Interior Design & Decorating Tips

 • A simple decorating idea: If your kitchen cabinets are getting crowded, invest in a hanging rack for under the shelves, and slide your wine and Champagne glasses in for easy storage.

• If you want to try composting garbage for the garden, you probably want a small container which you might keep by the sink. You may think that composting is a sure way to make sure the kitchen smells terrible, but a great deal of progress has been made in composting containers for the kitchen. Look for a composting container made of steel, clay, or plastic which has a carbon filter in the lid. The filter will cut down on the smells, and a closely-fitting lid will help too.

• For a point of interest on a boring wall, try this decorating tip: Instead of hanging a picture in a frame, paint a frame directly on the wall around the picture. It helps if you have some artistic ability, so you can make the frame look realistic. Your guests will do a double-take, and your wall will be anything but boring.

• The distressed look definitely works in a room that's done in a traditional design, but you want to make sure you give the room the look of being casual and lived in without making it look worn out and messy.

• Try out the changing table in the store as best you can, by standing in front of it and checking the height. You don't want to have to bend over the table too much, so that you can save your back for the heavy lifting necessary the rest of the day.

• When preparing a home for sale, one of the first things realtors do is strip the fridge of the collection of photos that gathers there. And with good reason: using the fridge as a bulletin board quickly looks messy and confusing. Instead, try hanging a ribbon board in the kitchen, and be sparing in which photos you choose to display. It's easy to insert each photo behind the ribbons without incurring ugly pin-holes.

• White works so well because it reflects back a great deal of light, so other colors you use with it will really stand out. Try looking at the photo of the white bedroom again. Obviously, the interior design of the room makes it not as not as welcoming as it could be. This time imagine infusing the room with just one color: A terrific painting over the bed in blues and a blue striped duvet cover. Or a spread patterned in bright yellow and white, and the door painted bright yellow. You can see how starting with an all-white room can free the decorator to choose and play with color.

• The garden view can lend either a comfortable, natural feeling to the interior design of your room, or it can create a more formal mood. Lighting torches and planting them among the foliage outside would encourage the relaxed mood, while carefully-placed electric lighting could make it more formal.