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10 Ways to Start Decorating a Room from Scratch

For our Decorating Dilemmas column, we can’t even count the number of times we’ve gotten this question: “I just moved into my new home, and I have no idea where to start!” That’s because decorating a room completely from scratch is intimidating! You have no where to start and yet so many choices to make. We pulled together some easy jumping off point so you can start decorating your room from scratch:

1. Find a Piece of Artwork You Love When we design the rooms for our catalog, we have the same dilemma. We have a completely blank canvas with endless possibilities. More often than not, we’ll use a piece of artwork as a starting point. If you look closely at this piece by our Exclusive Artist Rick Reinert, you’ll see there are some persimmon oranges and lots of different shades of blue. We wanted to emphasize those colors in the painting, so we used them for our upholstery, pillows, and a bright blue rug.

Use a colorful rug as a starting point when you're decorating a room from scratch 2. Start with a Rug Our Catherine Rug is one of our all time favorites because it’s subtle but has some really pretty shades of light blue. We wanted to really draw out those icy blues for this living room, so we chose complementary fabrics and artwork. Our new Cleo Glacier and Minsk Glacier fabrics pair perfectly.

Use a bold fabric as a jumping off point for your room 3. Find a Fabulous Fabric Large scale florals, especially ones with a black background, are really trending for 2017 so we used our new Beatrice Black Fabric as our guide for this space. Just like the fabric, we chose mostly black and white pieces, but if you look closely, you’ll see shades of purple in this fabric. We brought out those touches of lavender in the fabric with our Shiloh Spool Chair and pillows.

Use an inspiration tear as the jumping off point for a room if you're starting from scratch 4. Inspiration Elsewhere An inspiration tear is a great way to give your room some direction. Whether you love it for the color palette, the layout, or just the general vibe, use a room you find as a reference when you’re starting from scratch. We loved the way designer Jonathan Savage used a pair of our Isabella day beds in his small guest room at the 2016 Traditional Home Southern Style Now Showhouse. We wanted to share his fabulous idea in our catalog, so we used his space as inspiration for this bedroom in our Winter 2017 catalog.

Suzanne Kasler decorates this living room with accents of mandarin orange 5. Choose a Color Color can have a huge impact on the way your room feels. Every color has it’s own personality, so if you find a hue that evokes the feeling you’re after, go to town with it in your space. Suzanne Kasler masters this strategy in the space above. Everything in the room is neutral, but she strategically brings in accents in her mandarin orange linen to give the room a coziness and warmth.

If you have a small space, first choose a layout, then use that as your inspiration for the rest of the space 6. Land on a Layout If you’ve got an oddly shaped room or a very small space, first decide on a layout that works in your favor. Needing specific furniture pieces will narrow your options and help you get started in the right direction. In this small living room, for example, we knew we needed two settees that would face each other, and the small footprint meant that a light, bright feel would help the room from feeling cramped. From there, we chose neutral pieces with contrast and texture but minimal color.

Black and white living room with metallic gold 7. Start with a Statement Piece One dramatic piece can inspire an entire room. In this living space, our Kent Dome Pendant was our starting off point, so we echoed the black exterior and gold interior in the rest of our choices. A black and white geometric print on the sofa played off the modern black silhouette of the light, as did the black and white wall art.

Mark D. Sikes' living room at the 2016 Southern Living Idea House in Mt. Laurel outside Birmingham, Alabama 8. Neutral Need Not Be Boring Neutral rooms get a bad rap, but if you don’t have an inspiration point for your empty space, consider doing an allover neutral color palette. Choose one neutral shade, be it gray, white, or beige, and bring in pieces that are neutral but in different textures. Linens, leathers, velvets, rustic wood, metallic pieces, and wallpaper can all work together beautifully in they’re in one shade. Designer Mark D. Sikes did just this in his living room in the 2016 Southern Living Idea House. Hey, if it’s good enough for Southern Living, we can dig it!

Use something you already have to inspire the furniture pieces in your empty space 9. Work With What You’ve Got Consider using a piece from somewhere else in your home as a starting place. Maybe it’s an family heirloom, a children’s piece of art, or a collection of blue and white porcelain. Reinvent something you already love by using it in a new way, and let that one standout piece (or piece) guide all of your choices for the space.

Ariel red fabric on Louis dining chairs in dining room designed by Eddie Ross 10. Collect As You Go For some people, not having a plan is a plan in and of itself! If you can’t come up with a direction, let the inspiration come to you. Hit an antique shop, flip through your favorite catalog ;), or go to a local home store, and inspiration may just strike you when you least expect it. Layer in new pieces as you find them, and simply let your room evolve over time!

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10 Home Office Ideas That Will Make You Want to Work All Day

Whether you work from home or have carved out a space for something you love like crafting, reading, or writing, your home office is a place that should inspire the flow of creativity and allow you to get down to business. But often, that's not the case. In fact, home offices can be the most neglected spaces in our homes—messy and unfriendly environments for inspiration, driving us to work anywhere but in the actual office, like the couch, or kitchen, or bed (guilty!). To help you create and update your own inspiring space, we asked experts—from designers to bloggers and editors—for their advice on the best home office updates and small home office ideas that will make you want to buckle down and get to work.

1. Think Chic Your space should inspire you—and reflect your unique personality. So don't be afraid to go all out.“We wanted to design a space that was fashionable, functional and reflected homeowner Desi Perkins’ personality. The black accent wall added some drama and depth to the space and we added a chandelier above the desk to add a little glitz and glamour. The wood tiled sideboard keeps the space organized, serving as a storage unit for beauty products and countertop for office supplies. The functionality of the space makes it possible for Desi to stay on top of the business side of her career while the chic decor provides the perfect backdrop for her videos and Instagram photos.” — Leura Fine, CEO and Founder of Laurel & Wolf

Get The Look: One way to glam up a home office is by refreshing your lighting. This eye-catching pendant lamp with gold detailing from Target will give your space a luxurious, yet professional feel.

