Five Items Missing from Your Home Decor

As a totally amateur designer in my own home, I’m always amazed at the significant change you can create in a space by just adding an item or two. Like paint, personal accessories or throw pillows. They can completely transform an entire room or a little side corner.

I’ll never forget the first time we hung up curtains. What a difference! It’s like putting on a new outfit on your bedroom or dining area. Curtains can take a square flat wall into something spectacular and when you shop around you can get some within your budget or make your own like I’ve done.

I was so in awe when I added the following items to my home. Might any of these be missing from your spaces? Even if you have curtains, have you considered making them full-length? Or changing the paint in a room, or adding more plants?

Here are five items missing from your home decor.

Plants

I am the worst plant mom. I can barely keep them alive, so they ones I do have, I cherish. There are lots of plants that are easy to grow, and best of all, require little maintenance. We have some spider plants, mother-in-law’s tongue, a fiddle leaf fig tree that’s barely hanging on and others.

When many objects in a home are square, flat or boring, plants add texture, interest and life.

But here is a secret about having plants at home – they can be fake too! I have a few arrangements of flowers, orchids, and fake stems that add life, color and interest to shelves, the mantel and my office.

Here are some tips about decorating with plants:

• Use colorful containers if your space is neutral
• Use neutral colored containers to highlight the plants
• Group plants together where the light will help them grow
• Read about how to take care of the specific plant
• Try using ice cubes to water smaller or drought tolerant plants
• Create a terrarium with some stones and fake succulents

Floor Length Curtains

We have nine foot ceilings in our home so I’ve made almost all the curtains just because I needed them to fit to the floor. Hanging floor length curtains adds so much texture and softness to your rooms. The frame the windows nicely, add privacy and are how you can add color and patterns.

Looking for tips on curtains, here are some guides to help:

• How to Hang Curtains in a Bay Window
• Fabric Trimmed Curtains
• DIY Stenciled Curtains
• How to Hang Curtains
• How to Make Curtains Longer

These days you can find long curtains at Target, Ikea or make your own. Hang them at least 8 inches above the top of the window frame if your ceilings allow it, and let them just graze the floor or pool there a little. I mainly use 96 inch+ curtains. If you get some that are too long, you can always fold the tops as you clip them on with ring clips.

Candles

Candles warm up your home like nothing else. One of my daily rituals in the fall and winter is to light the candles once the evening comes, because it creates such a cozy atmosphere.

There are some amazing, natural candles I found from Chesapeake Bay Candle.  They make candles for people exactly like me, who love natural products, yoga, and taking care of your wellness.

These candles are completely my style. They have soft frosted class containers in soothing colors that match all of my navy, white and neutral rooms, like my office. I sit here often to work and need to be able to focus in the short time my kids’ naps overlap these days. I was so excited to find a candle for focus!

They are made from natural soy wax, have a lead-free wick and this one has a blend of black tea, cinnamon and patchouli among other fragrances in it. It’s called Focus + Patience and is definitely a fragrance the men in your life would love.

My favorite of the candles is Joy + Laughter. It’s a sweet reminder of the important things in life, so I have it in the living room where we all hang out. It smells amazing and has cranberry (my favorite), plum, rose, dahlia, cedarwood, orange and lemon notes to it.

The other candles we got were Love + Passion, which is grapefruit and mango and perfect for the bedroom, and Peace + Tranquility that has cashmere jasmine, plus bergamot which Dan loves. It’s nice and floral so I’ll light it when guests come over.

Color on the Walls

Paint is a miracle worker in you home. It can change your mood, the light, how you think, and is one of the most affordable what to completely transform a space. These days you can match your walls to an outfit, a piece of jewelry, and pretty much any other favorite object you want to match.

When we moved into our home I painted several rooms in a boring light tan because I figured it was plain enough to coordinate things with. This included our living room and I never ever felt right in that room. Not comfortable, not cozy, I felt like nothing matched, until I repainted it into a medium gray.

Here’s the room before and after the pain makeover.

The swatch I picked out was pretty dark all by itself, but when I put it on the walls I wanted to paint every room in that color. I’ve since stopped myself from doing that, but it was the perfect choice for the living room. We had light furniture, rug, and shelves, so a darker color provided much-needed contrast.

If you do want color, but are afraid of painting the whole wall, try an accent space. This is our foyer that needed a focal point so I added navy above the fireplace and now it gets attention.

If your walls are white, light, boring in your opinion or need some light, change the paint! Home improvement stores are always having sales on paint so it’s definitely in your budget. See the paint colors in my home here (the living room color isn’t on that one yet, read about that here).

Shiny Accessories

Sparkle and bling can be so fun at home. Think disco balls, gold anything, and reflective surfaces like mirrors, glass and vases. These small disco balls are actually holiday ornaments, but I keep them out all year because they provide light and contrast to the wood we have all around. I was so excited to find them in gold.

Shiny accessories go well on flat surfaces like sideboards, shelves and table tops. When your desk has some paper on it, consider a glossy vase or small piece like you can find at HomeGoods or Target.

I don’t have a ton of accessories myself and if you also like to keep things simple, use your walls. A fun mirror counts and can add light to a darker stairway, hallway and should be in every room in my opinion. Look for them at thrift stores and spray paint the frames.

Vases are easy to come by and you could even make them yourself. You can even collar different objects in them like wine corks, pencils, or greenery from outside.

Will you try adding any of these to your home decor?