The Best Kept Interior Design Secrets

So you thought everything came naturally to interior designers? Well, although there is a lot of talent involved, the best interior design is often made up of several tricks that heighten the style of the room or give off certain illusions that change your perception.

While every designer can incorporate their own talents and personal style into their home decor choices, we’re willing to bet just about every designer has some interior design secrets up their sleeve. Our Décor Aid designers revealed some of their go-to tricks that they rarely share.

Map out your gallery wall

Although gallery walls give the impression of an artistic, carefree style, where the homeowner somehow slapped together a number of pieces that somehow worked together, that’s simply not the case.

Gallery walls are actually one of the most specific elements of interior decoration, and the best interior design will involve creating a map of the end result.

As one of the most popular interior design trends, many attempt this without preparing, but our designers highly recommend gathering all your frames, photos, and other pieces, and hanging them all at the same time.

You’ll want to map out the arrangement in an open area, then take a photo for reference using measurements that you can use when hanging. And voila, you’ll have the perfect gallery wall.

Bold wallpaper in bathroom

While wallpaper is often ignored in favour of the more easily applied paint, wallpaper can make a big splash in small areas— particularly the bathroom. Because you’re working with such small space, everything you incorporate counts that much more.

And while there’s no fooling anyone on the exact square dimensions of your bathroom’s interior design, you might as well have some fun with the home decor you choose.

Make your bathroom stand out with the best interior design by using wallpaper for a high contrast look. It will make the space far more interesting, have a high impact, and best of all—it’s easily removable!

Our interior designers highly suggest bold geometric patterns.

Use large decor to make a small space look bigger

Many are unhappy with the size of their living room, as it can appear cramped and messy if there is too much home decor included. To give the illusion of more space, you’ll want to work upwards with your decor instead of horizontally.

This will essentially fake the height of the room, and the taller the better. Look for horizontal pieces—pieces of art, tall mirrors, or what have you to create the best interior design for this smaller space.

This gives you the opportunity to show off other interior design trends, too: if you’ve invested in a big statement piece that you have nowhere to place, you can now use it as a tool in your smaller room.

And here’s another hint: use low-height furniture to further this interior design illusion and increase the space between the furniture and art.

Stop shying away from black

We’re often told to stay away from black, but take a look and you’ll see a lot of the best interior design uses black as an accent colour with elegance, style, and sophistication.

Black never goes out of style (as our experts on interior design NYC will tell you), and almost all interior decoration comes in shades of black, as it matches everything.

You can use black in frames around the room, in light fixtures, throughout the hardware in the room, and through other small accents.

You’ll notice that it ties the room together through the cohesive home decor, and makes a strong impression.

Take this a step further and paint a black accent wall! We promise you won’t regret it.

Use benches in place of chairs

While many will be surprised by this interior design trick, our designers swear by it.  One way to make a dining room seem more comfortable and spacious is to swap out a few chairs for benches.

For one, you’re able to really dig into great interior design with these pieces because they’re bigger, giving you more room for the best interior design possible through their style.

Secondly, think about how you sit on a bench: you’re likely more reclined, and a lot more comfortable than being in a flat and rigid chair. This instantly gives the people at your table a more comfortable, laid-back feeling.

Third, you’d think these benches would take up precious space around a table, but it actually assists in creating more room, because the space of the chairs has been combined together.

The overall feeling of the interior decoration is more cosy and friendly, and your guests will surely notice.

Designer tip: use velvet benches for an ultra-luxe feel like no other! Our designers often turn to velvet when they want to add a dash of glam to a space, and it’s also far more comfortable than more rigid fabrics.

Super excited to apply these best-kept interior design secrets when we start decorating our new bedroom en-suite. 

Which one is your favourite?  We invite you to join in the conversation below.