Remember when I said I was having trouble finding large glass lamps, so I resorted to my DIY glass bottle lamp? Well, HomeGoods surprised me recently and had tons of pretty and large lamps, including these lovely glass lamps I put on my console cabinet! YAY! (Similar Lamp Source, and more options HERE) They aren’t as huge […] More

Choosing artwork to hang on the walls can be intimidating, especially if you want to create a grouping with art. How do you know what “works” together on a wall? How do you pull the look of a room together, including art?
I’ve shared posts here on the blog with tips for artwork, like these two posts: How to Choose Art for Your Home (+ Favorite Art Sources), and 10 Helpful Guidelines for Decorating Walls (more in depth on why I choose certain art and placements).
Because it’s a question I get often, I wanted to share 3 common decorating mistakes or challenges when displaying artwork (and will show you a couple of fun art mood inspiration boards, too!).
Of course, art is so personal and there is not a “one size fits all” rule for decorating, if you ask me. I’ve seen amazing gallery art walls that break all the rules and I LOVE THEM! I hope you find these tips helpful as guidelines, but above all, do what you love! Find what works in your home and makes YOU happy!
Also in this post, don’t miss the buy one get one free art print sale and mood boards with pretty art combinations!
Here are 3 common decorating mistakes people often make with displaying artwork:

Using all small artwork

Choosing art in varied sizes, shapes and scales and including larger pieces will provide more visual interest than many small frames. If you feel like your room is too busy, look for oversized art that can make a statement without adding visual clutter.
2. Displaying too much artwork with quotes or words
Art displaying a quote or words can make graphic statement in a room. But too many quotes or words displayed on every wall can make you feel like you’re being shouted at from around the room. Many words in a room (on the wall or even pillows, for example) also can create a frantic mood because your eyes won’t know where to land (they are busy darting around the room trying to read all the things).
I prefer a room where art and design contributes to the overall mood but doesn’t overwhelm you with too many thoughts or competing elements. Words can be so meaningful though, so if you feel like you should pare down, pick your favorite piece and make that message a focal statement on the wall.
3. Not creating a cohesive design and color palette
Art can be a wonderful complement to your entire room and color palette, or it can make the room feel very disjointed. Think about your room as a whole, using the artwork as an opportunity to pull the room’s design, mood and color scheme together. Or use art to punch up the impact of one favorite hue to make a bolder color statement. To make a color splash, start with a palette that feels cohesive and pleasing through your accessories, furniture, and even plants/flowers. Then choose one favorite color from your palette for a statement art piece that will bring the room to life (and help bring your eye around the room to where that color appears in smaller doses!). Ideally, repeat your statement color three times around the room in smaller doses.
Be sure to consider the design of each of your art pieces for a wall or that you plan to have around the room, too, so you can pull together groupings that will make a pleasing statement overall. Varied pieces of art can be tied together with a unified color scheme.
We made a couple of art mood boards that you can see, below!
Learn more of my decor guidelines for hanging art here.
By the way, I stumbled on a wonderful art sale going on right now! Buy one get one free Rifle Paper Co art prints — ends 3/24.
Click HERE to shop!
I thought it would be fun to create two mood boards that show art pairings that I think work well together in a room (using some of the Rifle Paper art prints that are on sale right now!), as well as share a few tips on why they work.

For the mood board above, there are varied subjects with the botanical print, a portrait with the words “C’est la vie”, a landscape (Paris), and a print with small simple objects (bobby pins). The color palette of black and white with pops or red/orange tie this varied grouping together. The statement phrase sets a whimsical mood for the art and space as well! Note that red/orange is also reflected in the rug, so this palette will have a pleasing effect in the room.
Sources for above: Dresser // Faux Potted Rubber Tree // Poppy Botanical Floral Art Print // Paris Sketch Art Print // C’est La Vie Art Print // Bobby Pin Art Print // Patterned Rug // Rattan Lamp

For the mood board above, we paired a floral, quote, a detailed house landscape/pattern print, and a simple ostrich print. The house/landscape print pulls together a color scheme for the room. The sage green color, blues, black and tan work well together. The light green pillow on the sofa pulls out a statement color from the art and helps bring the eye around the room in a pleasing way. The rug and sofa are neutrals that let the art in this space be more in focus!
Sources for above: Sofa // Faux Green Leaf Tree // The World is Your Oyster Art Print // Sage Green Daisies Art Print // House Pattern Art Print // Ostrich Art Print // Green Pillow // Leather Storage Ottoman // Gold Shade Floor Lamp // Indoor Outdoor Natural Stripe Rug //
Buy one get one free Rifle Paper Co art prints — ends 3/24. Click HERE to shop!

