6 Easy Steps to Level Up Your Interior Design

Today we’re going to talk about some of the easiest ways to step up the style of your home. We’re gonna talk more in depth about how you can find your design style, choose an inspiration piece, pick appropriately sized rugs, hang your curtains properly, select the right sized décor pieces, and add textures. If you’re feeling super motivated one week you could plan everything out and then make it happen in a single weekend in one of your rooms. But please note that I clarify you need to plan it all out first. You want to feel confident and comfortable in your space and in order to do that you must plan ahead and make sure you love what you’re going to do. I’ll give you some tips later about how you can get a visual of how everything goes together to ensure what you’ve chosen blends well and doesn’t clash. Another reason you want to plan ahead is that in doing so you’ll create a more sustainable design.

Now in the last episode we talked about what sustainable design is, this is actually another side to it. This kind of sustainable design means one that is well thought out and put together in such a way that you won’t feel the need to change it for years to come. Thus, making it more sustainable because you’re buying less and continuing to use what you have for years to come.

You can also take your time to do all of these steps, it doesn’t have to be done in one weekend. It simply depends on your budget and time frame. Most people want everything done in one fell swoop, so they don’t have to sit in the tension of an unfinished space. Heck, that’s definitely my preference. But I recognize the beauty that comes in that tension. It gives you space to dwell on what you truly need and want. It allows you to avoid impulsive and wasteful buys that you regret soon after bringing the item home. It allows you to work through problems in your head or plan with what you have first to make sure you’re shopping your home before buying anything new to you. It’s beautiful to sit in the tension and see what comes to you as over time you assess your space and think analytically about what needs to happen and the best way to go about it for you and your family.

Remember, you’re not the only one affected by changing a space, unless you live completely alone. Giving your room a refresh changes the mood of the space and it’s going to be either a subconscious or very tangible impact on all who enter your home. There’s plenty of psychology that goes into a good interior design, and you need to think it through before you throw your home into chaos.

So, let's get started on the six steps that you can plan in order to level up the design of your home with intentionality. Pick one room where you want to apply this and start with step 1.

1. Identify your design style.

There are different ways to find and choose a design style for your home. To start, sit down and look around your home. What do you see as the predominant style currently? Are there any architectural details already present in your home like wall moldings, brick walls, exposed ductwork, arches, specialty windows, original wood floors or Spanish tiles? If you’re not certain what style they fit into, you can always check out my Pinterest boards to see how I’ve broken down common elements to help you figure out what is specific to each style. If your home doesn't really have anything that stands out style wise, then you get to work with the blank slate and make it what you want it to be. I am a huge fan of using Pinterest for inspiration as well as a highly useful resource for containing my visual ideas! So, if you're working with a blank slate the best places that you can start are Pinterest, with your favorite HGTV homes or your favorite homestyle magazines. Look through everything you have saved and see what you've been drawn to. Notice the key elements that stick out and are consistent across all of these images that you were really drawn to and narrow in on what style those fall into.

In future episodes we’ll dive more into the different styles and their key characteristics. For now, whatever your style is you should be able to find it without too much trouble and if you can't seem to figure out what all of your interests are speaking to, then I recommend trying out a design style quiz. They're all over the place, so try a couple of different ones to see what the consistency is across them and go with the one that speaks to you the most.

It's important to make sure you start with an identified design style, because this way you will be able to filter everything that you need to buy or make decisions on through this, and you’ll avoid a jumble of things you love. This isn’t to say you can’t mix styles, please do, but let’s avoid an industrial gear clock on the wall of a Zen Japandi style room. Some things just don’t mesh well, and that’s not just because of looks, but because of the feelings provoked by each style. Some things simply clash. Having a defined style helps you avoid the clash.

2. Choose an inspiration piece to set a beautiful color palette.

Once you know your style, you need a statement piece which has at least three or more colors in it, even if you’re going for a monochromatic color palette. If you’re going for monochromatic, then you need an inspiration piece that has different shades of the colors you want to use. So, what qualifies as an inspiration piece? Well, to begin with, it's got to be something that's large enough that people will be able to see it from anywhere within the room, think of it like a focal point. This could be a very large painting, maybe it could be your rug or your curtains, maybe it's even your couch or some accent chairs that have a lot of colors on it. Once you have that selected you can define your color palette.

