How to Style Your Home With Accessories Like a Pro Designer

How to Style Your Home With Accessories Like a Pro Designer

It’s amazing how little details can bring a room together. Pro interior designers know that home decor accessories like throw pillows, decorative books, photos, and more can instantly upgrade the design of any space. Look to your favorite interior magazines, Pinterest boards, and Instagram pages to get an idea of what you like and what might work for your home. Then, it’s time to get styling!

We’ve rounded up some of our favorite tips from expert designers to bring a curated style to your living space. These simple tips for choosing home decor accessories, combining them, and styling them in your home will help you finish your room like a pro interior stylist.

Follow the Rule of Three

One of the easiest ways to effortlessly style a room with home accessories is to follow the rule of three. This simple design principle goes against adding balance and symmetry for a more interesting visual experience. When styling shelves, creating vignettes or adding the finishing touches to your couch, bench, or chair, consider arranging like-items in groupings of odd numbers to draw the eye. Combine items with similar scale and proportions in contrasting colors, materials, or textures to create an intriguing space that looks professionally styled.

Combine Textures

Add intrigue and contrast to your space by styling with different textures in your home. Pair softer details with sleek, metal lighting fixtures for a modern decor option, or pair natural, linen fibers with a colorful rug for a more bohemian style. A great way to do this is to choose home accessory items in direct contrast with the space you’re decorating. Add softer touches to a leather couch or add a bold metal tray to your granite kitchen island. To avoid going overboard, define your color palette and try to keep your home accessories within it to make sure your space still looks cohesive.

Style Around a Statement Piece

You may have found the perfect antique dresser, velvet couch, or statement hearth to anchor your space. Emphasize these larger pieces by styling them with smaller accessories to draw the eye and create a focal point in your room’s design. When styling, always make sure to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. The last thing you want to do is overwhelm your space with too many bright, bold items! Find smaller or less ornate home accessories and use them to subtly tie together texture, pattern, and color without overwhelming your room’s biggest eye-catcher.

Add in Personalized Details

A house is not a home without personalized details—after all, while you want your home to look elegant and aesthetically focused, you don’t want it to look like no one lives there. Add in special home accessories, such as custom photo decor or family pieces, to make your house a home. At the end of the day, styling your home is all about reflecting your personal style. You can absolutely add grandma’s quilt to your space if you like! Don’t be afraid to play and to see what works and what doesn’t in your space.

Don’t Forget the Little Things

Little details can make a big difference when styling your space. Pay attention to smaller details, like your door knobs, decorative books and other accents, to tie everything together. Get creative and visit your local thrift store, vintage market, or antique gallery to find your finishing touches. Pairing vintage items with modern pieces can add a level of contrast that you won’t find on the shelf of your favorite home goods store.

However you choose to style your space, remember to make it your own. While it can be easy to directly replicate what you see online or in your favorite magazines, you want your home decor to be a direct reflection of your unique style. Don’t be afraid to mix things up or play with the design principles we’ve listed. Sometimes even the smallest tweaks can make a big difference!