Black walls have long been a favorite technique for designers who are searching for something edgy to accent their designs. Rather than projecting a morbid connotation, which is what the color is often associated with, using this daring hue on walls can often give a space a luxurious and stately feeling, making it all the more appealing for those who spend time there. Still, it takes guts to use black in your home.

If you're considering using this shadowy tint in your house, here are a few things to keep in mind so that your house isn't mistaken for the one from "The Addams Family:"

1. Use it as an accent – Rather than painting a room entirely black, this shade can have more impact if you make it an accent. Black trim, accessories and even fabrics can have an unexpected but not shocking effect on a space. If you're looking for something with a little more impact, consider an accent wall, meaning that just one or a few of the wall surfaces in your room will be painted in this color, while the rest of them are painted differently. 

2. Combine with white, grey or blue – If you are hoping to use black tastefully in your home, it helps to combine it with the right accent pigments. Patterns can help to break up a stretch of black and will bring a cheerful feeling to the house. Consider the black and white checkerboard floor, which is more closely associated with grand apartments on fifth avenue than it is with the afterlife. Using the right accents will help your house to look perfect. 

3. Make sure you get the window treatments right – Interior decor that involves black has higher stakes than other colors, so it's important that you make the entire room match the high style standards that you've set with your use of this paint. Luxurious curtains and drapes are necessary to get it right. Consider silk drapes for the best impact. 

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Once you've picked out the perfect curtains and drapes for your home, the task of decorating isn't done, as tying them in with the rest of your room and brightening the remaining space to match the newly redone window treatments is also necessary. 

If you have read our blog before, you are probably familiar with the idea of installing your window treatments above the top of the window itself and letting them hang all the way to the floor. This will give them more presence, anchoring your window treatments as the focal point and lending impact to even the smallest windows. 

But if you are trying to get this look right in your home, it's important that you pay equal attention to your tieback placement. Making sure that these accessories are in the optimal location will ensure that you are getting the most out of the window treatments that you worked hard to select. 

You might be under the impression that you should position your drapery hardware in the middle of the window, but in actuality, it is better to place it in the middle of the curtain itself. Don't be afraid to tie your sheer drapes back right at the window sill, which will give them a particularly dreamlike quality. While you might feel that achieving your personal style in your house can be somewhat difficult, if you continue to work at it, the process will get easier and easier. Positioning your tiebacks the right way is a simple step in getting your home to look great. 

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Every year, the Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the most talked-about red carpet events of the spring. The star-studded guests all step out in incredible gowns and tuxedos that honor the theme of the occasion as well as speak to their impeccable sense of style. Though it's only a party, the winning looks that are seen by the worldwide press here tend to dictate the direction that the fashion world goes in that year. 

This year's gala celebrated the opening of the "Punk: Chaos to Couture" exhibition, spurring many of the celebrity attendees to bust out their mohawks, safety pins  and tartan in celebration of the theme. And it's no secret that the best looks on the runway tend to carry over into the manner through which many of us choose to decorate our houses. That means that the punk lifestyle will likely be making its way into home decor as well. 

If you are feeling inspired by the outfits of best-dressed stars like Miley Cyrus, Anne Hathaway and Sarah Jessica Parker, you can incorporate some elements of this rough-edged style into your home without making it feel unwelcoming. 

Though a darker color scheme accentuated with red is typically associated with this aesthetic, you can incorporate a plaid, oversized safety pin or checkerboard flooring into a space that you're hoping to punk up. Even in an elegant part of the room, choosing a bolder pattern for your silk drapes could be a simple way to thumb your nose at authority and put some of this rebellious spirit into your home. 

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Having a well-appointed dining room is, for many people, a statement of success. After all, beautiful dining sets tend to be pricey, and not all living spaces even come equipped with a dedicated dining area. But still, many of us hope to have a part of the house designated for eating with friends and family during special occasions, which leads numerous people to make a small nook or corner of their home into a makeshift dining room. 

