84 Designer-Approved Decorating Secrets That Will Totally Transform Your Space
It’s like having a pro in your corner.
While decorating your home is a great way to flex your creative muscle, finding the pieces that look and feel perfect can be more challenging than most people may want to admit. It’s your home, it should feel like a reflection of you—so, why does the couch you picked out look a bit off? And why didn’t that paint color you loved work out?
It’s moments like these that having a professional in your corner can make a world of difference, and though an interior designer might not be within budget, they’ve shared plenty of stellar decorating secrets with us that can be beneficial to any space.
Keep reading to find budget-friendly, clever tricks of the trade that’ll make designing your home much smoother, no matter the size of your space. The 84 decorating secrets below come straight from the experts, and the corresponding images will help you visualize how these ideas look when utilized.
Additional copy by Kate McGregor and Melanie Yates.
Focus on Your Lifestyle
For this family who loves to entertain, designer Lindsay Rhodes designed an extra-long, custom sofa that’s only 20 inches high at its seat to be able to comfortably fit a dining table in front of it when needed. “We wanted the room to ‘face’ the house and provide seating for as many people as possible, so that both kids and adults can pile into this room,” Rhodes says.
Take Advantage of Ceiling Height
In the bedroom of the same home above, Rhodes took advantage of the super high ceilings and put a four-poster bed in the primary bedroom. It feels right at home, as she puts it.
Choose a Narrow Dining Table
This dining nook was designed to encourage close conversation and for guests to maintain a connection throughout the meal. How was this done? The design team behind Rowland+Broughton custom designed a narrow dining table.
Get Clever With Seating Layouts
This airy living room designed by Sara Noble has enough seating for the entire family, plus some guests. But Noble was clever with her layout and put the two swivel chairs near the open-concept kitchen, allowing them to easily swivel around to face the cook space.
Marry Old and New
“When our clients hired us, they had a lot of inherited furniture from their family they wanted to incorporate,” interior designer Maggie Clarke says. The dining tables and side chairs were her clients’ grandmother’s, which the designer had refinished to minimize the red tones in the woodgrain. “I love incorporating meaningful pieces into designs,” she says. It gives the space soul.”
Connect Through Lighting
Designer Tamara Honey connected the open-concept kitchen to its surrounding areas through lighting. “The lights serve a purpose as both working taskers while adding to the architectural and artistic ambience within the space,” says the designer.
Be Mindful With Storage
“I wanted the kitchen to feel incorporated into that space but without sticking out like a typical kitchen,” designer Adam Ben Wagner says. “I conceived of the cabinetry as full-height bookshelves and storage, reading more like an intimate library space.” A cohesive wood stain across the open-concept floor plan ensures a seamless transition from one space to the next.
Think of Everyone
Don’t dismiss your guest spaces as you’re remodeling your home. Designer Amber Lewis put this beautiful soaker tub in the guest bathroom that pulls in blues from the bedroom, making visitors feel like they’re staying at a boutique hotel. “This girl does not cut a corner for a single human,” Lewis says of her generous interior design client. “Everybody gets the full experience.”
Create Unique Touches
This speakeasy is hidden behind a bookcase door in the living room, creating a little secret spot for the homeowners to play around with. Amber Lewis chose wave-inspired wainscoting and a custom nautical mural by de Gournay to pay homage to the home’s shoreline location. 4000
Play to the Room Size
In this small breakfast nook, Amber Lewis opted for a corner banquette to allow people to easily “scoot around” the table. Otherwise, they’d have to awkwardly push chairs in and out to get around the narrow kitchen.
Look to Your Own Quirks
Designer Breegan Jane put this beautiful Moroccan fountain in a guest bathroom to provide “auditory privacy.” The designer says she was inspired by her own “insecurities” when using other people’s bathrooms, so she put this in to make it more comfortable for guests.
Design for How You Really Live
Breegan Jane doesn't cook, but she loves to entertain; therefore, she turned her kitchen into a party-ready gathering spot. She added specialty features like disco balls and easy-to-clean, low-maintenance surfaces rather than the best appliances.
Know Your Environment
When purchasing a home by the water, it’s essential to prepare for storm seasons. Designer Janie Molster collaborated with her clients, who bought a house on Captiva Island, Florida, to ensure the property could withstand the elements. She incorporated protective features such as storm shutters and high-impact windows, blending durability with thoughtful design to safeguard the home against nature’s challenges.
Lean Into the Room’s Proportions
Designer Janie Molster decided to play into this breakfast room’s extra-tall height. She fell in love with the “dramatic scale” of the draperies, opting for a blue patterned fabric from Etamine.
Remember That Kids Grow Up
When designing this grandkids’ room, Janie Molster put in two extra-long twin beds to accommodate the kids as they grow into adulthood. “Twin bedrooms are always fun to design. The symmetry is so pleasing to the eye,” Molster says.
Expect Messes to Happen
“We wanted to create a house that could bend the rules about eating and drinking,” Janie Molster says, so she used performance fabrics to upholster the sofas in this living space. As long as they’re cleaned right, they should look as good as new years from now.
Find Ways to Add Dimension
When your small space has, like a powder room, doesn’t allow much room for visual dimension, find creative ways to add it in. In this room, designer Kelly Hurliman chose to arch the ceiling to add depth to the space.
Make It Inviting
A home gym is still a gym, and if the space is cold, dingy, and blah, no amount of convenience will get you to use it. However, designer Tanya Ryno has a fix for that: “If it’s more inviting, you’ll use it.” She and her husband, Jim, of Iron House Design, created this beautiful and serene home gym for our 2024 Whole Home, using calming hues, plenty of fresh air, and luxe finishes to do so.
Related Story: 25 Home Gym Ideas That Are Big On Style
Ensure There’s Enough Seating
If your family is an entertaining bunch, then you need to make sure that your home can comfortably accommodate the number of guests you’d like to bring in. A good rule of thumb, and a way to make sure you don’t over-invite, is matching your living room and dining room seating options, according to designer Dane Austin. “Your living room should be able to seat as many people as you have dining room chairs,” he says.
Related Story: Top 12 Dining Room Trends Designers Are Expecting to Take Over in 2025
Look to the Past
While large amounts of natural light are on most people’s home wishlists, sometimes large windows can make you feel a bit exposed. Designer Anne McDonald suggests one particular design trend of the past to counter this vulnerable feeling. She transformed part of the large, open reading room into an English snug: “They’re sweet little rooms that are intimate and cozy.”
Related Story: 40 Reading Nook Ideas That Don't Sacrifice Coziness for Style
Meghan Shouse is House Beautiful's Digital Editor, and she's been with the team since September 2023. On top of being the magazine's go-to Waco expert, Meghan also touches on quite a few other verticals in the digital space, like hot news content featuring your favorite HGTV stars, home design inspiration, and the latest interior TikTok trends. However, her favorite pieces are the ones that start conversations, such as stories about resale value and whether or not the Solo cup is chic. Before becoming a home writer, Meghan worked in the fashion industry for two years, writing for Harper's Bazaar after graduating from Iowa State University with a bachelor's degree in apparel merchandising. When she's not interviewing interior designers about home trends, you can find Meghan reading a fictional thriller with her cat in her lap, planning themed parties, or strolling through flea markets searching for chunky candle holders and vintage bookends.
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