Rules for Styling Every Surface in Your Home—From Table Tops to Shelves
In every home, there are small areas that need to be addressed to make the space feel more personal. In particular, table tops, shelving, and other surfaces require styling. Interior design styling is the art of applying those finishing touches that showcase your personality and family history as well as your interests and hobbies.
If you’ve been following the blog for a while now, you know I lean somewhat minimal in my design preferences. However, minimal does not mean lifeless. I embrace the personal touches that make a house a home. After all, it’s these styled items that spark joy in a space. But my guiding principle is to style these areas with intention. Let’s review my interior design styling tips you can apply to every surface in your home.
Interior Design Styling Tips to Remember
Before you start rearranging your entire home, make sure you have a plan. These interior styling tips will help guide you through the process, no matter what area of your home you’re styling.
Go for Meaning Over Trending
The trouble with interior design trends is that those trendy items don’t really hold any meaning to you, which is why you tire of them once the fad is over. There are millions of trendy tchotchkes available in the world, but start styling with things you already have that speak to you. Display items that have meaning are more personal to you and therefore will be more timeless and be a better reflection of who you are. Some ideas include art by your favorite artists (or your kids), photographs of the family or your travels, books on topics you enjoy, and collectibles from special places—you get the idea.
Embrace Negative Space
Filling every corner can make your home feel cluttered. Use fewer impactful items rather than many small ones. Having open space is fine. It allows groupings space to breathe.
Stick to a Color Palette
Pick two or three colors you want to lean into and emphasize those. You don’t want everything to be the same, but sprinkling small touches of your accent colors throughout adds coherency. Color pops could include the spine of a book, some trim on a picture frame, etc.
Keep Picture Frames Consistent
Speaking of picture frames, they can easily feel chaotic and distract from the art and photos they hold. To avoid that dynamic, at our firm we like to either use the same frame a few times in different sizes or select frames with similar finishes or colors.
Layer in Interest With Texture
When styling your items, don’t forget to mix up sizes and textures for added interest. Some ideas for texture include live house plants and woven baskets.
Strive for Balance and Harmony
When styling your interior, aim to achieve a sense of balance. This does not necessarily mean symmetry. Rather than keeping all of my shelves uniform, I try to do a little something different on each. For example, one shelf can hold two items tucked into each side, like books on the left and a potted plant on the right, while the other holds one statement item in the center, like a piece of art or sculpture.
Follow the Rule of Thirds
Particularly when styling shelves, think of them in thirds. Simply imagine that each shelf is divided by two vertical lines to make three distinct sections. If one shelf has items in the outer thirds, I would focus on the middle third for the shelf above or below it. This will help keep things balanced and dynamic.
Vary Your Book Arrangements
On the topic of bookshelves—there are many ways to arrange books. You can stack them horizontally with an object on top, vertically with an object on the side, or use them as bookends. Use different methods on different shelves to keep things interesting.
Don’t Overdo It
Sometimes, if I’m getting tired, I’ll leave a space blank until I feel inspired again. People think that as designers, this all comes easily for us, but in every case, it requires effort, thought, and planning. I have stood for what felt like hours staring at the same candle or pot and shifting it a half inch to the left or right over and over. That’s when I know it’s time for a break.
Styling Your Home is a Journey—Enjoy It
For many of our projects, when clients first move back into a remodeled or newly built house, they don’t have the energy to worry about these spaces, so that is one element of our full-spectrum design service they count on.
But with practice, you can master interior design styling on your own. Just remember to take your time and enjoy the process! You may find yourself moving things around again and again, but that is all part of the journey to styling success.