Million-Dollar Decorating Ideas Real Girls Can Copy

Gingham is a major trend in fashion this year, and it's also big in interior decor. Designer Mark D. Sikes used a trio of Schumacher fabrics in his room to impressive effect.

Gold was in evidence around the show home. Bennett Leifer of Bennett Leifer Interiors papered the walls of his lounge with an ornate gilded design from de Gournay.

Gold was also present throughout the kitchen. Christopher Peacock's kitchen was topped with a light fixture from Remains Lighting, which popped against the gold mirror installation mounted on the walls.

Who says a painting needs to be in a frame? Designer Ronald Bricke commissioned artist Vesna Bricelj to create an art-deco piece right on the wall in the gallery at the foot of the staircase.

The Arthur Sachs mansion is five-stories high, but that doesn't mean any space was wasted. In fact, the designers of Tilton Fenwick turned a former nook into a "dining lounge" complete with a minibar and seating.

Practically every room in the home was completed with a unique hanging light fixture. Alessandra Branca of Branca, for example, hung a light fixture from Hervé Van Der Straeten, via Maison Gerard, in the middle of her lovely room.

Around the mansion, blue and white touches abounded. In particular, Cathy Kincaid, who decorated a bedroom in the home, staged a vignette with a blue-and-white bulb pot next to a similarly hued lamp.

Many of the designers let their imaginations run wild when it came to selecting color for the walls. The design firm Paula + Martha, who decorated an airy stairway up to the roof-deck, picked a bold yellow from Farrow & Ball.

Instead of going monotone with tile, try installing a statement tile zone. In Christopher Peacock's kitchen, he installed a small area with tile in a plaid pattern using materials from AKDO.

Likewise, there was a statement tile wall on the roof-deck. Designers Rottet Studio grabbed the eye with a butterfly design.

Christopher Peacock's kitchen had another unique feature: a two-material countertop. Next to a Silestone slab, from Cosentino North America, was a coordinating piece of wood, provided by the Grothouse Lumber Company.

Designer Alan Tanksley wasn't deterred when it came to decorating a room on the fifth floor of the house. In fact, he was inspired to create the view he'd hoped for inside the room and commissioned a cityscape mural from Matt Austin Studio.

The designers didn't shy away from patterns and used dramatic wallpaper as an accent element. Designer Suzana Whyte Braga Monacella of the firm McMillen Inc. wanted to lend a Brazilian vibe to their bedroom, installing a pattern from Pierre Frey inside the bookshelves.

If one color stood out among the walls in the home, it was definitely red. Mark D. Sikes, for one, used the color liberally in his room.

Alessandra Branca also used red on the walls of her "salon rouge."

Two patterns can coexist peacefully side by side, and that was evident in David Phoenix's bedroom. He paired a plaid wallpaper on the walls with a lighter pattern on the ceiling using Cowtan & Tout fabrics.

If you're decorating your bathroom, go all the way. Clive Christian's opulent bathroom was completed with the addition of a chandelier from Carlos de la Puente Antiques in the shape of a ship.