With the right furniture and lighting, this space can look just as grand as a dining room you might find in a mansion, without the extravagant price tag. But to do this, you are going to need to employ a few tricks. 

Painting the walls that encompass your dining area can help to make this part of your house feel different from neighboring spaces. Likewise, you may want to use an area rug so that the floor seems like a dining area. 

But hanging artwork is probably out of the question, especially if the corner you chose for your table has a window. Though it adds pleasant light and is certainly an asset to the space, it's undeniable that the window occupies part of the wall. Luckily, you can use drapes to create the look you desire.

Hanging a luxurious Roman shade can give your window a simple elegance and you have the option of closing it to reveal more of its beauty. Don't assume that lack of space will dash your dining room dreams. 

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As summer approaches, many of us relish the opportunity to open our French or sliding doors, allowing the warm breeze and fresh air to waft. Of course, this can present a problem for those of us who are used to sliding our curtains and drapes out of the way to make room for the space. 

After all, there's nothing worse than dirty fingerprints or mud stains on your precious window treatments, and since you probably gave these a good cleaning before the start of the season, it would be a shame to have your efforts spoiled so soon. If you have kids in the house, your drapery is at an even greater risk, since they are known for having a trail of dirt follow them nearly everywhere they go. 

Luckily, there are a few solutions that will keep your drapes in great shape even as your family uses these doors. Even if you typically keep your sheer drapes closed during the year, it might make sense to invest in some beautiful tiebacks for the summer. This way, any time the doors are open, you won't have to worry about the window treatments getting in the way. 

You can also facilitate their sliding abilities by adding something that you and the family can grab onto to the hardware. This way, you won't have to worry about your curtains becoming damaged by messy hands rushing outside. 

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Those who are seeking to employ a minimalist style in their homes often have good luck using long white drapes as their window treatments. Because these curtains and drapes don't have much of their own busy aesthetic, they can fit in nicely with just about any design, and won't block out light even in the dead of winter. 

But for some homeowners, this stark style is just a little too plain. Without any kind of a pattern, those who are new to establishing their style in the home might feel as if the space is a little too empty, and crave a window treatment that packs a bit more punch. 

If you find yourself in the situation of wanting to employ a modified minimalist style in your home, you may have good luck with white patterned curtains. You can choose what fabric they're made of, whether you go with an intricate lace or a simple design on an otherwise plain silk panel.

Especially if you're still collecting furniture and are in search of just the right style for your home, adding slightly more impactful curtains can be the perfect way to make an impression without stepping too heavily. And in the future, they will go with your style whether you decide to stick with the modified minimalism or instead want to gravitate toward one side of the other. 

Make sure that the design is subtle enough that you would still describe the panels as white if someone asked you to. Also, make sure that you're picking up a motif already in play somewhere in the space so that the drapes can be viewed in context. 

Minimalism doesn't have to be difficult or boring, and with slightly improved curtains, it won't be. 

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It seems that in home decor magazines and on television sets, residences have this kind of crowded appearance that makes them seem more homey and never cluttered. Whether it's through the use of antiques or thrifted items, the ideal eclectic house draws guests in and captivates them with interesting details everywhere they turn. 

But implementation of this kind of ideal style can actually be quite difficult. Since there is a need for most of the furniture in your house, it can be hard to bring other objects in and not have them appear contrived,  making this an aesthetic that can be difficult to pin down. 

Still once you've managed to place the miscellaneous furniture around your house in a way that you like, it might be a little hard to manage the look of these differing colors and styles. If this is an issue that you're struggling with, take a hint from the pros. 

When set decorators and interior designers are creating this style for their clients, they are able to sort through potential accessories and choose them based only on a specific set of criteria. After they've done that, they unite the entire style with one item that ties all of it together. 

The unifying feature might be just what your home needs to really make the eclectic look work. Consider using a multi-colored stripe to tie the entire style together. Because of the different hues included in a set of striped silk drapes, you will be able to give voice to the many different elements that have gone into making your home look the way it does. 

