How to Decorate a Room Using Pinterest

You can decorate your home. Long gone are the days of needing a designer. With Pinterest at our fingertips, we can learn how to decorate a room using Pinterest.

For years, I would decorate by shopping for decor items at Home Goods or even Yard sales. I’d then bring them home and find a place for them. Soon, I had spent 100’s and wasn’t any closer to the end goal. How do I get there, and where did I get lost along the way?

Maybe you can relate to this yourself. It’s much easier and, should I say, satisfying to go buy another vase or accessory for the room, in hopes of adding value. This isn’t the correct way to decorate and is the very problem that keeps us from the rooms we’ve always wanted.

When we bought our new home, it was the fresh start I needed. Obviously, what I was doing wasn’t working, so I went on the hunt to learn design so I could have the home of my dreams. Well, by following a 5 step raising home blog home reset, I did just that.

Today I am going to share specifically about step 4: Decorate, but make sure, before you begin decorating, that you read this post on the 5 Step RHB Room Reset

Decorate Your Room in the Right Order

The secret to having a room that looks professionally decorated is decorating in the right order. There are rules to learn along the way that will help you break bad habits and notice things you may have overlooked.

Here’s the order I use to decorate a room on a budget:

1. Dream
2. Furniture
3. Lighting
4. Windows
5. Rugs & Fabrics
6. Walls & Wall Art
7. Accessories
8. Finishes

Before we dive in, here are some of my favorite decorating hacks:

• Shop your house first – more is less.
• Use Pinterest for guidance
• If you get the furniture arrangement right, your room will be right.
• Use the same colors throughout the space & home for a cohesive look.
  Here I have a list of my favorite decor books that guide and inspire me along the way.

Step Number One: Vision

Before you do anything, you’ll want to discover and process where YOU want to go. Not where you must go to try to make everything work in the room, but what you want to create with a blank canvas.

Create your vision and decide on your style(s) before choosing furniture, fabrics, or rugs. Set a 30-minute timer and sit down with your Pinterest account. Create a board for the room you’re decorating, such as “Dream Kitchen” or “Dream Living Room,” and start pinning.

Search decor styles and, if you need help identifying your style, take a screenshot of your ideal room and upload it to Google Images or ChatGPT. Ask what style the room is, then use that phrase to search on Pinterest.

Homework

Grab a journal and reflect on your space. What is going right, and what do you want to change? Answer these questions below and jot down any notes or revelations you have.

1. What do you love about each space? However, don’t let this label or define you. Use it as a tool to guide you along the way.
2. What is similar to your home, and what is different?
   This helps you use Pinterest as inspiration, not as a blueprint. After identifying your design style and color palette, you’re ready to begin decorating. You don’t need to buy everything new—you can start by shopping your house and moving furniture around to a place that better serves your home.
3. Create a vision board using inspiring places, textures, objects, and colors. Be creative as you’ll be surprised by what you pull from when designing your room.

Step Number Two: Furniture

Furniture arrangement is the most important and impactful way to change your room. Not only the furniture you are using, but also the way you have it arranged. A beautiful home MUST function well. If you spend money in one area, splurge on your furniture if you can.

Here are the 3 things to consider when arranging furniture:

1. Focal Point: Find the focal point. These are the first one or two walls you see when entering the space. In a room like the living room, this is your TV. Everything will be arranged on this wall. In a dining room, it’s simply your table.
2. Balance: Creating balance in design does so much for the space and your eye. If one side of the room is heavy in furniture, adding wall art or a piece of furniture to the opposite side, will create balance and give your room a cozy finished look.
3. Traffic Flow: How you move throughout your space is very important, so make sure to allow paths to go from one room to the next.

Sketch it out

I like to sketch out my room on graph paper and add furniture pieces like paper dolls to get the right feel and balance without actually moving my furniture. I count each square as a foot, and even though this takes a bit of time, it saves me time and money at the end of the day. Sometimes I even find arrangements I wouldn’t have found otherwise.

