Things you need to know
The Huffington Post recently spoke to a number of design experts who explained everything you need to know about wallpaper. For example, Janet Lee, author of "Living in a Nutshell: Posh and Portable Decorating Ideas for Small Spaces," recommended checking out metallic colors when you're choosing wallpapers. She explained that gold and silver wallpapers can offer a subtle sheen that may add more light to a space. 

Also, Lee suggested that if you're on a budget, you should cover one wall with a dramatically patterned wallpaper, then put a large mirror on the wall opposite it. She explained that this will create the echo of a print, but won't require you to go through the expense of having to paper another wall. 

If you have low ceilings, you may be looking for ways to decorate your home so that your space looks larger – the right wallpaper can help you do it. 

"Check out some of the dip-dyed wallpapers that are now available," Ashlyn Gibson, owner of the design and clothing store Olive Loves Alfie, told The Huffington Post. They have intense color at the bottom, then fade out to white or neutrals at the top, giving the magical illusion of taller walls."

More on choosing wallpaper 
HGTV recommends that when you're choosing wallpaper, you need to factor in which room it's going in. For example, while fragile, more expensive wallpaper may be a good choice for the master bedroom, you should think about something a little more durable for your kids' room or a living room where children may play. 

Also, HGTV states that if you want the natural look for less, you should look to the many vinyl papers available. These have an all-natural look, but are often far less expensive and will last longer. 

The Telegraph Herald spoke to Keesha Hargis, director of home trends at Flooring America, a national flooring retail cooperative, who explained that there are some questions you need to ask yourself before deciding on carpeting. First, you need to think about who uses the room you're picking carpeting for. Will pets be allowed in the room? Is it likely that people will have food in the room? If so, then you'll want a carpet that can handle some stains, such as one in a dark color. 

Also, you need to consider whether you want a carpet to be the focal point in the room or merely a backdrop. This will help you decide if you want a bright, decorative and colorful rug, or a simple, basic-colored rug. 

HGTV states that before purchasing a carpet, you should check the density. As a rule, the denser the carpet is,the better the quality tends to be.  To check the density of the carpet, press your fingers into it and try to reach the backing. If you have a very dense carpet, then it should be very difficult for you to touch the backing, and you'll know that you've found a high-quality carpet.  

Deal with your closet 
Organizing all of the closets in your home – from the ones in your bedroom to those in your children's rooms or the coat closet in the front room – can be a difficult task. However, O! The Oprah Magazine spoke to organizing expert Peter Walsh, who recommended that if you have a lot of clutter in your closet, you should try the reverse hanger trick.

The way that this works is you hang all your shirts and dresses up so that all the hangers face back-to-front. Then, whenever you wear an item of clothing and return it to the closet, have the hanger facing the right way. When you go to try on a piece of clothing and you decide not to wear it, replace it with the hanger facing backward. After a month, you may be surprised to see all of the clothes you have no use for, and you'll be able to sell or donate them. 

Organize your bathroom
Another spot in your home that probably falls prey to clutter is the bathroom. There's nothing worse than a dirty, disorganized bathroom, but luckily there are many ways that you can organize this space. For example, SheKnows recommends that you keep everything in a container. This means that your hairspray, lotion and mouthwash should all be placed into a plastic container to be kept under the sink, and all shampoos, body washes and conditioners should be in shower caddies. There should never be a loose item in your bathroom - everything should have a container that it's meant to be kept in. 

Also, a simple magnet strip in your medicine cabinet can go a long way toward keeping nail files, clippers, scissors and other small metal accessories that are commonly found in the bathroom organized. 

Finally, use a water squeegee – similar to the kind used to clean windows – to wipe down the doors of your shower after you use it and help keep them clean. 

For example, The Huffington Post Canada reports that fashion and design experts from around the world have been using a lot of black and white and graphic shapes. You can incorporate this look into your home by purchasing interesting vases and lamps with modern-looking shapes and bold black-and-white patterns. The news source also pointed out that if you're looking to make more subtle changes, you should stick to classic looks. For instance, lace is making a major comeback this year, so you could look for ways to feature lace in your home, such as purchasing a new tablecloth for your dining room table. 

Do you want to have some new art in your home but don't want to spend a fortune on an original piece or buy a cheap print? House Beautiful magazine recommends that you redecorate by displaying some of your children's more creative works of art in frames hanging in your kitchen. 

Another simple way to make a change in your home is to remove the doors from your kitchen cabinets. House Beautiful explains that this is a way to get the look of glass cabinets without any of the extra cost. You can arrange your dishes and cups in an interesting way that will help make your kitchen look unique. 

Recently, the Colorado Springs Gazette spoke to artist Kaffe Fassett, a man who knows a lot about color because bold, bright colors are often the focus of his art. He recommended that when you're decorating your home and considering adding a new color, you should first get a swatch of it and check to see how it will go with colors that are already present. 

"Pick up one color and stick it next to another and see if you get a bounce from it," Fassett told the news source. "Colors can either dampen each other or they can light each other up." 

The Gazette also spoke to Anna Maria Horner, a Brentwood, Tenn., fine artist and fabric and home decor designer, who said that while you should try to stick to one color throughout your home, you can spice it up by playing around with shades. She said that every color has both extreme light and dark shades that can look interesting when combined. 

HGTV recommends that when picking a color for your home, you should start with the formal areas, such as the living room and dining room, and then use some variations of the colors you use in those spaces for other rooms. For example, if you have dark red walls in your dining room, consider having burgundy walls for your bedroom or office. This way,  you have cohesion, but your house won't look like it only has one color throughout.  