You don't have to use every single color that you find in the piece of art, but you definitely want to use the major colors that are at play in it. For example, in my bedroom, what I'm using as my color palette is actually my large desk mat. My desk for work sits in the corner of my bedroom and is very subtle, but I am in love with the desk mat that I got for it. It is watercolor style splotches of bold colors. I've got a nice rust red, terracotta orange, soft blush pink, a deep royal blue and it's got a soft white background. I intend to use blue as my main color, rust red a little less, white as my neutral, and orange will be more of an accent. I'm not sure I'm going to use the pink very much because it is not really my color. And it’s OK to not use every single color found in your inspiration piece.

Now, how do you know how much of a color to use in your space? You've probably heard of the 60/30/10 rule. It is where you use 60% as your main color, 30% is your less often seen color, and 10% is really your accent. In addition, there's usually a neutral color that you have as a background or balancing to the colors you're using in the rest of the room. For me the deep blue is going to be my main color as I have bed sheets my bedspread has dots that are blue, and I plan to paint my headboard wall that deep blue as well. Heck, even my stapler is the same shade. Now I'm going to use this rust red as my 30% shade. I plan to get a secondary set of sheets that are this color red, and I would love to have a throw pillow or blanket that are in this shade of red. My 10% is this terracotta orange and you see that in the couple of pots that I have for plants in my room and that suffices for an accent color. Usually, your accent is just a singular pillow or a singular throw blanket, or it's a couple decor pieces. You really don't want to use it much more than that. My neutral is the white that is the three other walls that I have in my bedroom. Usually, you're 60% is going to be whatever color you have on all of your walls. But since I am focusing on my focal point of the headboard wall and my bed, and that takes up so much of what you see when you walk in, I feel confident calling that my 60%.

A quick tip if you want to keep your colors monochromatic, you can use say, just blue; since it's a common favorite color. You can use it in varying shades and hues throughout the room, so don't do the same shade for everything. That becomes too much of the same and it feels like a wash, or your room will feel bland. What you want is to add depth by changing up the shades and that will certainly level up your design style.

If you want to keep the same color palette throughout your entire house, what I really recommend is that every time you go into a new room that either has a doorway or a drastic separation from space to space, you want to switch which colors are your 60%, 30% and 10%. Whatever your color palette is, if you love those colors, keep using them throughout your whole house. Just change how much you use in each room, and that again gives you a more elevated and cohesive design style.

3. Pick rugs that are the right size.

The purpose of an area rug is to add pattern, color, texture and warmth to any space. The first question you need to ask is does my space need a rug for any of these reasons? If it’s a living or sitting room, then 100% yes. If it’s a kids bedroom, I say yes because it’s easier to clean a rug and replace it than your carpet. If it’s a master bedroom, you can easily add a rug which helps the space feel cozier and who doesn’t want more of that in a bedroom? If it’s a dining room, then that’s a personal preference. For me in my life, I am absolutely not going to have a rug. I have two toddlers and it would be a waste of time and money to have a rug under my table. Maybe one day when I can trust there won’t be constant spills of food and beverage, I’ll reconsider it, but for now, no way. It can certainly add pattern, warmth and comfort to the space if you don’t have little ones or pets to ruin it. The kitchen is another place where it’s personal preference. We actually have a rug in our kitchen because I don’t like a bunch of mats in there that get grimy and need to be washed by hand. I prefer to do a quick vacuum or throw it in the washing machine when it gets dirty. Since it’s mostly my husband and I making messes in the kitchen, it’s less frequent and more contained than when the kids eat at the table, so I consider it manageable. For your outdoor patio, again I would say yes because it also functions to keep your feet from burning on otherwise potentially hot surfaces in the summer time. Overall, most spaces can handle a rug and will look better with one.

The first rule when choosing the size of a rug is that you want the main furniture pieces to all have at least the front legs on the rug. This grounds your furniture instead of leaving it floating in the room. If it’s in your bedroom, you want the bottom two thirds of your bed to be under it and you want it to extend, the biggest factor though is that your feet touch the rug when you get out of bed. If you’re putting it in a dining room, you want to make sure it extends at least 24 inches out from the edge of the table so when you push back your chair it slides smoothly instead of getting caught on the edge. You’ll also want to keep the rug at least 8 inches away from the walls in any given area so you can still get the feel of your flooring underneath.

