When it comes to home decorating, interior designer Vern Yip has some old-school advice: Get offline and find design inspiration in the real world.
"What you're seeing on your screen might be an OK starting point, but nothing beats physical samples," says Yip, like a carpet swatch, a paint chip or a piece of wallpaper.
He shares this philosophy and more in his book, Color Pattern Texture: The Foundation to Make Your Home Your Own, published in September. In it, Yip encourages readers to foster a more tactile, hands-on approach to interior design. That can help you build a room that doesn't just look good, but feels good too, he says.
Yip, host of the design show Home Reimagined and a former designer on Trading Spaces, shares four reasons why you should decorate your dream home without the help of social media or artificial intelligence.
Many online design hacks only look good in pictures
There are many online decorating trends that "might be passable in a photograph or social media post," but not so much in real life, says Yip.
That includes temporary solutions like peel-and-stick wall panels, tiling or flooring. They're "never going to feel like wood, marble, porcelain or whatever would have been your first choice," Yip says.
So "find a solution that will get you over the hump until you can do it the way you want," he says. Rather than buying peel-and-stick tile flooring, for example, throw down a great rug until you can afford to redo your floorboards exactly how you'd like.
You never know what treasures you'll find in person
Need temporary pieces while you save? Dig through yard sales and thrift stores before ordering cheaply made furniture online. These items are often made with less durable materials like particle board, plastic or vinyl, and they don't last as long. Secondhand items can be less pricey and higher in quality, Yip says.
Let's say you're shopping for a secondhand sofa. "Maybe it has a hardwood frame instead of one that's made out of pine," says Yip. "Maybe it has eight-way hand-tied springs," a sturdy form of reinforcement, "instead of some kind of weird foam that's gonna tell everybody exactly where you sit every night when you watch TV."
It's hard to get a sense of color on a screen
When it comes to paint or wallpaper, variables like lighting or window direction can drastically alter your perception of a color, Yip says. For example, light from south-facing windows tends to be warmer, "and it's definitely cooler if it's north-facing."
So don't just trust the color you see online. Paint a bit of your wall, put up a large paint sticker or tape up a wallpaper sample. Then "look at it during [different times of] the day when you have natural light and at night when you're using artificial light," he says.
And consider your skin tone. Yip says one of his good friends, who has a pale complexion, decided to paint her room green. But upon finishing, "she realized the light bouncing off of her green walls made her look under the weather." So the friend pivoted to peach, a more complementary color for her.
Collecting samples is more sentimental than saving inspo pics
A lot of interior design on social media right now is AI-generated. So gather inspiration from the real world. Collect paper and small objects in the colors, patterns and textures that stir your soul and put it in a treasure box. That might include the floral pattern on a cocktail napkin, a smooth piece of green sea glass or a swatch of toile fabric.
"These small tokens can be enlightening — seeing what items you cherish enough to keep with you can lift the lid on who you are," Yip writes in his book.
Then use these beloved items to shape your decor. "I once hauled an empty can of mixed nuts from Brazil because I was so inspired by the birds and flowers on its label. It eventually inspired one of my wall coverings," he says.
This is exactly what it looks like to design with meaning, Yip says. "Be open to building your house with things that resonate with you — not only aesthetically, but because they have a tie to your life."
The digital story was edited by Malaka Gharib, with art direction by Beck Harlan. We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.
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