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Decorating your home is a chance for you to express yourself and inject your personality into your biggest asset.

It’s an opportunity to put your own spin on things… but it can be a little overwhelming, especially when starting from scratch.

It’s always a good idea to buy what YOU love and go with YOUR gut… but there are a few helpful tips to guide you along the way.

Here are 10 random interior design tips to help you in your decorating journey.

1. Style using visual triangles

The cat’s out the bag! The ‘rule of three’ is the interior design hack that no one told you about.

The ‘rule of three’ simply refers to arranging your decor so that it creates a visual triangle.

You can easily create a visual triangle with height differentiation; for example, styling a corner with one large item, a medium one beside it, then a smaller item placed centrally in front of the two larger items.

This little hack makes the arrangement look balanced and visually pleasing. You might even be doing this instinctually – something about decorating this way just looks right.

2. Frame windows with moulding

Just like a picture frame enhances the artwork or photo it surrounds, a window with beautiful trim enhances the view. outside and improves the look of the window itself.

Adding architectural elements to your home, such as window mouldings, adds character and that finishing touch, taking it from builder basic to designer, darling.

You could stick with the classics and paint your trim white, or whatever colour your walls are.

Or, you could add a pop of colour to your space by painting your window trim in a contrasting colour to your walls.

There are plenty of different decorative profiles available, but even adding the simplest moulding will make your window look a million times better.

🎬 WATCH: Window Glow-Up

3. Hang your curtains high

Even if your windows don’t go up to the ceiling, your curtains still can!

Hanging your curtains high will give the illusion of higher ceilings, adding a sense of grandeur to the space.

Also, it just looks better.

So don’t leave that awkward bit of wall up the top there empty. Install your rod close to the ceiling (or even on the ceiling, if you have a track) and let your curtains hang just above the floor.

Equally, ordering curtains that sit a few inches wider than your window will improve the look too – just make sure you get them wide enough to allow for fullness in your curtains.

🎬 WATCH: Hang your curtains high

4. Always include a natural element

Adding natural elements to your home makes the space feel more inviting and restful, for both you, your family and your guests.

Plus, bringing the outside in is proven to do wonders for your wellbeing – which is why you’ll find plants in most offices, yoga studios and shopping centres.

By surrounding yourself with reminders of what’s outside, you’ll promote feelings of calm and relaxation, as well as help increase your focus and energy.

Plants are the obvious place to start, but you can also incorporate items made of natural materials, like timber or rattan furniture, jute or sheepskin rugs, cotton and linen furnishings or organic pottery.

5. Get your rug size right

Kudos to you for choosing to decorate with rugs, but don’t ruin all your hard work by ordering the wrong size.

When it comes to rugs, bigger is usually better.

In living rooms, your rug should be longer than your sofa. Add a few inches of rug on either end of your sofa and tuck it under the front feet. Tucking your rug under your living room furniture will help zone the space and make it feel more welcoming.

In dining rooms, your chairs should always remain on the rug even when they’re pulled out, so make sure you order a rug that’s large enough to accommodate them.

In bedrooms, your rug should be as wide as your bed and your two bedside tables. Place your rug underneath so that your feet hit the rug when you get out of bed.

Here’s a handy visual guide by Apartment Therapy.

6. Pay attention to the ceiling

For years, the ceiling has been ignored. Forgotten. Overlooked.

But recently, ceilings have been getting the love and attention they deserve.

If you have white walls, you could consider painting your ceiling to blanket the room in colour. Or, you could paint the ceiling the same colour as your walls to colour drench the room and make it feel like a big, warm hug.

Paying attention to the ceiling includes whatever fixtures are on it, too.

If you have yellowing air-con vents, freshen them up with a clean or paint job.

If you have boring, builder-grade light fixtures, replace them with something more sculptural, like a pendant above the dining table, a chandelier at your entrance or a beautiful close-to-ceiling light fixture in your hallway.

Try to think of your ceiling as the fifth wall and do what you can to make it prettier, too.

🎬 WATCH: Painted Ceilings

7. Use a range of shapes

If your space is feeling a little one-note, take a look around. Is everything more or less the same shape?

Lots of rectangular shapes feel very structured and modern, and often, more masculine.

Lots of curvy shapes tends to feel more feminine, adding softness and movement to a space.

It’s a good idea to mix it up so it doesn’t feel too much of one thing.

If you’ve got a boxy sofa, pair it with a round or oval coffee table.

Or, if you have a gallery wall, incorporate a few rounded items like a clock and a mirror to break up the sharp lines.

Mixing your shapes will make your space feel more balanced and thoughtful.

8. Use contrasting and complementary colours

If white on white on white is your vibe… this is probably not the blog for you.

Contrast is a key element in interior design. It’s all about playing with opposing characteristics to add visual interest and create striking moments.

Colour contrast refers to decorating with colours that sit elsewhere on the colour wheel. Complementary colours are directly opposite each other on the colour wheel, and as the name suggests, they tend to complement each other because of their contrast.

Black and white is the highest contrast there is and always results in a visually striking statement that works well with other colours.

But definitely play with other complementary colour pairings, like hot pink and forest green, terracotta and navy, or mustard and aubergine.

If you have a favourite colour that you’d love to decorate with, take a look at a colour wheel and see what sits opposite. That’s a great option to pair your favourite with.

9. Create a conversation circle

Furniture placement can make or break a room.

Think about how you want to use your room, If you want it to be a social space, arrange your living room or sitting room furniture so it promotes interaction.

You could do this by placing a three seater sofa opposite two armchairs, or a corner modular sofa adjacent to an armchair.

By placing your furniture in a circular formation, you’re creating an intimate, firepit style setting that encourages eye contact, connection and conversation.

This kind of placement often helps to highlight another focal point in the room, such as a statement coffee table and a suspended pendant, or even a fireplace.

10. Disguise your TV

It can be really hard to avoid making your TV the focal point because naturally, you want it in a central location you can comfortably watch it from.

By creating a conversation circle in the living room and not pointing all the furniture towards the TV, you’ve taken a bit of the focus away from it. The people sitting in the armchairs might not get the best view of the TV, but is TV watching your ultimate goal for the room?

If you simply cannot avoid having all your furniture face your TV, there are tricks to make it less of a focal point.

You could add wall panelling or wallpaper behind the TV to shift focus away from the electronics itself.

Or, you could hide it behind a built-in and open the doors when you want to watch.

Or, like many others, you could opt for a Samsung Frame TV that looks like art when not in use. And if you’re not willing to fork out for ‘the frame’, YouTube has plenty of artsy screensavers, too (that’s what we do!)

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