New Home Cake Decorating Ideas

white kitchen with two black chairs

Karyn R. Millet

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Break Up the Pure-White Look

In this new Los Angeles home's kitchen, black Windsor chairs are added for contrast in the creamy room, painted White Dove by Benjamin Moore. The dark chairs are "like a punctuation mark," says designer James Radin.

printed fabric on chair in entryway

Gridley + Graves

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Go with Large-Scale Prints

Designer Nancy Boszhardt shakes it up with a Persian-style banquette in the main entry hall that's upholstered in a large-scale Brunschwig & Fils pattern that's almost folk art. Called Animal Farm Crewel, the rich brown of its bugs and birds is echoed in the old-fashioned striped stair runner from Patterson, Flynn & Martin.

traditional chair with modern print upholstery

Gridley + Graves

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Use Modern Upholstery on Traditional Furniture

Choose classic-to-formal furniture pieces and add something to make them feel modern and relaxed. Robert Goodwin took this already stylish Hanna chair from Oly Studio and added a modern twist to the seat cushion with a contemporary Dalmatian-inspired fabric.

pink living room with zebra stripe chair

John Coolidge

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Mix Classic Furniture Styles With Bold Accessories

Great decorators know that no matter how classic the furniture, color can make it feel modern. Glamorous and a touch retro, this Los Angeles living room designed by Joe Nye is evocative of such resorts as Palm Beach and La Jolla, with its turquoise and raspberry palette.

entryway with dark painted wall and gold sconces with white figurines

Gridley + Graves

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Match the Baseboard to the Wall Color

Painting the baseboards, as well as the trim and molding the same shade as the wall color is a more modern look than having contrasting trim, and is an easy way to update a traditional room. Here, in the entry of this classic 18th-century Pennsylvania farmhouse, designer Robert Goodwin preferred this streamlined, monochromatic treatment.