Don't abandon your desire to have a fun, eclectic home just because you're not sure how to implement the aesthetic. Getting it right could be a simple matter of choosing the right curtains and drapes. 

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Unlike the rest of the house, there are not many rules associated with decorating a child's room. While most interior designers and industry professionals urge for restraint in the decor that you employ throughout the house, they encourage creativity in a child's room. After all, this is where kids grow up, and surrounding them with interesting and beautiful items can help to encourage curiosity. 

If you're unsure how to decorate the bedroom of your little one, consider using bright colors that you wouldn't otherwise get away with. There's no reason for decorating the tiny tot in your house's bedroom and not having fun for yourself as well. Whether you choose to theme the area around their favorite character, toy or movie or instead want to go for something more generic, you can certainly feel free to make a statement in this room. 

Picking from primary colors is a great way to ensure that the space goes together. Rather than simply sticking to a palette of similar hues, as you would in an adult space, it's important to encourage the kid in your house to select a favorite color of their own, and if you've already incorporated most of them into the room, you won't have to worry about redecorating if they change their mind on their number one hue. 

But it's also important that you ground all of this chaos somehow. While in a grown-up's room you would try to tone down the craziness, in a child's space there is no reason to. Select a bold patterned curtain to take their room to the next level. Allowing your drapes to dominate the look of the space will provide the anchoring that this kind of room needs, and they'll be such a major part of the look that changing them will be akin to redecorating if your little one should demand a redesign later on. 

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If you live in an older residence – particularly an apartment building that was constructed long ago - you may be lucky enough to have the original windows and doorways in the place. While these might cause your space to be a little drafty from time to time, and probably have a few too many coats of paint, it's undeniable that these openings are beautiful. 

There's just something about older finishings like these - they just don't seem to make them like they used to. Many apartments from the pre-war era make use of space differently than others. For symmetry, windows might flank a doorway to a balcony on either side, with all of them being the same width across. 

If you encounter a set of windows and a doorway similar to this, you may have trouble deciding what to do with them. There are a number of creative things you can do with drapes, and if you find a really beautiful set, you might be tempted to put them on the windows and doors equally. 

Rather, you might have better luck by highlighting the doorway in the center by leaving it bare. That way, you can find a more substantial window treatment – perhaps even something thermal, like a velvet blackout drape – and put it on the windows. Rather than treating each pane of glass like its the same, allowing a doorway to stand out will make the entire room look more interesting. 

Living in an older building can present a number of opportunities, but because of the uniqueness of the space, it also gives you endless opportunities to decorate your own way. Enjoy finding creative solutions, like leaving section of windows unadorned, so that it makes more of an impact. 

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When it comes to interior design – like with clothes – some people prefer to follow trends, while others stick to a few proven classic styles that seem to always be in fashion. But in order to accurately express your good taste in the home, most experts agree that those who have the best decorated houses do a little of both. 

This means keeping your eyes open every time you go shopping, eat in a restaurant or even visit a friend's house in the neighborhood. And it's just as important to follow home decor blogs that often dictate the style that numerous homeowners subscribe to these days. Mixing the newest and latest trends in with your existing furniture and personal items will give your house a classed-up and lived-in feeling that makes others want to spend more time there. 

Right now, classic checkers and plaid patterns have been making their way around the decor blogs. Once a staple in the flannel shirts preferred by the hipster crowd, it seems that plaid is getting cool again, but this time its inside the home. 

Whether you choose to use this attractive pattern in throw pillows, blankets or in a more assertive way, it's sure to inject a shot of life into the style of your house. If you want to make a really bold statement with classic checks, why not incorporate the pattern into blackout drapes in your house?

Such a design is a great way to take notice of popular styles, as well as bring your own individuality to life within the house. And since you can choose the colors involved in the plaid pattern that you pick, even when this pattern gets very big, yours will still appear unique. 

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