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Having well-intentioned desires for a beautifully designed home and transforming them into reality is a task often viewed as overwhelming or unattainable without the assistance of a professional. While interior designers are the answer for some, do-it-yourselfers will enjoy the pleasures and rewards home decorating can bring.

Professional designers are indeed skilled and talented at what many view as an art. However, here are 10 tricks of the trade any novice can implement and be well on the way to breathtaking, show-stopping homes:

1. Utilize space-planning tools such as graph paper or, for the technologically savvy, computer software programs (many furniture stores or online home décor sites feature these on their websites). Use these tools to not only get creative with room arrangements but also save yourself time and money when shopping for items to fill the room. Carefully measure your space and furniture to prevent frustrating and costly mistakes.
2. While planning your space, consider getting some furniture pieces off the wall. Design experts refer to this as “floating your furniture.” Lining furniture up against the wall like an army of rigid soldiers is not appealing or visually attractive. Angle major furniture pieces and rugs where appropriate. Corners of the room are easy places to start.
3. The days of matching cabinetry with wood trim, dining room table and wood flooring are over. Mixing, matching and blending wood and fabric tones is not a talent only designers possess; it’s possible for everyone to achieve.

   An easy trick to begin introducing a new wood tone or color in a room is to repeat the new color two more times to create the flow. For example, if you bring a black sideboard into the dining room, repeat the black coloring in something as simple as hanging a set of black framed artwork on the opposite wall or as daring as placing black dining chairs around the existing wood tone table. By stretching the color across the room you’re achieving a balanced look to the eye and graduating into a new level of design.

4. Hang wall art (mirrors or pictures) a hand width above your sofa or similar furniture piece. Wall art hung too high will look like it’s floating in space instead of acting as one unit with the furniture. The wall art should also typically span half the width of the furniture piece to stay in proportion.
5. Have you ever seen a room in those glossy design magazines that doesn’t have a rug in it? Area rugs immediately warm up a space, define conversation areas and add jolts of color to lack-luster rooms. If debating on a smaller size or larger size rug, always go with the larger. An inadequately sized rug will be just that . . . inadequate. A sofa should never have anything smaller than a 5 x 7 rug in front of it.
6. A few fabulous, larger pieces of home décor accessory items are better than a multitude of mediocre ones. Loading every bare space on your walls is not the answer to good design. Be sure to give your eye a break and put together a few accessory focal points in every room.
7. When accessorizing, follow the rule of three. Cluster three items of three varying heights in the three points of a triangle pattern. Using odd numbers looks less planned and adds visual variety to the eye.
8. The easiest way to breathe new life into a room is with a can of paint. Puzzled on what shade to use? Choose a hue found in an existing fabric in the room. Whether the paint choice is bold or serene, make a sad room happy instantly by giving it the color it deserves.
9. Design professionals are masterfully creative when it comes to using items in an unconventional manner. Be playful and do something unexpected in your design. Use a rustic trunk as a coffee table or a small pottery cupboard as a towel closet in the bathroom. Make floral arrangements more interesting by filling the vase with fruit, use baskets as magazine holders, turn old shutters into a headboard or put a chandelier in your bathroom. The rule is: There is no rule!
10. Remember, your home is not a showplace; it’s a place to relax, enjoy, entertain and call your own. Choose design elements that are extensions of your spirit. Let your home reflect your personal style and taste.