Click here for a recent post with MORE pretty art for spring!
For more decorating tips, see my book But Where Do I Put The Couch? And Answers to 100 Other Home Decorating Questions.
How to Decorate (Room By Room Inspiration) More

Source (20% off EVERYTHING with code! Click HERE to shop!)
What’s your decorating style? Do you feel at home where you live? If you ever feel conflicted about your style or the next decisions to make in making your house your home, you’re not alone! Maybe you’re just feeling stuck, or your current style isn’t working for you. Perhaps you’re living in a home that wasn’t custom designed for you or even close to your style to begin with. Maybe you’re wrestling with how to update it. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all of the options, especially with the abundance of ideas and inspiration online!
So how can you find your style when there are so many directions you could go? What if you feel limited by the current style of your home or your budget?
Here’s the secret: finding your style takes patience and experimentation. It takes time. You don’t have to have a perfectly designed home to love where you live. You just have to find ways to feel more at home! I don’t think most of us can make the best decisions until we’ve had a chance to get to know the home we live in over several seasons. You need time to learn the quirks and personality of your home so you can play up what you love about it and learn to minimize, downplay or fix what you don’t.
It takes time to gather style or remodeling inspiration specifically for your home over a few seasons. Once you’ve collected ideas you can start to narrow down the options that not only consistently speak to you, but also make the most sense for your budget, lifestyle and your house.

It’s easy to lose our focus when we get swept up by a new idea, or if we are looking only at current trends or just following along with what everyone else is doing right now! Impulse decisions or following the trends might bring some immediate joy through a those indecisive seasons, but it’s a wonderful feeling when you are finally able to settle into your own style with confidence.
Your style is not just the one you like the most online, but it’s what makes you feel the most at home where you actually live. That’s how you’ll know you’ve found your authentic style.
When I’m struggling with my own style, it can be helpful to collect inspiration photos of rooms or features that I really love, such as the images I share in my posts (these photos in my post today are from one of my favorite shops for furnishings and style inspiration for my home, Serena & Lily. I’ve written about it before in this post).
But I don’t want to rush permanent or expensive decisions or make a lot of changes based on an inspiration photo until I’m certain that look or item will feel right in my own home. I like to take a bit of inspiration from dozens of rooms and ideas I’ve collected over time so my style won’t be an exact replica of anyone else’s style.

It can be a slow process to figure it all out, but it’s worth it to me to be as authentic and comfortable in my home as possible.
Sometimes to move forward you just need to make ONE design decision you know you feel good about. That decision will lead to the next. We remodeled our kitchen four years ago and the decisions we made during that project continue to inspire me to make our little house all she can be 🙂 I’ve often said the old house I live in was ready for a new spring in her step. She may have been born in the 1950s but she doesn’t have to stay there.
You don’t have to stay stuck with what you have! I’m so glad I didn’t let myself be discouraged or swayed early on by voices that told me this house had to stay in a certain era or style. I didn’t want to feel limited in what I could or could not do to make it my own. It’s certainly helpful to ask for opinions from trusted sources when you’re in doubt (or if you’re dealing with an historic home that needs to be preserved), but often creating a home you’ll truly love means you have to be brave enough to listen to your own voice so you can design a home that will feel right to you. After all, it’s your home and you’ll be the one living there!
Lastly, it’s OK to make mistakes along the way. Rarely is a decorating mistake fatal! In fact, in some cases what might appear to be a “mistake” can actually give your home and style more character and personality. Other times it confirms for you what your style ISN’T. But even if it is a big mistake you need to correct, just learn from it and move on.
You’ll never feel truly at home with your style until you get to know yourself and your home better. That process takes time, but it is all a part of the journey to making a house truly feel like home.
Speaking of Serena & Lily, they have an amazing sale on right now, but it ends today!
Scroll down for inspiration, sources and ideas for this fresh breezy look!
20% off EVERYTHING with code! Click HERE to shop!

