Top 5 Home Design & Decorating Tips

Decorating Details

Good morning, guys! I receive a lot of questions about the overall design of my home, how I selected all the finishes and decorated it cohesively. When building a home or even just re-doing a room, it can get overwhelming! Trust me, I get it! There are so many finishes, furniture and decor options. I have 5 tips to help you streamline your process when designing and decorating. These 5 principles work in not only a home, but also when throwing a party and even putting together an outfit. I will give you examples below!

Top 5 Design & Decorating Tips

[1] Select a Theme – this is the most important step to keep your design and decor consistent. I always start by going to Pinterest and creating a board. Once I’ve pinned a good amount, I look at the board as a whole and start to see commonalities. I did this when we started to work with an architect for our Idaho home. It was clear Modern Farmhouse would be our theme. Other options are: coastal, traditional, country, modern, boho, farmhouse, etc. Don’t be scared to mix a few styles like I did. Just make sure the design, decor and furniture always makes sense with your theme!

[2] Color Palette – I don’t prefer a lot of color in a home so the farmhouse style was a good fit for me. I went with neutrals, an accent color of black and mixed in textured items. All of the patterns I selected were also in my color palette: buffalo check, herringbone and stripes.

[3] Layout (design & functionality) – Being efficient with your space is so important but you also want it to look good too – amiright? When thinking about the design of a room and/or furniture layout, start to make selections of items you aesthetically like, are in-line with your theme but don’t forget to measure!! The design of a space needs to also be functional – i.e. 3′ to walk around furniture, correct bed size selection to fit end tables, large enough counter on vanities, shower measured correctly for a bench, island proportional for X amount of bar stools, the same size of case and base throughout the house, etc. Ya get the picture… details are everything!

[4] Mix and match high and low items – Not everything is worth spending moolah on. Trust me!! After going through the building process for a year and a half, I’ve learned SO much. A great example are my black windows. Many of you think they are steel but surprise, surprise, they’re not! We selected a mid-range priced window package, with the exterior being black, and the interior cream. We decided to paint the inside black to make it appear steal when you are in the house. It was easy, cost effective and looks great! Items we decided to spend more money on were: kitchen appliances, faucets, masonry fireplace and wood floors. We felt these items would be used a lot and we wanted them to last a long time. Examples of budg selections in the home are: cement tiles, subway tile, light fixtures and furniture.

[5] Make it Personal – Decor is a great way to show off your personality. You can do this with art, books, family items, pictures, etc. For example, since I love fashion and design, all of my coffee table books used for decor throughout the house are from these categories.

Below I wanted to give you a specific example of one space in my home, the living room. If you keep scrolling you will see images from my modern farmhouse and see that it’s cohesive.

Just for fun I thought I’d share two other examples where I use these 5 tips in my life – planning a party and an outfit. Continue to scroll past pictures to see my breakdown. Enjoy!

As alway leave a comment with any questions.

Home Example – Living Room Space

[1] Modern Farmhouse

[2] Neutrals – tans, creams, plaids, buffalo check

[3] Furniture layout around fireplace – 2 sofas, 2 accent chairs, 2 poufs and 1 oversized coffee table. All furniture selections are modern yet comfortable with a neutral color palette.

[4] Mixed higher priced sofas and coffee table with mid-range poufs, small bench, baskets, pillows, etc. Spent more money on the foundation pieces of the room that will get used daily.

[5] Personal touch with my favorite fashion coffee table books, candles, favorite knit throw and antlers. I’ve had all of these items for 5+ years. They represent my overall style.

Modern Farmhouse Design & Decor Images

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Party Example – Baby Shower (see post here)

[1] Girly Safari

[2] Pinks, grays, neutrals and greens

[3] One long farmhouse table with x-back chairs, photo booth area, bubbly bar and food table.

[4] Mixed nicer furniture rentals of tables, chairs and glassware with budg-friendly decor, food and flowers. We handmade favors, printed signage to put in frames, made the food ourselves and had flower arrangement done by a friend.

[5] Personal touches were the “mama” sign, custom crystal name place cards, bubbly bar/brunch food as it is the mother-to-be’s favorite drink/eats.

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Outfit Example – Wedding Guest

[1] Formal Chic

[2] Red, gold & black

[3] Since it was a black tie event I needed the design of the dress to be full length. The one shoulder ruffle detail was a fun touch. I selected gold platform heels that were comfortable as I knew I’d be walking/dancing a lot. I finished off the look with red earrings and a simple black evening bag with a pop of Gucci gold!

[4] Nice evening gowns are hard to find under $700 and I’m happy to say I found this red option for $500. My shoes were old beauties I’d worn many times and I found $20 red statement earrings. You would have never thought they were such a deal!! Mix and matching is how I roll!

[5] I made this personal by selecting the red color. When dressing up, it’s a go-to color for me! I also wore my grandmothers wedding ring as it’s sentimental to me.

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