Warning: this blog post contains spoilers — if you’d rather not ask the magician his secret. However, if you’ve been swooning over those professionally decorated spaces on design blogs, and wondering why your home never matches up, this article is just what you need to read to discover the decorating tips and tricks the pros have been keeping for themselves.

What does it take to turn a cookie-cutter apartment into a fabulous space? Can you pull off a stylish look without vast square footage? Do you need professional decorating experience to craft a space worthy of a design magazine centerfold? Gear up for a super-exciting reveal! 

In this post, we’ve brought you exclusive design “secrets” from industry insiders. These decorating tips and tricks come from successful designers and home decor experts, and the good news is that they’re easy to implement. Try them out to flaunt that professionally decorated look your home deserves!

Exclusive Professional Decorating Tips From The Experts

Everyone Starts With DIY

Not All Clutter Is Bad

Many advice pieces on decorating tips and tricks for beginners will tell you to bring clutter down to a minimum. Professional decorating, however, takes a somewhat unique approach. This doesn’t mean that the pros are against staying organized. Rather, organize stuff in clever ways to produce amazing results. Mixing up prints and patterns (say, by pairing classic floral upholstery with modern geometric wallpaper) can bring a rich visual quality to your space. If you own a lot of accents and collectibles, displaying them in groups of three is another reliable way to jazz things up.

Black and White Vertical Fabric Removable Wallpaper

Dark Colors Aren’t Taboo

When choosing wall treatments for a small room, many decorating tips and tricks will tell you to stay away from dark colors. But if you check out professionally decorated apartments and studios, you’ll see that they don’t skimp on contrast. Dark colors that nearly approach black can make a room feel more spacious. These colors tend to ‘recede’ into the background and bring the focus on the light-toned furniture and accents placed in the setting. Try this out with dark wall paints or high-contrast peel and stick wallpaper.

Blue Textured Basic Fabric Removable Wallpaper

Monochrome Needs Some Math

What if the high-contrast palette isn’t your cup of tea and you’d rather go monochrome instead? Professional decorating always seems to generate ‘richer’ monochrome spaces, and the single-color settings you create look drab in comparison. Here’s why: design pros incorporate lighter and darker shades of their chosen color to break the monotony without breaking the color scheme itself. So if your predominant color is a classic shade of blue (say in the form of nautical wallpaper), introduce some upholstery that is 50 percent darker, and accents that are 50 percent lighter.

Tan and Brown Texture Fabric Removable Wallpaper

When In Doubt, They All Go Natural

Most decorating tips and tricks for DIY enthusiasts talk about relying on natural materials and accents to spruce up a space. Well, the pros do this too! Wicker, jute, macrame, straw and natural fabrics produce beautiful, texturally rich results. Add generous doses of wood and lots of houseplants, and your dull home will look impressive in a flash. To speed things up, check out our fabric and wood textured removable wallpaper options. You can also try our botanical designs to add a playful edge to your quiet natural décor.

White Geometric Tile Adhesive Fabric Removable Wallpaper