Decorating Lessons from Top Design

In a winning combination of Trading Spaces and Project Runway, Bravo's hit show Top Design has a lot to teach us about designing on a small budget. Many of their projects has small budgets and several has limited their resources to yardsales, or forced the designers to get creative with found objects.

Here are a few lessons you can learn from the Top Design contestants and apply toward your own projects.

1. Less is more.

The most lethal mistake a promising contestant on Top Design can make is to have a great idea and then kill it by overdoing it. Want to be eclectic? Do pick a few eclectic pieces and mix with an interesting color scheme. Don't randomly pull all the cool things you find and try to make them fit. Kitschy wall decorations, mis-matched rugs, bright furniture, modern art - all can be extremely cool worked into a simple design scheme. On the other hand, all can be included for a design headache and disaster.

2. Break your color molds.

Everyone has certain colors they fall back on, even if we're not designers. When we shop for clothes or toothbrushes, certain colors appeal to us. Paying attention to those instincts if good. Your mind knows what inspires and calms it. However, be aware of design ruts. If you notice you always go for the same eggplant color and try to fit everything around it, your rooms will always have a slightly depressed look, no matter how much you love the color. Force yourself to notice other shades of purple or a whole new scheme of cool colors. When you broaden yourself, you might find another hue that inspires you more and keeps your rooms looking fresh and bright.

3. Step outside the box, . . . .or drawer.

The most inspiring episode sent designers to a community yard sale with a few hundred dollars to furnish their entire room. Weathered wardrobe drawers became double shelves on walls. Vintage cloth napkins became pillows. A cool looking door became a unique table-top.

Let yourself see items as shapes. See beyond what they are to what they could be. That's what separates a designer from a decorator. That's what will make your dorm room or apartment stand out from everyone else's.

4. Be efficient.

The coolest space in the world can be useless if proper thought wasn't given to storage and practical daily uses. Make use of the space at the foot of your bed as well as underneath. Choose furniture pieces with dual uses, like an ottoman with a hollow center for storing blankets or magazines.