of those materials so ubiquitous you forget how fabulous it can be. It calls to mind the quaint old general stores of times past but does double time when it comes to function. In the kitchen of their Ojai ranch Eric Hughes and Nathan Turner use it to splendid effect.
Paint a Portion of Your Walls
The classic chair rail is sometimes thought traditional but in Julie Polidoro's Roman abode it reads as starkly contemporary. For some easy visual interest and a rooting influence try painting a portion of the bottom of your walls (or the top!) with a sharp clean edge and no additional adornments.
Display One Quirky Thing
In the breakfast nook of this Los Angeles home David Lucido subverted what would have otherwise been a very serious corner, with muted tones and art in the style of Georges Braque, with a toe sculpture. A dose of hilarity is a surefire way to keep a home humble.
Wrap Your Walls in Leather
High end interior design clients sometimes ask for the craziest things, but perhaps we should all follow in their wake? In this extremely posh Paris apartment by Retrouvius, leather wrapped walls make a case for quiet luxury.
Flaunt Your Shelf Wealth
This Patrick Mele-designed Aspen manse is called "Happy Hill" and what is more joyful than a colorful pair of bookcases bursting with well worn tomes? With books, if you've got it, flaunt it. A mismatched medley of reading material is all any room needs to feel truly lived in.
Add a Zip of “Unexpected Red”
When Ciaran McGuigan, CEO of the Irish furniture brand Orior, moved into his Brooklyn Loft he started with a mostly muted palette. Life was brought into each space with pops of bold color - namely red, like we see here in the bathroom (or with the red sofa in his living room).
Upcycle a Flea Market Find
Don't just thrift, get creative with what you find! In the dressing area of this Stacey Hill's chic Texan retreat flea market finds are repurposed to cover up function with beauty. A vintage, Chinese-style folding screen became cabinet doors and a pair of dressers placed back to back became a dressing table.
Play with Asymmetry
In her Toronto home, designer Montana Labelle says, “We opted for asymmetrical artwork on top of the bed as well as in the hallway to create more visual interest and layers in the room.”
Work with What You Have
In this midcentury Los Angeles home, designer Garrett Hunter worked with the original floor plan and architectural details like the exposed brick and ceiling beams. “We didn’t move walls, so our focus was really to enhance the existing architecture.”
Conceal Everyday Tech
Hate the sight of your TV? Put it in a cupboard! Architect Andre Herrero, of Charlap-Hyman Herrero, designed a steel fireplace surround with double doors to conceal the living room TV. “We were crafty with our resources and took advantage of architectural quirks,” Herrero says. “Things that seem like negatives can contribute to a more romantic narrative.”
Create a Gallery Wall to Blend the TV
Or, if you’re lacking a decent cabinet, try camouflaging your screens with an artful gallery wall. Designer Joe Lucas shows us how it’s done in his sunny Los Angeles home.
Bring the Outside In
If you have lovely views, flaunt them! Designer Lori Deeds of Kemble Interiors created a custom banquette and seating area to take advantage of the garden views of this Palm Beach estate.
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