9 Terrific Ways to Add Texture to Your Home

If you love home decor, then you’ve probably heard the age-old advice from professional stylists to add more texture to the rooms in your house. But understanding the importance of texture can be a bit overwhelming, especially because it refers to virtually every surface in a room, including furniture, textiles, wall finishes, floor coverings, and more.

Interior designer and The Block judge Darren Palmer says that textural elements, “[when] layered together correctly, will play like a symphony.” With a lot riding on the idea of texture, achieving this look takes more than just adding a throw rug in one spot and putting some patterned cushions in another. So what are the tried-and-true ways to add texture to a room?

Jessica Bellef, an interior stylist for Temple and Webster, shares her top tips for softening the look of your home with textured surfaces and decorative items.

1. Roll out a Rug

Say yes to rugs. Choosing the right rug will add tactility on the floor and transform the feeling of the room, especially if you choose a rug style with a high pile or tassels and fringing. You get bonus texture points if you experiment with layering multiple rugs.

2. Add Greenery

Decorate with foraged pieces found in nature. Think tall cuts of pampas grass in a sculptural vase or a pretty vintage tray filled with seedpods and shells. You could also hunt down air-purifying plants with a variety of leaf shapes and sizes, and cluster them together for full impact.

3. Embrace Imperfection

Invite an element of roughness into your space with vintage items that feature the bumps and knocks of old age or handmade pieces that show signs of the maker. The imperfections of uneven surfaces or a patina relax a space and add a touchable quality.

4. Play With Pattern

A room that contains patterns will feel very textural, even if said patterns don’t have a raised texture. Dousing every surface with a print can overwhelm a space, so start small with a printed cushion or rug and inch closer to a pattern-on-pattern explosion for the full effect.

5. Favor Natural Fibers

There is something about natural and raw materials that instantly adds depth to a space. Choose linen, timber, stone, hides, and leather over synthetic or processed materials. These natural fibers and finishes feel good and add a subtle richness to a room.

6. Get Creative With Wall-Hangings

Take your walls from flat to fab with styling ideas beyond standard art and mirrors. Weavings, wall-mounted plants, and interesting fabric will add a layer of lush to your walls, while a floating shelf will provide a highlighted spot to play with an ever-evolving vignette.

7. Install Curtains

Remember that curtains and blinds can be decorative elements, and when done the right way, they soften a room and add another layer. A quick DIY project can make a big difference. Try natural linens in a simple drop or bring in a beachy texture with easy-to-install woven blinds.

8. Bring in the Baskets

Layering your room with one or two baskets is an easy way to add an organic element to a space — and they double up as handy storage in any room. A loosely woven basket has a casual look, so choose a tighter weave if you’re after a more formal style.

9. Texture Your Walls

Walls and ceilings make up most of a room’s surface area, so finishing them with an interesting texture by applying French wash paint can really cozy up a room. A textured grass cloth or embossed removable wallpaper will pop when it’s hit by light, while a raw ply ceiling or exposed beams add interest overhead.