Interior Decorating Ideas

Perhaps you're a new homeowner and want to decorate each room in your house. Or maybe you simply want to update a look that you've had for a few years, giving it a fresh look. Whatever your reasons for wanting to decorate and design a room, remember to always reflect your personal charisma and flair. For instance, while the aesthetic lines of traditional furnishings make my home comfortable, I include splashes of color in each room to offset the muted earth tones. Interior decorating designs can be either contemporary or unusual, and can fall anywhere in between. How you decorate a room depends entirely on your own taste. Here are a few interior decorating ideas for updating a room or changing the look entirely:

• Paint the ceiling and walls two different colors, or paint opposing walls different colors. Playing with paint can add a dramatic flair.
• If you have a very large room, arrange furniture to make it appear that there are two distinct rooms within one. Use a couch or a line of small bookcases to separate the spaces.
• Add mirrors to small rooms to make them appear larger, and remove knick-knacks from tables and bookcase tops. Small rooms can become overwhelmed and appear cluttered if you load them with too many whatnots. In a small space, place a lovely clock on the wall above a bookcase instead of lining the top of it with candles and plants.
• In a living room, consider using hanging lamps instead of end tables with a lamp on each.
• A great substitute for an expensive headboard is a beautiful set of drapes and a curtain rod. Simply hang the decorative rod and drapes where the headboard would be, and you've created a designer look seen often in catalogues and magazines.
• To update a bathroom design, simply change the shower curtain and then add matching bath towels and washcloths. You can also place a dish of contrasting colored soaps or bath beads into a lovely glass dish, and place them on the vanity.

Visit your local discount store (such as Big Lots, Hobby Lobby, or Dollar General) and purchase inexpensive yard ornaments and then place them all over your home in inconspicuous places. A large ceramic or clay rabbit placed on the floor next to your fireplace and in between a bookcase will add whimsy to your room decor. The next time you visit a bookstore, check the books and magazines available for home decor, and get some ides from looking at the pictures. You may even seek out an interior designer and ask for advice, but be prepared to pay a hefty price for that advice.