12 "Home Town" Decorating Ideas You Can Steal for Your Own Home

Put Your Collections on Display

Or, start a new one. Erin has proven anything can be considered wall decor, from a grouping of rolling pins to a hanging set of fishing poles. Three-dimensional decor always adds more interest to a space than a predictable framed print. Plus, if the objects actually have sentimental value to you, they'll make your room feel all the more special.

Here's more inspiration for decorating living room walls, including how to create your own gallery wall with tips on arranging and hanging your favorite art pieces.

Use Open Shelving to Create Room Divisions

A large opening between two rooms can certainly serve you well by providing the open-concept layout that so many people find desirable. But at times, it can make it a bit harder to define where one room ends and the next begins. This pair of built-in bookcases is the perfect solution: The shelves create a visible division and natural break between the dining and living rooms, but the lack of a wall or back on the shelves means light—and your line of vision—can travel from one room to the other, which preserves the feeling of a more open space.

Shelves are functional but also an opportunity to add more style to the room, so check out some of these shelf decorating styling tips.

Add Some Color (in Small Portions) to Your Home's Exterior

When it comes to exterior colors, Erin likes to get creative and go bold. She's painted some of the "Home Town" houses bright yellow, navy blue, and olive green. This is one of our favorite combinations from season 1, though: off-white walls with the door and window trim painted sage green and the shutters a dark green hue. It's a subtle way to add color (and character) to the exterior of an otherwise classically themed home, and using two shades of the same color gives the front of the house some dimension that isn't overwhelming.

Choosing paint color for the outside of your house is a big commitment, here's Erin's must-do tip before choosing colors, how to pick the best exterior colors, and what colors are trending.

Layer on the Neutrals

This living room is understated, but the use of textures, patterns, and neutral tones provide a point of view to this home on "Home Town" season 6, episode 1. The layers of different textures and slightly different colors make this space feel cozy and inviting but also modern. The smart pattern choices keep the room from looking sparse and add personality.

To start designing your neutral room, browse these soothing greige paint colors, including the best neutral paint colors of all time for setting up your blank canvas.

Try an Unexpected Color Combination

Flip through any magazine or scroll through Instagram, and it's clear white kitchens are very popular these days. So it may be hard to imagine anyone dreaming of a dark wood and hunter green kitchen, but this one from season 1, episode 2, of "Home Town" has us doing just that. This episode's entire renovation was an ode to the historic home the Napiers were working on, and this darker, almost Victorian kitchen fits right in without looking actually dated. It might seem risky, but painting or staining your cabinets a bold color combination will give your kitchen a major facelift for a small price tag.

Ready to go bold? Here's the best bold paint colors for kitchen cabinets for inspiration.

Add Some Drama

Painting a room black might be intimidating or seem like a flat-out bad idea to a lot of people. They're not wrong—every design guide will tell you lighter colors will make a room feel larger and more open. And why wouldn't you want that, right? Hear us out, because in the right space (like a hallway, small library, den, or even a dining room), a dark wall color can add some unique drama to your home. Want to ease into it? The bright white wainscoting and trim in this hallway helps to balance out the black. But if you're ready to embrace the drama, follow Erin's lead and accent the space with old black-and-white photographs, wrought iron lanterns, or old books.

For dark paint color ideas, here's some favorite shades decorators swear by.

Lighten Up

When paneling dates and darkens a room, white paint can be transforming. To paint or not paint paneling—that question depends on many factors. Some paneling is stunning, and it is often favored by real estate agents, or it can be a total eyesore. If in doubt, ask a design expert, some types of paneling can't be refinished once painted.

The paneling in this roomy, Spanish-influenced home is instantly lifted with paint, which also connects to the overall aesthetic, in "Home Town" season 3, episode 3. Dark wood beams and floors add gorgeous contrast.

Hang Statement Wallpaper

Wallpaper is back, and there are so many ways to try it—you can dip your toe in with one covered accent wall, play with removable peel-and-stick papers, or go all-in with a whole room in a pattern that wows. Erin is known for her fearless use of wallpaper, a tenet of "grandmillennial" style, and she uses it beautifully, from a one-wall focal point in a master bath to this dining room with damask-patterned neutral-toned wallpaper framed by dark painted wainscoting from "Home Town" season 5, episode 5.

For more inspiration, check out our wallpaper ideas, the latest trends, and tips for applying peel-and-stick wallpaper.

Create a Coastal Vibe

Serene blues, layers of natural textures, flowy drapes—Erin takes this living room to the beach with coastal design in "Home Town" season 4, episode 2. Her design also includes a dash of Americana with a vintage flag and a mix of red, white, and blue pillows.

If this inviting yet laid-back beachy style is appealing, explore these coastal design trends, timeless beach house decorating tips and ideas, including inspiration for breezy bedrooms and living rooms.

Mix It Up

Erin makes pattern mixing look cohesive in this eclectic, Bohemian living room from season 4, episode 3. The black and white printed drapes mix with the poufs, the pastel painting echoes the throw pillows in the same hues, and the bright blue rug with hints of pink anchors the otherwise neutral room—somehow it all works together without being too busy or fussy.

To mix patterns like a pro, learn on how to pull off this look by following this one basic rule.

Bring on the Blues

We are known to fall for a blue and white color scheme—it's timeless and, depending on the shade, blue can be quiet and calming or bold and energizing. Erin shows how to use a palette of vibrant and understated blues throughout a whole house that creates a holistic look that she describes as "traditional, but also fresh and youthful," in "Home Town" season 4, episode 14.

Get more inspiration for decorating with blues with beachy paint colors that remind us of the sea and sky, beautiful blue bedrooms, and make-an-entrance blue front doors.

Boost Curb Appeal With Inviting Details

We love our front porches in the South, and Erin and Ben bring this home, episode after episode, in their reveals. Creating a welcoming space in front of your home is the ultimate in small-town charm where you can sit on your porch and wave to passers-by.

These homeowners scored big when Ben made them a porch swing up-cycled from beadboard they found in the garage of the home.

Whether or not you're lucky enough to have a front porch, even a small one, look for creative ways to add some purpose or seating in the front of the house to create a welcoming space.

To bring your front porch or patio to life, browse these decorating ideas. We always look to the classics—blue ceilings, wicker furniture, porch swings, and rocking chairs—to create a front porch oasis.