Decorating your home can be daunting, but it doesn't have to be. Experts share tips on creating a space you love, from mixing eras and colors to not getting in your head.
Why decorating matters
Home is where you sleep, eat, work, cry, laugh, socialize and celebrate. It is a spatial extension of the self – which can make home decorating daunting to some.
“People get in their heads about decorating their space,” says Drew Michael Scott, interior designer and founder of the lifestyle and decor brand Lone Fox. It can be hard to know where to start, what you can afford or accomplish, or if you’re getting it wrong.
“Decorating your home is not that serious, and it’s nothing to lose sleep over,” Scott says. “Your house is probably never going to look like it belongs in a magazine, and that’s OK. The goal should be to create a space you love, and that will look different for each person.”
Research shows that physical spaces can impact mental wellbeing and productivity. A small study showed curved rooms increased creative thinking, and clutter can increase stress and anxiety.
“Home is where you’re supposed to feel safe, happy and completely free,” says Imani Keal, content creator and interior decorator. “Loving your home is an extension of loving yourself.”
If you feel safe, happy and free in an undecorated apartment, that’s fine too. “If you don’t mind a blank space, don’t enjoy decorating and can’t afford to hire someone to do it for you, then live in your blank space,” says Scott.
How to start decorating
Identify how you need your space to function. “It won’t matter how nice [a space] is if it’s not functional,” says Tara Pallay, interior designer and YouTuber. Consider your day-to-day needs: storage, seating, workspace, other people, pets.
Be honest about how you live. “If you watch TV regularly, hiding a TV for the sake of aesthetics is stupid,” says Keal.
Think of how you want the space to feel. Once you’ve identified function, imagine the emotion, says Dani Klarić, interior designer and co-founder of Euphoria Collective. “Do you want your bedroom to feel romantic and calming? Do you want your living room to feel playful and energetic? Once you identify an emotion, the design decisions become much easier.”
Start with the big stuff. Items that take up the most visual space – rug, sofa, paint color – play a major role. Scott recommends starting with a rug, because “a rug helps anchor all the pieces and helps determine the color scheme”.
Make it personal. Mood boards are great, but if you hew too closely, “you can end up with a technically beautiful home that looks like a storefront with no soul”, says Keal. Keal suggests seven essential items: something you’ve made, thrifted, stolen (!), gifted, saved for, inherited and earned. Even if you don’t have all seven, items with connection make it personal.
“If someone walks into your home and says: ‘This feels so you,’ then you’ve done it right,” says Klarić.
Let the space evolve. People feel pressure to finish quickly, but “the most beautiful homes are layered over time”, says Klarić. Buying everything at once can make a space feel like a showroom. If you hate a decision, “Change it,” says Keal. “It’s not a big deal. Paint over it, sell it on Facebook Marketplace and buy something else. We’re decorating, not doing brain surgery.”
Avoid these mistakes
Not sizing properly. “People struggle a lot with scale,” says Scott. “Rugs are often too small, curtains too short and couches too oversized.” Keal agrees: “The rug is almost always too small. A 5’x7’ has no place in a living room.”
Focusing too much on trends. “The decorating process should be about cultivating personal style rather than trying to copy what’s popular,” says Pallay. Trends can quickly date a space. “I always encourage people to mix eras, mix colors, and incorporate pieces that carry meaning,” says Klarić.
