Ten Quick Tips for the Decorating Challenged

by Logan Wolfram

1. Paint Color Matters

When in doubt, put a neutral color on the walls and use color in the accessories. My personal favorites from the past few years (spanning 2012–2015) are Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter, Bleeker Beige, and Edgecomb Gray. When in doubt, those choices are a great place to start if they are still available.

The thing is, if you buy cheaper accessories (throw pillows, decorative boxes, baskets, etc.) you won’t feel bad about changing them when you get tired of them in a few years. Plus, it’s easier to switch them around periodically (although paint color is the easiest way to refresh a room!).

2. Rob Peter to Pay Paul

My mom always said it that way, but what it really means is go through your own house and shop it. Walk around and look for different things that you like in your own house. Go into a bunch of rooms and look for interesting things like boxes, accessories, jars, plants, vintage-looking toys, containers . . . anything. Put everything on a table and spread it out—this will help you see your things with new eyes. Regroup things. Take things that weren’t together and make new vignettes. You’re on your way to creating your own Anthropologie-looking display—trust me on this one!

3. Decorate with Books

Find some hardback books and remove the dust jackets so you can see the actual book, which sometimes is very pretty. You can turn books sideways and stack things on top of them, like a candle or a jar, for height. If you turn the book vertically it can become a frame for other things. My most favorite books that have gorgeous covers and are typically pretty cheap are Reader’s Digest anthologies from the 1940s to 1980s. So pretty and easy to snag at thrift stores and on eBay!

4. Group Things in Odd Numbers

This is just a simple rule of thumb that makes your décor more appealing. Put things in groups of one, three, five, etc.

5. Buy What You Like Whether You Have a Place for It or Not

Buy it because you love it or because it’s meaningful, especially art. Be willing to wait. Don’t fill a room just because you feel like you have to. If there is a spot and you’re waiting for the right table, put something there in the meantime, but be willing to wait. When you’re traveling, think in terms of collecting art. The goal over time is for your home to reflect who you are and your life experiences, so it should be filled with people and places and events that are meaningful to you.

If you love it . . . get it. When you buy things you love, you’ll find a place for them.

6. Use Things in Unexpected Ways

Using things in unexpected ways adds interest. I have an old drafting table I turned completely horizontal and I use it as an end table. You could use an old wooden toolbox as a centerpiece and put greenery in it. An old wagon wheel can be a pot rack. Remember a few years ago Restoration Hardware repurposed an old wheeled industrial cart as a coffee table? Yep, now they’re showing up everywhere. And old pallets. Sarah Mae’s husband, Jesse, is making gorgeous furniture from pallets—wooden platforms that likely held stacks of mulch for a couple of years at Home Depot. Be creative. Be willing to mix old and new. Juxtapose textures and time periods, but make sure that things feel complementary.

7. Don’t Be Afraid to Get It Wrong

You don’t get it right until you get it wrong a few times. You can always tweak and change things around. And when you’re tired of something, move it to a different room in a different spot. It’ll feel fresh just by giving it a new purpose.

8. Don’t Buy Sets of Things

Buy individual pieces of furniture that you like. I’m not a huge fan of buying bedroom sets. Something sold in a set locks you in and there isn’t much freedom to move items around. When you buy things that are all different, you can use them for multiple functions. If you get sick of a piece in one spot, move it somewhere else. If you have a bedroom set, you can’t just remove an end table or you will have an odd piece. When you buy pieces you love, everything has an eclectic sort of feel, in addition to making it versatile.

9. Avoid Themed Spaces That Go Overboard

Let’s say you love Winnie the Pooh. Maybe you can find a Pooh picture book at a resale shop, cut out some of the illustrations and frame them, use the color schemes from the book, or add a Pooh-ism quote on the wall, but don’t buy Pooh bedding, window treatments, and wallpaper borders too. Be subtle. Think of creating threads of design more than themes.

10. Your Home Should Reflect Who You Are

So what if Pottery Barn says you should be into cream cable-knit throws and a gray sofa this fall? Maybe you’re a colored-polka-dot-sofa kind of person. I mean, I know I am. So be the person you are! Your home should reflect YOU. Be you . . . because the worst thing ever is if you try to be someone else in your decorating and then end up feeling like a stranger in your own home. Blah! And no!

One final thing. Have fun with it. It’s your space, so own it!