The Best Designer-Tested Decorating Tips

Back in 2012, when Laura Burleson was searching for a new home after her divorce, she didn’t trudge through endless open houses or agonize about finding the perfect property. Instead she just knocked on the front door of a 1950s ranch house in her Tallahassee, FL, neighborhood and offered to buy the place—without even seeing the inside. “I wasn’t worried. I liked the exterior, and I knew I was going to redo the rooms anyway,” says Laura, a self-taught designer with a just-go-for-it attitude. The house got a fresh face once the brick was painted James White and the front door Teresa’s Green, both by Farrow & Ball, and the shutters DKC-8 by Donald Kaufman Color.

She soon discovered that the inside was a dowdy mid-century relic, complete with dated paneling and a cramped layout. Laura did a gut reno in 11 months, transforming the 2,100 square feet into a sophisticated open-plan home that’s real-life livable for son Thatcher, 9, and daughter Gray, 8. Now every room brims with creative tweaks, crackerjack upgrades, and cost-savvy solutions. “I combined so many bold design decisions here, my builder warned me I might never be able to resell the house,” Laura says. “And that’s fine by me!” 

Laura had an auto body shop powder-coat this box chandelier minty green to match her home’s front door.  Filling a large wall with art can strain a budget. The molding offers visual oomph at a fraction of the price. Having a pro spray the Henredon sofa’s linen fabric with a spillproof coating made it kid- and dog-compatible, a must since this is the only room for family TV watching.  Traditional furniture in a symmetrical arrangement sometimes looks stuffy. A modern lacquer and metal coffee table from Design Within Reach helps dial down the formality.

Wallpaper from Schumacher delivers major personality. “It would have looked too bulky if all you saw was woodwork,” Laura says.  With coat hooks, baskets, and smart drawers for charging electronics, the custom built-in encourages tidiness.