Another consideration is material and pile height, and we’ll get more into this in a future episode, but briefly, here’s what to watch for. Pick something stain resistant and easily cleanable with low pile height under dining tables. And in case you’re unaware, the pile height refers to the thickness of the material of the carpet. It’s often labeled or simply easy to tell from touch whether something is low or high. Pick something super soft and cozy in the bedrooms, you can use higher pile heights here, but keep in mind that may make it difficult to vacuum. In your main living areas though you want to keep it low for ease of cleaning and avoiding tripping hazards. You can even layer rugs, but again, due to cleaning necessities, I’d stick to doing that in a master or guest bedroom.

Refer to the chart I’ve listed with my show notes for quick visual reference of what works best in each space.

4. Hanging your curtains to give the most oomph.

We all have options when it comes to curtains, but in order to get a huge “Wow” or the unnoticed finishing touch to a room, there are some guidelines you should follow.

For starters, you’re going to want to hang the curtain rods a minimum of 4”-6" above the window frame, or for more dramatics, hang it 2”-3” below the ceiling or crown. This easily adds height to your room.

You’ll want to get a rod that is wide enough you have room to fully open your curtains and see the panels only touch the window frame, not cover the window. That blocks your natural light which lightens your mood and adds desirable warmth to the space. This usually means extending the rod about 6” or more past the window frame.

And I know it’s cheaper to buy shorter curtain panels, but please be careful with this because if a curtain is too short, it looks like your window is wearing highwaters! It may be coming back in style for jeans, but it is Not working for windows. You want the curtains to lightly touch the ground by 1”-2” or for a more romantic look, you can let them hang 6”-8” longer than the rod to floor measurement.

You’ll also want to make sure the curtain rod itself is at least 1” in diameter so it doesn’t look flimsy and bend with the weight of the curtains. You can have fun with finial options since those are always interchangeable at the end of the rod, but once again check your style first before you buy something that’ll stand out like a sore thumb.

Check out the visuals in my show notes for proper curtain placements.

5. Bigger décor pieces are better.

In this case, less is more. Instead of more tiny tchotchkes that clutter a space and collect dust, buy one large piece to fill the space appropriately. You often only want clusters of 3, 5 or 7 depending on how large a space you’re working with. Odd numbers work best because you can create a triangle with them and that’s the most visually appealing form to work with. This is not to dissuade you from creating a gallery wall if that makes your heart sing, let’s just be mindful of what goes up there. There are a million ways to do it right and not as many ways to do it wrong, so you’re probably going to be ok if you’ve stuck to your styles and color palette.

Now let’s talk about some specific places where bigger is better. The large wall over your couch is a great starting place. It can be for a gallery wall or a large piece of art, maybe three smaller paintings that create one cohesive image. On a mantle you’ll want one large mirror or painting and then you can fill in the space with a few smaller items. Make sure your vary the heights when you do this tough. Above or next to your desk is a great place to put a large piece of art that you find inspiring when sitting in its presence. Over a headboard could be another place to put a large piece of art or pictures. When you pick something larger with a lot of style it’s going to always have a more positive impact than a hundred cute little pieces you have collecting dust all over the space that need to get moved every season. Let’s do as one of my favorite stylists, Myquillin Smith, suggests and create more style with less stuff.

6. Add textures where you can.

Having numerous textures is a great way to add depth, warmth and good design to any space. When you can, you want to have at least three to five different materials in any given room, plus a plant. Adding greenery to literally any room adds life and can have various health benefits in addition to generally lifting people's moods when they see them. So never leave out the greenery!

You can have a leather chair, a velvet sofa, a knit throw blanket, a cotton curtain, a wood coffee table, a glass lampstand, a polypropylene rug, cork coasters, a plastic tray, a ceramic pot with some greenery and a marble décor piece all in one room. There is so much variety happening that your eyes love to wander over everything and take in the depth and variety to be seen there. Certain styles have different materials that are more common like jute rugs are common in Coastal and Japandi styles, but not in Modern or Traditional. Make sure to do your research before making any purchases to ensure you’re on track with your chosen style for each room.

Now that you know how to level up the design in your home, I want to quickly mention a couple ways you can visualize your space ahead of time. There’s a classic collage of magazine cut-outs and printed pictures. You can create boards on Pinterest, one for each room you plan to redesign. You can use programs like Canva to take digital pictures and put them together in a space, like the one I’ve got listed in my show notes. I did this for a friend who dreams of having a Parisian Luxe apartment and she Loved it. Now when she moves, she can use this mood board to help her make purchases and color decisions, so she stays on track for her dream room. Never underestimate the power of a mood board to help someone visualize your end goal.

Happy styling friends.