Home decor defines the feeling a home exudes. When you choose a bare-bones look, it provides little ambiance and results in a not-very-homey appearance. Conversely, when you choose a theme, such as nautical or Old World, and stick with it, it transforms a house into a home.

Sometimes, you get stuck with home decor ideas. During those times, it can help to have a reference point for ideas. Consider this article as a reference point for these seven common areas of the home. Delving into each of these seven rooms or activity areas, this article presents ideas to build upon and make your own for rooms like the kitchen, bedroom, home office, living room, and more.

1. Kitchen

Steal home decor ideas from your favorite local restaurants. Every eatery features unique decor, and you can borrow from it. Restaurants must design efficient kitchens, so who better to consult for kitchen ideas?

Before you call a kitchen contractor, decide what you want to change about your kitchen. Which areas cause you the most problems? Consider these ideas, inspired by restaurant kitchens:

• • A three basin sink, so one person can wash and dry dishes, while another cooks in another area

• • A cooking island to create two food preparation areas

• • A separate freezer from the refrigerator

• • An oversized window above the sinks to let in more light

• • A skylight to create natural light and reduce electric light needs

• • A breakfast nook that doubles as a food buffet letting you easily serve food to the dining room from the kitchen.

Each of these ideas makes use of existing space, but you can easily expand the kitchen size by knocking out the exterior wall and building an addition.

Consider decorating your kitchen in a bright and cheery motif that everyone can enjoy. For example, yellow walls with a daisies or sunflowers motif on the backsplash and kitchen linens create a decor the whole family can enjoy. Other themes that work well in the kitchen include nautical, seashells, Coca-Cola or Pepsi, cats, or dogs.

2. Bathrooms

Many people think of bathroom renovations as a plumbing issue, but the bathroom offers so much more than a place to bathe and toilet. A few simple additions to any bathroom or powder room turn a simple water closet into an at-home spa. Consider the following home decor ideas for your bathroom.

Make the bathroom a more comfortable room to visit by having flooring contractors install heated floors. Whether laminate, hardwood, tile, or marble, these toasting floors make that midnight toilet run a treat. You won’t want to cover them with bath rugs but do still consider a runner rug in front of the tub to absorb water spatter.

Wallpaper one wall to create a feature wall. Use a wallpaper mural to depict a nature scene like a beach or waterfall. Other options include a realistic marble wallpaper or one that resembles wood. Wood works horribly in moist environments like bathrooms, but wallpaper designed for moist environments can handle the steam.

Hang a huge mirror that spans the wall above the sink. It provides the illusion of a larger bathroom, while enabling more than one individual to access the mirror. Choose a mirror with a jaunty frame that melds well with the bathroom’s crown molding and baseboard trim.

Perhaps you’re finishing a bathroom in a new building. Put in crown molding and baseboards that match the theme of the room. Consider navy blue trim or darker for a nautical theme, for instance.

Choose a theme for the bathroom and carry it through in every area. Fleur da Lis, oceanic, and violets offer popular themes for bathrooms. Match trim in color to the theme, such as using a weathered wood trim with a seashell motif. The motif should appear on the bathroom rug set, towels, and in small objects scattered throughout the room.

Add a skylight to the bathroom to offer plenty of light without the chance of anyone peeping through the window. Some skylights can pop open upward, so you could even let in fresh air by choosing this design. RVs install this ventilation option just outside the bathroom, but a single-family home can put it in the bathroom.

3. Garage

So many homeowners sadly ignore their home’s garage, a room with such great potential as a multi-use room. Start by cleaning it out, so you’ll have an empty space to decorate. Decorate the garage? Yes, decorate the garage, starting with garage floor epoxy coating, a sealant that makes the floor shiny, tougher, and easier to clean.

This step requires commercial epoxy flooring services to apply the sealant. This service provider can guide you in the best choice for your garage floor based on your intended uses for the room. For example, using the room as a parking area and a workshop requires a tougher sealant than just parking cars there.

Add shelving suspended from the ceiling to maximize storage space. Install bike hangers on one wall to provide easy-to-reach storage for children and adults. These hangers keep the bikes out of the way of motorized vehicles.

Devote the opposite wall to tool storage. Install a pegboard to make installing hangers for the tools easier. Using this method puts every tool in reach and your sight line. Pegboard comes in various colors, so you can decorate it in your favorite shades.

If your house lacks a laundry room, consider creating a laundry area on either the wall between the kitchen and the garage or the wall that shares exterior access if it has an outdoor spigot. These sites already contain a wet wall, a wall with plumbing piping, so a plumber will only need to add drops for your washing machine and perhaps a rinse basin.