How cute is this bench! You can customize the fabric–there are so many cute options! I love this toile.
Nautical Round Rope Mirror Source // Toile Wallpaper

Everything at Serena & Lily is 20% off! Click HERE to shop the entire sale with discount code!
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Everything at Serena & Lily is 20% off! Click HERE to shop the entire sale with discount code! More

A room always seems to feel more fresh and alive to me when there’s a plant in the room. Better yet, when there are several plants! I bet if you study photos of rooms you like, you’ll notice how many of them have at least one plant. Using faux plants in a room or a mix of real and faux is often a designer secret for more lush and beautiful spaces.
But plants are not just a designer trick for staging or beautiful photos, I think plants make a house feel more “homey.” While I always recommend trying real plants whenever possible for their health benefits and natural beauty, there are certainly times and spaces where faux might be the way to go.
I recently bought a couple of faux plants for our basement! Our lower level gets a good amount of natural light so plants can be quite happy down there, but sometimes I forget to water them. Faux plants were a great solution. I love this artificial potted jade plant, and these artificial potted moss plants. They need hardly any care, can be moved around anywhere, they always look green even when I neglect them. They make this room feel happier and more welcoming, and that makes me happier, too!

Artificial potted moss plant

Jack likes them too. 😉
PS. If you missed the full tour of our cozy cottage basement, click here!

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More Sources:
Navy paint color: Hale Navy Benjamin Moore
White brick paint: Simply White Benjamin Moore
Flooring Details
Faux jade potted plant.
Faux potted moss.
Neva Sofa from Sixpenny in Jasmine Rice. Read more about our sofa here.
Blue and white patterned rug
Similar coffee table.
Similar leather pouf.
Our Leather Sofa
Similar blue and white pillows.

Want to know more designer secrets?
Click HERE for the secret ingredient every room needs!
Click HERE for my How to Decorate page (decorating inspiration room by room).
Click HERE for a post in my “Take Away Tips” series, sharing ideas from a charming home on Martha’s Vineyard.

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Cozy and Inviting (Get the Look!) is a fun periodic “mini-series” on The Inspired Room!
To get that “cozy and inviting” mood many of us crave for our home, in this series I share a variety of inspiration rooms that feel cozy and inviting to me (for a variety of reasons!). Then I quickly brainstorm a list of whatever elements I see that I think help create that mood. We will also feature items or tips to “get the look” into your own home.
Today’s inspiration rooms are all from a beautiful home I found in New England Home Magazine. It is a traditional look with a bit of a coastal vibe, it feels so cozy and collected! Enjoy the inspiration images below and then you’ll find some design observations and get the look sources below.

Wallpaper – KASAI Wallpaper at Thibaut

Here are some of my observations and notes on what stands out to me about this home. At end of this post you’ll find a design mood board and more pieces I would consider including in the design if I was styling a similar space!

Rattan accent pieces
Antique looking dining table and bed
Soothing paint colors
Fun pops of green
Accessories and furniture with a collected look
Fun patterns used in the window treatments, garden stools, wallpaper, artwork, pillows and furniture
Warm wood in every photo
Unique accent lighting
Twisted taper candles
Natural rugs with subtle patterns
Books (I have a fun post full of rooms decorated with books here)
Interesting details on furniture and accessories like fringe, tassels, trim
Fun pattern lampshades (gingham, scalloped woven, pleated with pattern)
Landscape paintings and chinoiserie botanical artwork
Decorating with collections (blue and white pottery, books, baskets, the green cabbage dishes, books etc)
Inviting seating areas (window seat, plenty of dining seating, conversation area in living room)
Lively plants and flowers

See more photos of this home here: New England Home Magazine

Mood board sources (click links below):
Turquoise twist taper candles
Green and white geometric ottoman
Gold metal adjustable wall sconce
Framed landscape summer mountains artwork
Round rattan wall mirror
Green and white floral vine curtains
Green ceramic lamp
Blue and white ikat pillows
Taper turned wood candlesticks
Green ceramic cabbage plate
6 light brass round chandelier with white shades
Taper turned wood candlestick set
Blue and white ceramic garden stool
Teak oval wood stool
Blue and white ginger jar
Blue and white ginger jar with lid
Striped jute sisal rug
Cane back wood dining chair (and here is a woven wicker dining chair with blue velvet seat)

More similar sources below (click thumbnails for details):

You can find other posts in the Cozy & Inviting Get the Look series below!
Cozy & Inviting: Dining RoomCozy & Inviting: Coastal Living RoomCozy & Inviting: Kitchen More