Home decorating. For countless people all across the globe, these two words bring out an inner turmoil that leaves them frustrated and longing. I don’t even know how many times I’ve heard men and women complain, “My house looks like I just threw a bunch of stuff into each room. It doesn’t look professional. It doesn’t seem to flow or blend. It’s just there.” This is an all-too-common problem. You’ll be glad to know, however, that there is a simple solution to this home decorating woe. One thing most interior designers quickly learn is that home decorating is all about the details. Almost anyone can choose flooring and furniture for a room. Furniture usually comes in groupings… that’s simple enough. Flooring? A good, basic choice is something neutral that coordinates with the furniture and wall colors. But if you only toss kitchen furniture into a room and stop there, you’ll have a very lonely, plain, boring area. What will bring this room (any room for that matter) to life are the details. Home decorating need not be a struggle. Have some fun when decorating your room. For example, when deciding on what to use in your kitchen, choose a theme. If you like fruit or dragonflies, use that as a basis to decorate. Your furniture and flooring do not need to contain elements of your theme. Remember: Home decorating is in the details… not the basics. If you choose a fruits & vegetables theme for your kitchen, you can add some beautiful placemats and napkin rings to your table. Choose something unique - perhaps placemats in odd shapes or sizes that have a border, which coordinates with your theme. Then, to continue your home decorating plan, add drink coasters or serving bowls in a like style. Dinner plates or platters in solid colors work well to mix and match with whatever theme you choose, and they keep your room from being overrun with fruits & veggies. Don’t think plates and platters have to stay on the table, however. Use your imagination when doing your home decorating. Plates and platters also make wonderful wall art. Simply use plate holders that can be found at most discount department stores. Serving bowls work well for flowers, greenery, or other types of arrangements. Do you have children? They most likely need a nightlight in the kitchen for those midnight drinks of water. Instead of plain, ordinary beige nightlights, look for stained glass or others made of interesting materials. From coasters to candles to aprons, keep your theme and the colors within it in mind, and you’ll find a world of intriguing home decorating details that will truly bring your room to life and give it personality. You’ll also find that home decorating shopping leads to the discovery of unique gift ideas. So many people seem to have difficulty decorating their homes. Therefore, they love to receive well-thought-out items that help make the rooms of their homes more becoming. As you shop for decorating details for your own home, keep your friends in mind. You’ll run across more unique gift ideas than you ever imagined. As you do, purchase them or make a list of which friend could use which items. Avoid buying items that don’t work with your colors/themes. For instance, using the theme above, you would want to choose a platter shaped like a bunch of grapes to hang on your wall rather than a picture of a rooster. Select napkin rings shaped like a twisted chili pepper or in a solid color over napkin rings with sailboats on them. When you create a plan and know what you’re looking for, home decorating (and finding unique gift ideas) becomes a lot easier. Before you know it, you may even actually enjoy decorating your home!