In an attempt to stand out from the crowd, many homeowners will do ghastly things to their interiors. They’ll hire people to add tacky cheetah prints all over their home, they’ll mix and match the wrong colors, their love of pink will drown out the personality of a room and their love for minimalism might be a little too simplistic.

It’s easy to go overboard when trying to add some personality and style to your home, so here are a couple of tips to help you stay within the boundary of sensibility while still achieving a fantastic interior aesthetic.

Learning to Use Colors

There’s a reason why new modern homes are usually all covered with white paint or other basic neutral colors–it’s because it’s simple to use. Neutral colors go well with virtually anything because they’re not biased. They’re not loud, they’re not too warm and they’re not too cold. They’re the perfect in-between color that you can use together with other more bold colors. If you mix too many bright primary colors or play with fire by using conflicting secondary colors, then you’re going to create a tacky home that doesn’t look pleasing in the slightest. Here are a few tips regarding color usage:

Always speak to a designer. Don’t start or finish your design without the guidance of a designer. The idea is to give your design partner some idea of what you want so they can use their expertise to make your dreams become a reality.

Learn color theory. While your designer can handle most of the color theory and planning, it’s still worth studying color theory for an hour or two so you can better understand why certain colors go better with each other.

Find inspiration. It’s also important to look for inspiration when you’re designing a room. Look at different color palettes and attempt to make your own to give your home some personality.

When in doubt, go neutral. And if you’re ever in doubt with colors, go for a neutral palette. This way, you can easily incorporate bolder colors one by one while still being aesthetically pleasing thanks to the contrast with the neutral colors.

Use Your Personality

Whether you love white furniture so much that you want to have it in every room or if you want to achieve an older aesthetic in your home, it’s important to add your personal tastes and personality into your home. When looking for inspiration, pick things that stand out and look fantastic to you without thinking too much about what you read in an interior design magazine or what’s being said online. Find your own style and personality to make your designs represent your own thoughts and tastes.

Even if you love pineapples, Japanese culture or nature, finding a way to imbue your tastes and likes into your home decor can give it a unique personality and a sense of style that is completely unique to you.