Think of the bride - The first thing you'll want to do while planning a bridal shower is think of the bride and what kinds of things she likes. Is she the kind of woman who loves the Roaring '20s? Why not have a Great Gatsby-themed party then? Or maybe your bride has always loved Paris - if so, then consider making the theme Parisian. Ask your friend's future husband for guidance if you need to.

Send formal invitations - Once you have a theme, guest list and date planned, Martha Stewart Living magazine recommends that you send out formal invitations. While a bachelorette party can be more wild and informal, a bridal shower should be a classy event, and that calls for some nice invitations rather than quick emails. 

Plan creative games - Yahoo! suggests that a bridal shower should include fun party games. For example, rather than just making tissue-paper bouquets, try doing an impromptu comedy show where everyone tells an amusing story about the bride's life as a single lady, or play a game where you guess what type of dress the bride will have (if you haven't seen it already). 

Consider inviting the parents – If your bride is close to her parents, you may want to invite her mother and/or father. Of course, if you do so, you may want to make sure that all of the events are appropriate.

The Wall Street Journal recently spoke to homeware and furniture designer Michael Aram, who has a beach home that he strives to decorate without overdoing it on the nautical theme. He explained that the key to decorating a house by the beach is to keep things feeling light and airy, like a day by the shore. One way that you can accomplish this is to make sure that you have curtains with sheer panels rather than heavy drapes or other window treatments, and stick to white and beige colors.

Aram explained that in his vacation home, all of the walls and carpeting are white or beige because these colors give his home the light feeling he's looking for. He added that if you want to have some natural pieces in your home, like shells or sea pebbles, that's fine – as long as you have a plan for how to display them. 

"[I decorate with] super-thin black pebbles that I've collected – each one is thin as a cookie from being washed so much by the sea, long and slim and they look like wafers. I've lined them up almost like they're crackers and placed them on a silver rectangular tray. For me, it's like an installation piece; it's not helter-skelter," Aram told The Wall Street Journal. 

Rather than use too many shells and rocks, find other ways to bring nature inside your house by the shore. Southern Living magazine recommends filling your beach home with natural materials such as old wood and wicker furniture, and bringing in plenty of plants and flowers to give the house a fresh feeling. 

Think of summer colors  - During the summer, the trees are the most beautiful color green, and all of the flowers bloom and show off their gorgeous colors. You should take this time as an opportunity to change the colors inside of your home. Take a walk through your garden or in a park and look at some of the colors to see if they inspire you to repaint your kitchen or bathroom. 

Use stripes to decorate – Martha Stewart Living magazine recommends that during the summer, you should use stripes in your decorating motif. You can easily do so by using painter's tape to create stripes on your walls. Furthermore, you can use fabric paint, painter's tape, canvas drop cloth or cushion covers to make a striped tablecloth for your patio. 

Look for wicker items – Better Homes and Gardens magazine suggests that in the summer, you may want to decorate using wicker furniture and baskets, because these items give your home the feeling of being in a summer cottage. If you can, try to find wicker items from an antique store, since new wicker items can sometimes look too shiny. 

Create an outdoor haven – If you have a backyard, then you should always be using it to its full extent. Pay attention to the quality of the grass, plant a garden and consider creating an outdoor dining area that your family can enjoy during warm evenings. Consider creating a patio with a table and some outdoor lamps. 

Have a casual dining area - Does your family usually have dinner in a formal dining room, or while sitting in front of the TV? Either way, the summer may be a good time to create a casual dining setting in your home that can be a happy medium between a formal table and simply eating on the couch. Better Homes and Gardens states that a large wooden table with some mismatched wooden chairs can be perfect for creating a casual area for your family to have their meals. 

The Daily Herald newspaper spoke to green designer and consultant Topher Paterno, who explained that when judging the eco-friendliness of a decor, he looks for three things in every piece. He said each piece should be reclaimed, repurposed, recyclable, renewable or have green intent. 

Houzz..com states that if you're planning on installing more windows in your home, you can significantly reduce your cooling costs and create a greener home by having a mix of high- and low-level windows that will create a breeze in each room. 

Also, you can find many reclaimed doors, flooring and kitchen cabinets to use in your home decor from various salvage companies, like Habitat for Humanity's ReStore resale outlet. Shopping at thrift stores also gives you a great opportunity to find items to repurpose, and you can even find some furniture at these places that might look good inside of your home. In particular, you can usually find coffee tables that are made out of recycled wood and other interesting recyclables like license plates. 

Finally, on a nice day when you're looking for something to do with your family, you should consider looking for yard sales in your town. There, you can find many interesting pieces that other people may not want, but would look great inside of your home. 

1. Move them around – Better Homes and Gardens magazine recommends that you purchase a serving cart with wheels on it, but rather than use it for food and tea, you can put books on it instead. This way, you can move it to any room that needs a little extra culture and flair. 

2. Stack hardcover books – Don't have a bookshelf to show off all of your nice books? Don't worry about it! Babble.com explains that if you have enough nice, hardcover books, you can stack them in interesting ways throughout the rooms in your home, and they can serve as their own little works of art. 

3. Prop them up – Do you have some classic antique children's books that have beautiful illustrations? What about a book that has cover art that really speaks to you? If you do, then why not display it proudly on your mantel or coffee table by purchasing a small stand to display it on? This can be more interesting and less expensive than getting another framed poster or picture of your family.

4. Create small bookshelves – If you don't have bookshelves in your kitchen or bathroom, consider mounting planter's boxes on the walls of these rooms so you can not only show off all of your nice books, but offer your guests something to read while they're in these rooms. Consider placing classic cooking books in the kitchen and interesting trivia books in the bathroom.