How to Improve Interior Without Renovation: 10 Tips from a Stylist

How often do you look at the covers of interior magazines and think that you will never be able to make your home as beautiful? That's a mistake! Your interior can look exactly the same, without financial costs. From the book «Style» by American stylist Emily Henderson, we learned about thousands of tips and tricks for interior decoration, and now we are sharing them with you. 

Emily Henderson is a stylist and the host of the TV project «Secrets of the Stylist», who helped people create their dream interiors, and later wrote a book about the secrets of the perfect interior.

1. Define Your Style

The easiest way to determine which style suits your home is to take a look at your wardrobe. If you mostly wear fitted dresses or business suits, perhaps a style that is «buttoned up to the top» would suit your interior as well. A lot of vintage clothing – you will surely find something interesting at a flea market. A collection of leather jackets and ripped jeans – stay away from classic sofas and armchairs, look for more trendy pieces. 

2. Think About Your Relationship With Color

If you love color, don't use it on the walls: subconsciously, you will choose bright items and accessories, so it's better to leave the background neutral. If you prefer muted tones, use color throughout. Paint an accent wall brightly or buy a large solid-color carpet. 

3. Connect Rooms Together

It's better not to think of each room in the house as a separate space, but to find something connecting them. Here, the dining room is located next to a dark blue room, so it was important to add several blue items. Red, pink, and beige contrast beautifully with the blue and look just as appealing. 

4. Mix Styles and Textures

Remember that opposites attract: the more radically different styles are, the better they will blend. Modern furniture can refresh each one. «I prefer mixing two styles: one decorative and one clean minimalist», says Emily Henderson. Don't be afraid to experiment – you can mix as many styles as you like, provided you limit the number of colors. 

5. Respect Proportions

Proportion is the relationship between the sizes of interior elements and the size of the surrounding space. A simple example: if you have a large apartment, buy furniture of corresponding size, and if it's small, wardrobes and tables should also be miniature. Otherwise, the room will look cramped. 

A large room can be ruined by a small rug: when buying online, a 1.5×2.5 meter rug seems impressive, but in a large room it will look terrible. 

6. Find Your Strange Item

There should be a random item in every room that provokes interest, makes people think, and prevents the interior from looking too polished. You likely already have such things, but you never thought of displaying them. 

7. Hide the TV

TVs usually don't enhance a room, but they can easily be hidden by integrating them into your home gallery. Hang paintings in a unified color palette along the wall where the TV is located. If the frames are black, even better – the black screen will blend with them. 

8. Choose a Simple Sofa Shape

If you're planning to buy a new sofa, choose a gray, comfortable, and simple-shaped one.  Cover it with a blanket or throw on colorful cushions, change the side tables and lamps, hang different posters – and you'll have a completely new room.

9. Avoid Bright Prints

In a small space, don't give in to the impulse of using large, bright prints. They distract attention from everything else, and the room will look smaller. A monochrome combination of fabrics with different textures creates a sense of calm, so the bedroom seems larger. The clutter is hidden in white built-in wardrobes, so all attention goes to the bed.

10. Polish the Details

The biggest compliment guests can give you is to say that your home reflects your full self. You expect them to notice your individuality, right? One piece of furniture won't be enough for that. However, themed displays from your favorite little things make a room beautiful and very personal, instantly catching guests' attention.

Discover more secrets and tricks that stylists know from Emily Henderson's book, published by «Mann, Ivanov and Ferber» in 2017. Stylists work with what they have at hand and know how to bring life into a space using details. But they also don't forget about functionality, especially when working with living interiors. You will find many interesting things in this book!

Also read:

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• Secrets of Interior Photography: How Decoration Changes the Space
  
• 13 Tips from Jean-Louis Denis for Young Designers