2. Add Green Breathe some life into your space, so you'll want to stay longer. “I try to ensure a balanced home office which is practical, ergonomic, comfortable, and clean—if these elements aren’t in place I know I’ll end up working at the kitchen table! A lovely plant is said to help keep you feeling calm and clean the air—plus it looks pretty too. I like either a Snake Plant or a ZZ plant. Both look lovely, are good for cleaning the air, and are low maintenance!” — Niki Brantmark, Author and Founder of My Scandinavian Home

Get The Look: We adore this elevated cute little clay planter—perfect home for a snake plant—to add some dimension to your work space.

3. Get Artsy Decorate with images that speak to you. Even if you're crunching numbers all day. “Fill your office with vibrant art to energize your space and make you feel motivated. I create my own artwork and have it framed by Simply Framed, or I shop from Chairish and Society6.” — Dabito, Founder & Creative Director at Old Brand New

Get The Look: Dabito is happy to share his genius DIY instructions for his multi-purpose wall shelf/desk. (They're surprisingly easy to follow, phew!) But if you don’t want to spend your Saturday spray-painting and building shelves this wall unit from Ikea is a similarly chic option that can be up and ready fast!

4. Find the Rug Ground your space with a colorful area rug—for visual interest and soothing sound-absorption. “The multi-colored rug brings in other colors that accent the peach and green nicely, too. But you could also do a neutral gray rug with this color combo. Keep the furniture simple and clean to make it more sleek, and then add in some green foliage to give the room some texture!” — Joy Cho, Founder & Creative Director of Oh Joy!

Get The Look: World Market is great for beautiful, affordable textiles, and we're loving this multi-shaded patterned rug, which works with light blue, plum, apricot, or creamy white walls.

5. Practice Hygge Make it welcoming—but not too cozy that all you want to do is nap. "Neutral colors on your walls and floor, paired with natural wood, plants and some kind of textile, like blankets, throw pillows, rugs or a yarn wall hanging, create a simple yet cozy working space.” — Caitlin & Manda, Co-founders of The Merrythought

Get The Look: This soft space-dyed throw from West Elm is just what your home office needs. Create a DIY blanket ladder, and hang a few wool ones near your desk for keeping warm in winter; switch them out with thin, cotton ones in the summer.

6. Hang a Gallery Wall It's your space—crowd it with what you love. “Style a gallery wall against a neutral wall. You can arrange them on the floor first, moving the prints around until you achieve the harmonious look that you want. Use removable wall strips to hold your prints up. This allows for the flexibility of changing the look of the wall.” — Geraldine Tan, Founder & Editor of Little Big Bell

Get The Look: We love Minted for their huge, affordable collection of prints. They also provide a free service so that you can text a picture of your wall to their stylists, and they’ll put together a recommendations of art pairings for you. Matting and frames are a way to make art prints look more expensive and styled, but can be a pricey investment. Don’t rule out Michaels—they do custom framing in store!

7. Mix Old and New Don't be afraid to steal decor from other rooms in the house. A mix of vintage and modern makes a home feel warm and lived in and personal, instead of feeling like a showroom. “We paired a gorgeous antique rug that the client already had (hidden away in a dark spot elsewhere in the house!) and a pair of new red chairs. The art on the walls is limited to black and white images so that the color in the space doesn’t become too overwhelming. It is such a comfortable, beautiful room to work in.” — Melissa Mascara, Designer at Homepolish

Get The Look: Nothing in the attic? Shop antique stores, flea markets, and even Craigslist to find pieces for your office, whether it’s an aged roll top desk or vintage lamp, and pair these with brand new items, like a pair of vibrant chairs for guests to use when you’re hosting a meeting from home.

8. Let Light in Stay connected to the great outdoors. "Natural light makes a space feel bigger—which is always a plus in a small space. For my home office I actually used fogged window film on all the windows so I could always have the blinds up. This allows enough light to feed the plants in the room and keep them, as well as myself, lively! And when you feel alive, you’re always more efficient.” — Hayley Francis, Founder and Blogger at Neon Doves

Get The Look: If you, like Hayley, have an office that also functions as a dressing room/walk-in closet, affix a non-adhesive frosted film to windows, to allow sunlight into your space while maintaining privacy.  

9. Work in Color Choose colors that speak to you—not what's trendy. “I found this Stone Blue color by Farrow & Ball provided the perfect background for a productive day’s work. Having a bit of fun with the filing cabinets in a non-conventional turquoise meant that even the more functional elements of the room looked attractive.” — Emily Murray, Founder & Editor at The Pink House

Get The Look: Whether you’re painting office walls, shelves, and ceiling with one color to make the space feel larger, or using a filing cabinet like this one from CB2 for just a pop of color, working in a color-filled environment can make you more inspired to work from your office—and not the couch.

10. Optimize Your Space Organization is key—use every trick in the book. Nobody works well in a messy home office. “Don’t waste an ounce of space by tucking printers, filing, etc into corners and in drawers. Use all your vertical space, too, by putting cabinets up to the ceiling with varying types of storage and a wall hanging pin board to help organize supplies that might otherwise end up shoved in a drawer!” — Carly Callahan, Designer at Homepolish and Founder of Callahan Interiors.

Get The Look: This is one home office decor idea that's non-negotiable! Kick off your newfound commitment to organization with this rose gold wall grid.