Perhaps your home has a laundry room. Consider using the third solid wall as the future home of a bathroom. It only needs a toilet and sink to make life easier for the family handy person and any children who still play outside. A garage bathroom means they can use the toilet without entering the home and letting in cold or hot air from outside, something that affects your energy bills.

Other home decor ideas for your house include updated garage doors. Basic designs start at about $800, so this decor update costs little as far as home improvements go. Door designs range upward in cost to about $4,000, so shop around to find what you want at a price point that suits your budget. Updating the door improves home security, garage access, and curb appeal.

Transforming the home’s exterior appearance by changing the garage door design can cost much less if you use a vinyl wrap. Vinyl wraps only alter the appearance of the door, so avoid using them on a damaged garage door. Replace the damaged door instead. Use a wrap on a door in good condition to change its look to wood, marble, carriage doors, or a theme, such as an ocean scene.

4. Home Office

Home offices deserve a cool look and efficient design, too. Before you hire an office mover to transfer your business equipment from your company’s offices to your home, implement a few of these home decor ideas to get the space ready. Of course, like other rooms, you need to choose a motif but focus on efficiency for your office space.

Start the renovation or remodeling project by hiring an office cleaning service to completely deep clean your home office. Starting with a blank slate works best on any type of project. Consider this open space according to your office needs.

An office with many pieces of electronic equipment needs lots of electrical outlets on the desk wall. Hire an electrician to help design a smart office that provides 120V, 220V, and USB outlets. This array of outlets ensures you can plug any equipment in without problems.

Build built-in bookshelves to corral books, DVDs, and objects on one wall. Consider creating a space for a flat-screen TV, so you can cast mobile videos to it, watching work-related videos on a bigger screen. Have an electrician install recessed outlets in the bookcase to offer a secret spot to plug things in like the TV and a reading lamp.

5. Bedroom

Although you won’t see this home decor idea in the overall decorating scheme, a new mattress can transform the time spent in your bedroom. Shop online and your local bed store for the best selection and deals. Consider a mattress that lets you alter its position, so you can sit up in bed comfortably to read or watch TV without needing a triangle pillow.

Bedrooms should offer a sanctuary from the rest of the home, so among the home decor ideas you consider, remove televisions. Make the bedroom a place for sleeping and leave the TVs in the den and office. If you ever need to squirrel away in your bedroom to watch a show, you can do so on your laptop.

Paint the walls of your bedroom with your favorite color. Choose trim and crown molding that compliments the color. Build this color scheme throughout the room, using hues of the color in the sheets, comforter, throw pillows, and throws to add depth.

Follow the Scandinavian decorating advice of less is more in the bedroom, removing all but the most meaningful Knick knacks and objects. Instead of clutter, create a sanctuary of peacefulness that helps you sleep better. Install shelves at shoulder height or higher to place the objects out of the way while displaying them openly.

6. Living Room

Take your home decor ideas from favorite TV shows of the past. Today’s shows seem to use the same sets again and again, but older shows, like “Dark Shadows” and “Edge of Night” designed unique sets featuring opulent rooms. For example, draw inspiration from the carved banisters and deep, dark wood paneling of Collinwood’s foyer and sitting room.

If you love the furnishings you own, but want to revamp them, use furniture covers. This easy method lets you test out various looks without great expense. If you want to, you can switch the covers each season, making it seem as if you replaced your furniture every few months. Sofa and chair covers cost between $20 and $50, making this a viable option for most budgets.

A new tablecloth can transform an old table. If you prefer to show the wood or metal of the table, use a paint stripper or varnish remover to remove the old covering. Some wood tables may require sanding before they’re ready for a new coat of paint or varnish.

Rearrange the furniture to provide small conversational groupings, so two people can share an intimate conversation without the rest of the room overhearing. Consider placing a conversational group in opposite corners of the living room. At a minimum, each grouping should contain two comfortable chairs and a small table for coffee mugs or tea cups. Place coasters on the table to prevent mugs and cups from leaving rings.

7. Dining Room

Don’t forget the dining room when batting around home decor ideas. Although modern families may only use this room for dining on religious holidays or birthdays, others may still use it for family meals. Upgrade the dining room table to one with leaves, so you can add spaces to the table easily. Also, consider updating the chairs, either by having them resurfaced with new chair backs and bottoms or using chair covers to revamp their look.

Where to Get Other Ideas

Other ideas abound. Snap a screenshot of a design you like on a mobile TV show. Clip ideas from a magazine. Bookmark a website with a kitchen you like.

If you visit someone’s home with a kitchen you adore, ask permission to take a photo or two. This provides you with something to show a building contractor, so you can have a similar kitchen in your home. In today’s world, it proves pretty easy to find kitchen renovation ideas.