After years of trying new textures, colors and designs I finally started to get it right. The rooms started to pull together. They had the lived in look with a touch of class.

What was different? Practice no doubt helped me, but there was something more. The secret to achieving a designer look lay in the depths of layers. Each piece of a room should be chosen separate from the others, yet keeping with the same theme of the room. Your couches, chairs, book cases, rugs, accessories should look as though they were purchased over time rather than ordered directly from a manufacturers show room. Of course it’s good to keep within a color scheme, however, mix it up a bit. Use a variety of textures. Slightly mix styles together enough to break up the monotony.

Am I making sense? Here’s an example. Let’s say you want to redo your living room.

The wrong way to decorate a daisy lovers living room.... Purchase a daisy wall paper border to go at the top of the walls. Go to a furniture showroom and find a matching floral couch and ottoman in similar colors as the wall paper border. Buy a large area rug with matching yellow and white daisies to place in the center of the room. Hang pictures of daisies on the walls. What luck! You found curtains with little daisies on them. This may sound a little extreme, but I see it all the time. I think manufacturers think they’re doing the consumer a favor when they design 20 matching items. After all, it’s easy shopping. Or maybe they’re just doing themselves a favor because they know it’ll be an easy sale. Let’s get away from this matchy matchy stuff okay? Here’s how to do it correctly.

The right way to decorate a daisy lovers living room.... Collect photographs of daisies or take your own. Nature is fun to bring inside the home, but should always be kept in its original element. No fake designs or unrealistic pictures. Take the photograph to the paint store. Gather chips to match all the shades of creams and yellows of the photo. Decide on a warm cream for the wall color. Choose a darker shade of the cream for window coverings. A couch with a canvas-like upholstery and a dark wooden frame will look nice. A dark colored wicker chair with a canvas-like cushion and ottoman will compliment the room. Wrought iron end tables with a colorful mosaic pattern on top add a bit of color. A large sea grass area rug atop a pine floor lend some much needed texture. Enlarged photographs of daisies, mounted in dark wooden frames with simple lines and hung in a rectangular grouping on the wall, creates a lovely focal point. And to top it all off, a fresh or realistic silk floral bouquet of daisies in a large glass vase is placed neatly atop an end table.

Can you see how the second option creates a room with a timeless quality? You are much less likely to tire of the second room. No need to rush out a few months later to capture the latest decorating fad.