MY TOP 5 TIPS FOR

STYLING YOUR HOME

INTERIOR
STYLING
GUIDE

BY STYLE DIRECTOR
KERRIE-ANN JONES
About
Us
Kerrie-Ann Jones is a leading
interior styling expert in Australia. As
the former style editor for Real
Living magazine, Kerrie-Ann's eye
for trends and impeccible curation
of interiors has made her the go-to
stylist for many leading magazines,
interior designers and architects
and lifestyle brands.

She is the go-to style expert for

publications such as The Design
Files, Inside Out and Marie Claire
magazine.

The Stylist
Lab
Kerrie-Ann created the online styling school
The Stylist Lab out of passion to share
what she knows about styling to others. In
the Interior Styling 101 course Kerrie-Ann
deep dives and shows you how to style
rooms and areas of your home with step
by step instructional videos. You can enrol
anytime and is self paced, so you dip in an
out whenever suits you.
To know more visit:

www.thestylist.net.au/courses
 STYLING TIP 01
WHERE TO START
People often tell me they don't know where
to start when decorating their home.
As someone who has recently renovated
their home, my experience and advice is to
start with a mood board. I found this
incredibly useful, and it kept me on track with
any design and decorating decisions. It also
gives you a clear vision of how you want your
space to look and feel.

Start by saving images on Instagram and

Pinterest. After collecting at least 50-100
photos, you'll notice reoccurring themes and
patterns of details you are drawn to. It could
be colours, style of homes, textures, furniture
Just take it one step at a time. You don't
pieces and design details. Analyse your
need to buy all the pieces at once. Start with
images and try to recognise the themes and
the key pieces, and then see how it feels in
patterns of images that look similar. Delete
the space.
any photos that don't fit in with these
themes or look odd in the mix. Then select
Over time you will recognise what other
the images that best reflect the overall look
furniture pieces and decorative elements
and feel and add these to a one-page mood
would complement the space. Taking it slow
board.
and referring to your mood board will help
you make more confident decisions with any
You could print out the images and add
purchases and styling your home.
them to a physical mood board on a
pinboard or create a digital mood board. I like
to use Canva to create my digital mood
boards. It's easy to use (especially if you're
not technically minded like me. It's free to set
up an account, too). Once you have one page
for the overall look and feel, you can get even
more specific with a mood board page for
each room.

When you are styling your home or looking

to purchase new furniture and homewares,
use your mood board as a guide and check if
the piece you plan to buy fits your mood
board's aesthetic.
©KERRIE-ANN JONES
 STYLING TIP 02
COLOUR PALETTE

The colour palette in your home ties all the

pieces in the room together. It creates
cohesion and a more stylish look.
Neutral colours as your base are the best way
to start, and then introduce accents of colours
with cushions, throws, rugs or armchairs
.
Muted colours with a desaturated colour (not
bright) tend to be timeless and don’t clash.
However, if bright colours are your jam, then go
for gold! The key, either way, is to have no
more than 2-3 highlight colours that
complement each other, not complete. So you
could have a stronger bold colour paired with
softer colours and then a neutral as your base.

Inspiration for colours can come from

anywhere. Have a look on your mood board to
see what colours you are drawn to. You could
also pull colours from any art you have already
in your home or would like to buy. Then tie
those colours in with soft furnishings like
cushions and throws.

Another idea to find your colour palette is by

going to your local hardware store and picking
up some paint card swatches. Take them
home, play around with different colour
combinations, and see what colours you like
together. Then add this to your physical mood
board or keep it somewhere safe so you can
refer back to it.

©KERRIE-ANN JONES
 STYLING TIP 03
AWKWARD SPACES
We all have those corner nooks in our home
that we don’t know what to do with them.

My suggestion is a vignette. It doesn’t have to

be with small objects, you can create large
vignettes too. An example would be the corner
gap next to the TV unit and wall. Here you
could style it with a tall indoor plant like a
Fiddle fig and then cluster it together with two
other smaller plants of different varieties.
Doing this makes that space feel intentional
and creates a feature.

You could also style a vignette in that corner

on a small round side table with a table lamp,
candle and object. Or style with a large floor
lamp so that the space feels like it has a
purpose.

The key is to make it look intentional and not

random or empty. This is why vignette clusters
of any size work so well in awkward areas.

You could create a reading nook if you have a

large, awkward corner area. Style with an
armchair, floor lamp &/or side table. Or even
just a side table with art hanging on the wall
next to or behind the armchair. Again, this
makes the area look intentional and breaks up
any large void areas with something nice to
look at.

©KERRIE-ANN JONES
 STYLING TIP 04
STYLING WITH ART
Art adds personality to your home.
It's a great way to add colour,
interest or a focal point to a room.
There are many ways to style art. A
few include:

Large hero piece: This is the focal

point in the room a draws you in.
When styling with large artworks,
make sure the art's scale and
proportion fit the space. Does it feel
balanced in the room with all the
other pieces?

Leaning art: Not all art needs to be

hung on a wall. You can also lean
your art on a console table,
Gallery art wall: This is one of my
sideboard, a small artwork on a
favourite ways to style art. This is great
shelf or even a large painting
if you have a mix of different art. The
leaned against the wall sitting on
key to creating a cohesive look is to
the floor.
hang them in a grid-like pattern, with
the distance between each artwork the

same.

Shelfie: As I mentioned earlier, a great

way to style smaller artworks is on your
bookshelf. You can cluster the artwork
with two other objects, like a vase and a
candle.

The key to styling with art is to have fun

with it! You can move your art around
to different rooms and see where you
like it best. A simple change can give a
room the refresh it needs.

©KERRIE-ANN JONES
 STYLING TIP 05
LESS IS MORE
The key to an elevated and stylish
interior is the edit. Less is more when
it comes to styling. You don't need to
have lots of objects and styling
accessories to have a beautiful
home. I prefer to curate an area of
my home with only very special and
beautiful pieces that are meaningful
to me.

Whatever homewares pieces you

have, arrange them into a vignette.
Use no more than five objects
together and vary the heights and
shapes.

Or you could pair things together, but

again make sure the height and
shapes are different. One object
needs to be higher than the other.

You can edit any space in your home.

For example, take a look at the
cushions on your sofa. Try using less
but mix up the sizes and colours.

Or your bedside table, what are the

essential items? Get rid of anything
that is not necessary only have two-
three objects.

By displaying less, it lets the pieces

you have on display shine! Less is
more!
©KERRIE-ANN JONES
THANK YOU

I hope you've enjoyed these styling

tips. I use these for every interior I
style. They are my go-to's for
creating a beautiful home. If you'd
like to learn more about interior
styling, you will LOVE the Interior
Styling 101 course. It's jam-packed
with tips, tricks and practical advice
for styling your home.

There are demonstration videos,

presentations, cheat sheets and
styling challenges. You can read
more about it at:
www.thestylist.net.au/courses

Thanks so much and happy styling

your home!

Kerrie-Ann