North Vancouver Home Decorating: Top 7 Decorating Tips by Design Pros

Creating a well-appointed space takes experience, trial and error, and learning from the best. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a great decorating skillset. Some people have a natural eye for design, but everyone can benefit from expert advice.

Expert Decorating Lessons to Enhance Your Design Skills

You don’t have to go back to school this fall to enhance your design skills. We asked a handful of experts for their best decorating lessons. Their responses cover everything from measuring your room accurately to embracing your space’s unique features. One thing is clear: when it comes to great design, we’ll never stop learning.

More Tips?

Interested in more North Vancouver home decorating tips? Explore our website for articles, guides, and resources to help you create your perfect space. Whether you’re looking for minor updates or a complete makeover, we have the expertise and connections to help you achieve your vision.

Need further help in North Vancouver with home decorating? Contact us, we’re happy to help!

“One of the best lessons I’ve learned in design is to stop striving for perfection. Interior design is more of an art form than a mathematical equation. We’re all constantly creating and measuring based on to-do lists or a specific rubric. It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that everything must be perfect. That thinking might be a bit flawed, because what makes art truly stunning are the strokes that appear to be out of place. In design, second revisions are inevitable. What’s more, those revisions often turn out to be the beautiful stand-out features in a room that I never expected.

“I think another awesome design lesson I learned was about softening the corners. You know how most things and pieces of furniture have 90-degree angles? For example, square/rectangular coffee tables, picture frames, sofas, even pillows. Well, adding round items here and there to accent the space can really soften the entire look of the space and make it feel so much more inviting. Add some round side tables or pillows to accent all the sharper edges in your room and you would be surprised how much dimension it adds!” —Baylee Floyd, Decorist elite designer

“Constantly measure and re-measure. It’s so important to get the proper scale of things so when you go to design you are aware of appropriate proportions and sizes. “ —Jade Joyner, co-founder and principal designer of Metal + Petal

“The most basic, 101 tenant of interior design is SCALE. I’ve seen what could be a delightful room be disappointing because of poorly scaled furniture, fixtures, and lighting. I love the use of an oversized light fixture, but it has to work within the scale of a room, and if you’ll hit your head on it merely by walking into the room, then this is a design fail.”—Gail Davis, interior designer 

“I’ve learned that you never, ever wallpaper just one wall. Don’t do it. It looks like you walked in with short pants. If you’re going to wallpaper, go all the way. You’ll love it.” —Suzanne Ascher, co-founder of Waterleaf Interiors

“Layering is the key to a well-balanced, comfortable, and inviting room. By layering various colors, textures, materials, textiles, and even furniture pieces, you create a depth, warmth, and sophistication in the space. For example, if you have a chair in front of a window, layer the space with a linen curtain, mohair throw, velvet pillow, rattan side table, brass floor lamp, and vintage rug to instantly elevate this little area. By adding a few layers of texture, color, and materials, this space suddenly feels like a well-composed, intentional oasis in an otherwise underused corner.” —Erika Dale, Decorist classic designer and founder of Platte Interiors

“The best lesson I have learned as an interior designer is to allow a room and yourself to evolve over time. So many times, we instantly want a finished room in an amount of time that is only feasible on a 30 minute television show. My suggestion is to find that one piece that you are in love with. This can be a sofa, bed, or just a piece of art. From there let your mind wander and develop the rest of the space around that same feeling evoked when you found that piece. Ask yourself how did it make me feel?