100 Decorating Tips From Best Interior Designers 7/10

Part seven of 100 very useful decorating tips from best interior designers in the world gathered by HouseBeautiful.

Cedric Hartman lamps are the best way to finish off a living room. They bring indirect light out in pools. They light up places where the big lights never go. Swing-arms and small standing lamps are the lights that count and make a living room truly atmospheric – David Netto
I love to use paper-backed linen on bedroom walls. In cream or pale yellow it gives a softness that paint can’t match – Libby Cameron
If a great art collection isn’t in your budget, hang a framed cutting of a beautiful fabric or wallpaper – Alexandra Angle
Invest in lampshades, not in lamps. I can take a lamp from Christie’s or Crate & Barrel and make it look glorious. Use old saris, pieces of antique Chinese paper, box-pleated silk – anything you find attractive can be made into a lampshade – Jeffrey Bilhuber
The optimal height for a coffee table is between 18” and 20”, but I’ve been doing more tea table heights – 24” to 26” – because it’s the height to set my drink down – Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey
When you don’t have dimmers, use 15-watt bulbs to simulate candlelight. Works like magic! – Mary McDonald
Completely give up the idea of painting all your trim in white. Go for Persian blue, anything but white. Why not Persian blue? Just don’t paint it white – Jeffrey Bilhuber
Don’t use end tables lower than 30”. The lamplight will be much better and the proportion is better. Bedside tables should be 36” to 38” tall. Don’t be afraid of tall tables – Ginger Barber
Throw pillows with Turkish corners are so much plumper and more luxethan regular knife-edge squares, and they really soften a modern sofa – Nick Olsen
In the old days, women would match their shoes to their handbag and their pillows to the bedspread. Unless you’re doing a room that’s completely covered in the same pattern, don’t coordinate! It looks much more chic to have a variety of pillows made from different fabrics. Don’t pair up pillows as though they’re animals on Noah’s Ark – nothing look as dated as pairs flanking pairs. Try an odd number of pillows or use just one long kidney pillow on a sofa – Madeline Stuart