Homework:

1. Review your Pinterest Board and consider who uses the room and what they do there.
2. Create your graph of the space and arrange your seating.
3. Next, add in any surfaces or other furniture.

Step Number Three: Lighting

Lighting brings the experience and warmth to your room. It is important to choose wisely because lighting makes a big impact in your home. When creating a room that is dynamic and cozy, you’ll want to layer in lighting.

The 3 main types of lighting:

• General lighting: Ceiling fixtures, recessed lighting. Upgrading this can be tough on the budget, but it makes a BIG impact. You’ll want to ensure all of your lighting is cohesive. You can mix finishes, but overall, they need to go together. This should not be the only light source in the space, and when choosing, scale is VERY important.
• Task lighting: Table lamps, desk lamps, under-cabinet lighting, etc. Any lighting that you need to function well. You will want to choose a lamp of the right scale (it’s okay if it’s small, just choose small or big on purpose) A beautiful home has to function well.
• Accent lighting: Picture lighting, wall sconces. This type of lighting can be functional, but it is also considered decorative.

I want to challenge you to focus on your general lighting first in this phase. However, if you are unsure of your style, don’t buy until you have a clear idea and direction.

Homework

1. Review your Pinterest Board and when ready, purchase a light fixture.
2. Consider what tasks take place in the room and layer in lighting.

Step Number Four: Windows

How you use window treatments in your space will determine the mood of the room. Some windows require privacy, while others need natural light to pass through. Allowing natural light in your home will bring the space to life. However, providing functions like privacy and darkness is important to consider.

The Windows treatments are important, but HOW YOU HANG THEM is the biggest takeaway. One of the best things you can do for your room is choose the right treatments and then hang them correctly. Doing this will create a designer look instantly.

How to hang window treatments:

• Hang them High: Hang your window treatments 3-6 inches from the ceiling. Say goodbye to 84″ curtains. You are not saving money here anymore! No excuses, no exceptions.
• Hang them Wide: If you want a designer look, you need the biggest bang for your buck! If you are able, your curtains should go 8-12 inches beyond the window. This makes your window seem larger and your home more custom.

This is one of the toughest changes I made to my home. It’s tough because old habits die hard and spending more money on curtains was difficult at first but trust me in this and follow the process.

If you use blinds or roman shades(prefer), create a cohesive look throughout your home by using the same color(neutral) throughout your home.

Homework

1. Review your Pinterest board and note what colors and fabrics you see over and over.
2. If using roman shades, hang those first so you’re sure your curtain fabric won’t clash.
3. Decide on window treatments. Consider the height measured from the top of the rod to the floor. Order your window treatments and check that they don’t clash with furniture and are the tone you want before hanging
4. Hang your curtains using a curtain rod that allows for 8-12 inches on both sides, or 1/2-1/3 the length of the window. HIGH and WIDE or what am I even doing here.

Not a must, but if you can layer in lighting, this is a great way to get a designer look. Just remember that your roman shades need to be cohesive throughout your home.

Step Number Five: Rugs & Fabrics

Your rugs and fabrics are the personality of the room. With patterns and color, we can create balance, interest, and character. These are in the same step because you really need to choose them together. Sometimes I know the rug I want for a space and use the color palette to steer my pillow selections.

The floor is a large area, which makes a large impact. Choose your rug first and carefully. The most common decorating mistake people make is choosing a rug that is too small. I know we are all looking for ways to save on the budget or find the perfect rug that we can make work, but this is NEVER worth the sacrifice.

Your rug will make or break the room.

Make sure your rug is as big as it can be and matches the style of your space.

Rug Sizing:

• Ideally, all rugs would go under all four feet of furniture. You can get away with 2 feet under, but your room will feel smaller, and you won’t have the grand designer look I know you want.
• Allow 8-24 inches between the rug and the edge of the room.
• In a bedroom, your rug should go 2/3 of your bed with a few feet exposed at the end.
• In a dining room, your rug should go under all chair legs and up to 3 feet past to allow chairs to be pushed in and out.

