8 interior home details you can't live without

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Everyone knows that the details are what turn a house into a home. Whether freshening up the look of a bookcase by switching out the accents, or throwing a few new pillows onto the furniture, the perfect finishing touch can be simple and inexpensive yet make a big difference in the room’s look.

 

To help you get the most out of your home’s style, check out this list of eight simple and impactful details that can coordinate together to effortlessly freshen an entire home.

 

You’ll find our favorite at the top of the list, of course, as door hardware is one of the easiest details of a home to forget, yet one of the most impactful for creating a polished and complete look.

 

1. Door hardware

Whether you’re looking for a glamorous shine or something rustic and warm, the perfect door hardware can add a personalized touch to a room that pulls all other elements together. Designers Tom Korecki of Thomas and Jayne Interior Design and J.D. Dick of Cabinetry Ideas call door hardware the ‘jewelry’ of a room.

“I tell all my clients this: invest in good hardware, it’s the jewelry in the room. When a woman is all dressed up for the evening, and adds that key piece, that is similar to what hardware adds to a room,” says Korecki.

As you’ll see, your door hardware has the potential to complement and coordinate with all of the finishing touches highlighted below. These details can be chosen to complement or add artful contrast to existing colors, patterns and accents.

Door hardware.

2. Light fixtures

These days, you can find light fixtures as wild as your imagination. With all of the options available online and even on display in home improvement stores, it’s fairly easy to find the perfect finish and style for your room.

 

Check out the same room below, completely transformed with just a few details:

 

Satin Brass light fixtures

 

Sleek and shiny pendant lights light up this classic, glamorous bathroom. The finish coordinates perfectly with the hardware throughout the bathroom – from the ornate faucet to the bathroom door lever (a Schlage Flair lever in our modern designer finish, Satin Brass).

Polished Nickel light fixtures

 

A crystal chandelier with candelabra adds an elegant, glittering touch to a dark ceiling, reflecting the warm silvery hues of polished nickel hardware throughout this neutral bathroom. Schlage’s Polished Nickel, seen here on a Sacramento lever, is a glamorous designer finish perfect for a variety of styles.

Aged Bronze light fixture

 

In this traditional bedroom, bronze metal banding adds an edge to a modest crystal chandelier. Brass bedposts and silvery picture frames add visual interest. A classic Aged Bronze Schlage Accent lever with Camelot trim adds a finishing touch, coordinating with the light fixture and tying the look together.

 

Mixing metals across hardware and fixtures within a room is now a design staple.


“I’ve always mixed finishes and encouraged my clients to do it, too. It makes it much more interesting, and gives you more flexibility around the styles you choose,” says Audrey Studley, a designer for Kittle’s.

 

3. Plumbing fixtures

Go for a faucet finish and style that complements your door hardware, lighting, and shower fittings.

 

 

A shiny silver faucet perfectly complements modern cabinet pulls and a Polished Nickel Schlage Bowery knob with Greyson trim.

 

 

The sleek curve of this kitchen faucet echoes the curve of a couple of mod bar stools and a Satin Nickel Schlage Merano lever.

4. Furniture details

Outdated furniture can often be jazzed up with a fresh coat of paint and a simple hardware refresh – especially if the result is eclectic and unique. Whether your style is classic or modern, your cabinet and furniture hardware is the perfect place to add polish and reinforce design themes.

 

 

The Asian-inspired rectangle design of the bathroom cabinetry echoes the sleek, straight lines of the Schlage Matte Black Latitude lever on the door.

 

The cabinets maintain a fresh, simple look with bar-shaped pulls which coordinate with the Schlage Latitude levers with Century trim in Bright Chrome.

 

 

 

5. Vanity items

Bathroom vanity items like soap dispensers and cotton ball holders can pack a punch in the style department, too. Check out a few ways these must-haves can be taken up a notch.

 

 

A few silver urns reinforce the glitzy theme of this glam bathroom. A Polished Nickel Schlage Sacramento lever, reflective accent table and chrome faucet add even more shine, tastefully balanced against a neutral color palette.

 

 

In this restful bathroom by Tom Korecki, a silver tray holds clear glass containers for baubles like Bvlgari hand soaps. A quartz crystal vase for the white orchids, ornate golden faucet and pair of Schlage Aged Bronze Accent levers with Camelot trim add more dimension with a mixture of texture and finish.

 

6. Light switch plates

Every home has them, so why not use them to boost the design of a room? Though you can find dozens of styles online and in-store, color and shape are the simplest way use a light switch opportunity effectively.

 

 

 

In this basement by designer JD Dick of Cabinetry Ideas, a dark light switch complements black trim and an Aged Bronze Schlage TouchTM electronic lock securing the wine cellar. Dick, who worked on this space as part of the Schlage-sponsored 2015 St. Margaret’s Hospital Guild Decorator’s Show House and Gardens, is enthusiastic about the possibilities of electronic locks in new designs: “Technology in door hardware is the next stage where clients are going to find value. If a manufacturer can provide that wow factor of a secured wine room, for example, and being able to beautifully coordinate it with all the other hardware selections, that’s intriguing. In the past, if people wanted those extra conveniences, they’d be mixing manufacturers which forced them to mix styling, and there wasn’t much control over the cohesiveness of that styling.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simple rectangles are echoed throughout this modern bedroom, from the Century trim on the Schlage Satin Nickel Latitude lever to the light fixtures, to the clean, bright white block of the light switch plate. The glass outlined doors call attention to their rectangular shape, and a mod-style dresser completes the look.

7. Window treatment hardware

The hardware you use to hang your window treatments is equally as important as the style of treatment you choose. A well-chosen curtain rod or shiny metal grommets can be as striking as any fabric or pattern.

 

 

A simple silvery curtain rod adds a sleek touch to this classically glamorous bedroom, and pairs perfectly with Schlage’s Polished Nickel Accent lever on the door.

 

 

A thick black curtain rod adds contrast to this bold living room, and pairs well with Schlage’s ultra-modern Matte Black Broadway lever with Century trim on the door.

 

8. Picture frames and throw pillows

If you’re a decorating novice, you can’t go wrong with a few artfully placed picture frames and throw pillows. In the examples below, the empty space above a bed is rescued by a few artistic prints and an oddly-positioned sitting nook becomes cozy and casual.

 

 

The double-bordered black and white prints above the bed don’t just fill up an empty awkward space – they tie the dark accents of the curtains and headboard together with the clean, white trim. The silvery hardware of the nightstand highlights the Satin Nickel Schlage Broadway lever on the door.

 

 

Casually tossing a throw pillow into the sitting nook next to this fireplace adds a cozy touch and turns it into a new favorite reading spot. The wrought iron grate in front of the fireplace echoes the Aged Bronze of the Schlage Flair lever.

 

  

We love accessorizing.

And we know you do, too. Every detail in your home, from the perfect light fixture to an heirloom chest, works in tandem to tell your style story. Head over to our Style Selector to find the perfect door hardware to pull it all together.