Home Decor

Do you have a room or an entire house to redecorate and you're not sure which color for walls, which theme to adopt, which era to emulate?

Here are a few basic tips to whet your whistle. Some ideas to jump start your creative home - no matter which decorating style you choose.

If you have high ceilings and want your room to look grand and rich, shop for low upholstered furniture. Minimize skirted pieces and buy only items that have short legs.

Overstuffed couches and chairs - any upholstered furniture really - will help keep the sound in your room 'cozier' and without echos.

If the cathedral or vaulted ceilings are in a cabin or weekend retreat, keep the decorating rustic and with a focus on nature (color palletes and materials both) to ensure you have a relaxing experience.

If your high ceiling room seems out of whack or balance upon entering it, use symmetry to achive balance. A pair of chairs that share a side table, art that is the same size on adjacent walls, and so on.

Find some large, signature art and add it to the room. Chunky pieces (such as antique shop keeper's signs) will help 'ground' the room and make it seem less intimidating.

Keeping it neutral doesn't have to mean 'boring'. You can make a room more comfortable but balanced by keeping one tone in your walls and furnishing and adding bright, fun accents in small doses to show off your personality and style.

If you experience echos in your room, but can't afford all new, overstuffed furniture, invest in large throw pillows and scatter them around the room.

If you are in love with a dark color (or already have dark hues on your walls) lighten up the room with large mirrors. You'd be surprised what a difference this makes in the ambiance of any room!

Add a light or natural toned rug to the room to achieve harmony with a white ceiling and dark walls.

Bold colors such as reds are often used as an accent color in an otherwise neutral room. Think of it as punctuation and punch it up a notch with a few bold pieces.

All red tones - from heritage to cheery cherry - are the most intense colors on the color wheel. No other tone or hue has as much intensity as the reds do.

Move bold colors through each room of the house to create symmetry within. One room's could be painted pumpkin or chartreuse for instance, while adjacent rooms can simply have one or two accents of the same color to achieve this type of harmony.