Examine your Life
When decorating, it is important to design a room for you, not who you want to be. If you enjoy watching movies with your friends on Saturday nights, then you do not need a space that emphasizes entertaining. On the other hand, one of Thom’s guests on “Dress My Nest” liked to have friends over on the weekends to mix drinks, so they designed a living room that emphasized socializing rather than a place for lounging around.

So how do you know if the space is you? “If I can walk through a living room and in about fifteen minutes get a view of the person, then I know they’ve done a good job,” explains Thom.


Thom’s Essential Design Tips Every Savvy Woman Needs to Know

1. If you love a bold design or color, you can still use it. Remember a little bit goes a long way. Anything that’s super powerful can be an accessory.

2. If you keep your room clutter free, then you will able to take in the beauty of the piece. When the piece is overwhelmed by other pieces, it merges into one big piece, it’s almost like, “where does it begin and where does it end?”

3. Try paint on architecture. You can outline windows or doors, create door frames, or turn a small piece of art a much bigger piece of art by creating a box to hang it on.

4. Lighting is a very easy and great way to change your space. Add dimmer switches to your table lamps, bring in candle light or use uplight cans to highlight a plant or tree.

5. Change your room for the season. In the summer, roll up a rug, and then in the winter roll it down or add a few very inexpensive goat skin rugs from Ikea. The rugs give the room a bit of glamour, and warm it up for the winter months.