Fabrics & Pattern

Once you have decided on a rug, you’ll want to choose your bedding, pillows, or other fabrics in the room. To keep this simple, I will share universal tips for any room.

Color and pattern are very important when working with fabric. They bring in character and texture. You can choose a fabric or inspiring wall art to draw your colors and inspiration from. In my daughter’s room, she consistently mentioned the Grand canyon so we brought those colors in through pattern, texture, and color in the fabrics.

When mixing patterns, you’ll want the scale of the patterns to be small, medium, and large. This is how you successfully mix theme wihtout conflict.

Pillows

When choosing pillows, Bigger is always better. No more 18-inch pillows for you. I like to only purchase pillow covers so I can wash them and change them out as needed. Additionaly, I can use my own pillow insert, which I sized up, to bring a fancier and more designer feel.

These are the pillows I use. If you want to use a 22-inch cover, get the 24-inch pillow. Don’t buy pillows just to buy them, but shoot for symmetry. You can use up to 4 or 5 on a sofa.

Homework

1. Look at your Pinterest board and notice what rug choices you see. What colors and mood are you wanting to bring into the space? Don’t be afraid to stick to neutral colors and textures. This brings a softness to any room.
2. Using your graph paper, draw out the rug considering the rules we just discussed. Now, count your boxes, and this is the size rug you need. If that’s not a size, go up if you can. Bigger is usually better.
3. Shop for a rug and if shopping online, consider ordering a smaller version of it to try in your space. This will allow you to see the colors and textures without committing to a full rug and the hassle of returning.
4. Once you’ve chosen your rug, pick out your fabrics and patterns using inspiration as a guide to create a cohesive look.

Step Number Six: Walls & Wall Art

Another larger area in your room is your walls. The color of your wall is the easiest way to upgrade and elevate your room. By this step, I usualy have an idea if I want a pink room or off white walls, I just don’t have it narrowed down to a color.

Don’t overthink this step. It’s okay to choose one neutral like Greek Villa and use it throughout your entire house for now. Designers usually don’t paint each room its own color, do make life easy and decide on your main color. After you live in the space, you can go bold.

We aren’t talking about wall treatments just yet, but if you know what you want, go for it! This is a great way to add character and design to a room.

Wall Paint

The single best thing you can do for your space (besides lighting) is to paint your walls. It’s okay for this to be one color throughout your home, so you don’t end up with a crayon box.

You will want to make sure your paint color doesn’t conflict with your window treatments, rugs etc, but there are way more paint colors than window treatment and rug options, so this is why you choose in this order.

I do not think paint samples are effective for deciding on a wall color. They are great to ensure your paint goes with your fabric choices this far, but that’s about it. Here is why: The undertone of what the wall is, can matter. If you look at a white next to a yellow, the white will appear different based on the color, so simply swiping your wall, still won’t give you a true sense of the color.

The direction your room faces has a little impact, and designers bring this up, but not enough to make or break a room. Overall, the more direct the light in a room, the warmer your color might look. The less direct light could make the color appear cooler. It could change your thinking for an accent wall, but it shouldn’t change the color you use throughout.

My go-to Paint colors:

• Sherwin Williams Alabaster
• Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee
• Sherwin Williams Greek Villa (Fav right now)
• Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter for trim or accent
• Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray

Stark white and grey are out right now! Maroon and brown are IN. Obviously, I don’t want you to choose colors based off trends, but if you are going to paint, be aware of them.

I didn’t like blues, greys, or greens, but these are great to add in IF they mix well with the color palette of your home.

Wall Art

Another way we can use our walls is to properly design the room with wall art. This is an area we can get a little off base by adding random wall art to force a room to be decorated. No more, lady! If you haven’t already, remove the wall art from the room so you have a fresh eye.

