While you may not be an interior designer yourself, there’s no reason why your home shouldn’t look like you are. Even if you live in a rental, there are a few simple things you can do that will completely transform the look of your home. Here are three interior design rules that everyone should know.

1. Move slowly. It’s very tempting to buy furniture all at once when you move into a new space, but that’s actually one of the most common interior design mistakes. Be thoughtful about the things that you incorporate into your home to ensure that you like them a few months (or years) down the line. Even if this means living with a bare living room for a while, it’s almost always worth it.
2. Avoid buying sets or furniture all in one place. If you purchase furniture in a set or buy an entire room’s decor from one store, it’s always very easy to tell. To avoid creating a monochromatic room that looks like a child’s bedroom, mix and match materials, colors, and textures from a few different sources.
3. Don’t fight against the quirks. Many spaces, especially rentals, have built-in architectural details that you simply can’t change. Rather than trying to hide them or “fix” them, purchase furniture that works with your home’s little quirks. For example, add a window seat against a bay window to maximize the views rather than covering it with a large sofa.

6 Basic Interior Design Rules [Suite]
The 3 Principles of Interior Design [HGTV]
The 7 Rules of Interior Design [Zillow Blog]
5 Rookie Mistakes You’ll Never Make Again [Apartment Therapy]

CC-BY-SA-2.0/Flickr/Kalle Schärlund