Interior Design & Home Decor & Lighting inspirations

The retro table lamp/floor lamp combo works in this space that is eclectic with a mid-Century Modern twist. Look for retro and vintage floor lamp at thrift stores and tag sales

Spidey-Sense This one-of-a-kind contemporary lighting fixture resembles an eerie spider with long-reaching “arms” and “legs” outfitted with spotlights.

The minimal, contemporary dining room allows the impressive Manhattan skyline to take center stage.

In the six-year-old boy’s room, a custom window seat with drawer provides even more storage for toys.

Dual Purpose Light Fixtures That being said, you should keep in mind that you don’t have to have light fixtures for every different issue in your living room. You can use one light fixture for a number of needs. For example, track lights can be used to create both ambient light and accent lighting.

The pure whiteness of this sophisticated bedroom is balanced out with architectural salvage wall hangings and pops of citrus.

  January Jones Versace Spring 2011 Campaign (via) Bag It

This floor mirror helps expand the sense of space in this small dining area and enhances the lovely hanging light fixture over the table. Choosing a mirror color that is similar to wall and/or curtains helps the frame blend with the other elements in the room. If you want a bigger impact, paint the mirror a color that contrasts with other colors in your room.

Depending on the size and location of your wall art, you may be able to use wall sconces to highlight the piece. Upward pointing or downward pointing wall sconces can both work well for highlight wall art.

This dining room has the same shell inspired style as the accessories above. The classic French style is so Chanel. The gorgeous chandelier†is an inspired design.

Finally, consider color when looking at glass or crystal light fixtures for your home. You may have thought that all glass or crystal is clear, but this is not true. Colored glasses and crystals are available, though are typically less common.

It’s often advised against picking the color palette first. However, you can pick a sample color palette to help you find the right accessories for the space. In short, this just means carrying around a few paint chips with you as you look at home accessories and decor for the master bedroom. Don’t throw any paint on the wall or make any concrete decisions about color until you’ve purchased everything necessary for the space.

Patterns In some subdivisions of the cottage home decor style, you may find a lot of mixing and matching with patterns. This is especially true in the bedroom, or living room, as it’s not unusual to mix different patterns on the pillows and upholstery, or on the bedding and pillows. When attempting to mix and match different patterns in the space, pick a single color and then choose two or three different patterns that use that same color. This allows you to maintain a cohesive look that even a professional interior designer may be envious of. Remember, cottage decor and shabby chic decor are two different things. Cottage is comfortable, cozy and somewhat traditional. Shabby chic is all about vintage, worn and well loved pieces. Though it’s easy to blur the lines between the two, it’s important to know the difference between these two styles of home decor.

When attempting to mix and match different patterns in the space, pick a single color and then choose two or three different patterns that use that same color. This allows you to maintain a cohesive look that even a professional interior designer may be envious of. Remember, cottage decor and shabby chic decor are two different things. Cottage is comfortable, cozy and somewhat traditional. Shabby chic is all about vintage, worn and well loved pieces. Though it’s easy to blur the lines between the two, it’s important to know the difference between these two styles of home decor.

The deep rose in the antique rug is a sophisticated pink for the floor. Love the Turkish rug amid the beautiful mix of global patterns and table lamps.

Love this chic, feminine window shade that gathers in the middle. It is a softer option than a Roman shade yet more structured than curtains.

A room with raw power is shown here - aged stone walls and tarnished silverware as table decor look decidedly modernized with the ornate light fixture overhead.

Though typically interior designers recommend against investing in trends, mirrors are one trend that you can safely invest in without fear of it going out of style. However, as with any trend, there are certain guidelines you should adhere to. For example, avoid trendy finishes on the mirror, such as etching or embedded trim, as these can date the mirror and look them out of style. Remember, however, that your frames can easily be swapped out as your style of home decor changes and you can find frames in traditional, contemporary or modern styles.

Brilliant orange chairs pop against the aqua of the beautiful wallpaper in this SF dining room. Love the clarity of the orange; it has a lot of white in it.

Love the pops of brilliant color based off of the beautiful modern portrait in this Hollywood Regency style living room. Jewel tone fuchsia and yellow look amazing next to gold accents. Love the asymmetrical look of the chandelier used in this space.

Rich blue hues mixed with organic accents like rope-sewn ottomans and a stately raw wood coffee table creates a distinct beach house feel in this living room design.

Even deep purple can be sophisticated. Imagine how gorgeous this dining room would be at night lit by the chandelier. The dark purple is such a rich color.

Updating home accessories and decor is the simplest way to update the overall look of any room in your home. Home accessories, being relatively inexpensive, are an easy way to incorporate changing interior design and home decor trends into your space. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to invest in trends in pieces that can easily be swapped out as they change, rather than investing in large, trendy items. Here are some of this fall’s trendiest home decor items and ideas.

Eclectic Looks This year, eclectic items that are mixed and matched in a single space are extremely trendy. For example, a living room in which this style is used could include a fireplace mantel that features a Buddha head, apothecary jars, tea light candles, a hanging oval mirror and an assortment of African style carved statues. The eclecticism makes the space visually interesting. The great thing about this particular home decor trend is that it can be incorporated into a number of styles. There are dozens of different takes and you simply can’t choose the wrong item when it comes to eclectic looks.