The first wall I address with either a window treatment or wall art is the focal wall and the wall opposite it. Remember, treating balance is important in a room, and wall art is a great way to do that.

The first step in choosing wall art is name the shape of the wall. Is the wall vertical, horizontal, or square?

• Vertical: This will need a vertical piece. That can be one or two horizontal pieces on top of each other, hung vertically. If you do this, remember to hang 1-2 inches apart.
• Horizontal: A horizontal piece of wall art, vertical frames hung side by side (2-3), and even a square and horizontal piece with sconces or candles on either side. Not my go-to.
• Square: This is a great place for a square, two horizontal stacked vertically, or a round piece.

Scale is everything with wall art. Hanging a bunch of little frames all over will not get the designer look you want. There should be empty walls that provide breathing room. When hanging above furniture, choose artwork that is 2/3 the length. Bigger is always better:)

Homework

1. Research your paint color and paint your walls. I typically buy eggshell finish for almost every room. Don’t let them talk you into something too shiny. The paint mixers are not designers.
2. Choose wall art for your focal wall based on the shape of the wall. Be sure that you even want artwork here.
3. Choose wall art for the wall opposite of the focal wall to create balance. This is where I like to create a moment or statement.
4. Decide on a wall or space that you will leave empty and then consider anywhere else you may want to add hooks, bulletin boards, etc.

Step number 7: Accessories

Be very careful and MINIMAL on this step. It is essential with accessories that you do not buy out of order. Once you have worked through the steps, you should see the style of the room and not need to add much. This is the step we often overbuy.

Accessory rules:

• Decorate in pairs or odds. You can create symmetry buy decorating in pairs, but most common you will accessorize in odd numbers: 3,5,7. However, I am not a fan of 7 things so this must be really good to do so.
• Create a Triangle. You can accessorize with just one thing!! If you want to decorate with more, create a triangle. This means layer in the items with different heights. One tallest, the next mid, and the last shorter.
• Bigger is better I know your granny got away with this, but you will not like the final outcome. This can all feel odd and uncomfortable because it’s so different from what you normally do, but trust it.
• Build over time. Don’t force this step. Collect your accessories over time, and you will have a space that feels like you.

Homework

1. Review your Pinterest board and notice the amount and kind of accessories in the room.
2. Begin by adding 3 items to your coffee table and stop there. A book, a candle, and a small plant.
3. Once you have completed this step, remove 3-5 items. 🙂 Now you get it.

Step Number 8: Finishes

The final step in the decor process! Your room should feel cohesive and complete already! This step is optional, but if you choose the right finishes, this can elevate your room.

Finishes include:

• Wall Treatment: This can be one wall, but doing all walls is best. This could be board & batten, shiplap, chair rails, and even wallpaper.
• Framing: Framing is a great way to add a custom feel to your home. To do this, you will want to use a frame that matches your style and the type of home you have. This includes doors, windows, and doorways. Framing must be cohesive throughout your home.
• Knobs & Doors: Adding new door handles and knobs to cabinets will finish off your room beautifully.
• Big List Items: New floors, a new patio, etc.

If you want your room to have a custom feel, this step is for you. Professional designers decide these things early on, but they are not normal people with a normal budget, so I do this last. I get the bones of the room exactly how I want them and along the way I usually discover what finishes I’ll add.

Homework:

1. Review your Pinterest board
2. Make sure your finishes match your style, the style of your home, and your metals, such as faucets and lighting.
3. Have fun!

You did it! You decorated a room on a budget using Pinterest!

Once you have completed all phases of your room should be the room you’ve always wanted. You can decorate on a budget, you just need a few guidelines. Buy decorating one step at a time, one room at a time, you will become more familiar with your own style and confident in color choices and decor decisions.

Remember: It’s okay to decorate slowly and over time. It’s actually better. I recommend starting in your living room if you are unsure of where to begin.

Finally, this is the fourth step in the room reset, so make sure to do the steps in order before you decorate.

Happy decorating!