Seven Modern Design Tricks to Make Your NYC Apartment Pop

Dumbo Penthouse | via Karen Chien Inc

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Karen Chien Inc brings luxury residential interior design to apartments, lofts, and townhouses in NYC.

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Looking to personalize your New York City apartment without breaking the bank? You’d be surprised what you can achieve with some strategic splashes of color and a few accessories. Here are seven do-it-yourself tricks from Karen Chien, one of the city’s premier interior designers. 

Brooklyn Loft | via Karen Chien Inc

Panel Moldings

Make the entrance to your rooms pop by adding panel moldings. You can accentuate these new layers with different paints, which will transform your flat, plain door into something special.

Brooklyn Loft | via Karen Chien Inc

Trims

Nicely detailed trims can go a long way, especially if you make them stand out. Try painting the trims with a high-gloss black. This will give the room an added layer of detail to something that would normally go unnoticed. This works especially well on wider trims.

Bathroom Wallpaper

Make a statement in an otherwise nondescript powder room by using a patterned wallpaper throughout.

Park Slope Apartment | via Karen Chien Inc

Ceilings

Add height to your room by painting your ceiling a light grey or blue to increase contrast with walls and create a feeling of airiness.

 DUMBO Penthouse | via Karen Chien Inc

Shelves 

Add dimension and height to your walls with colorful shelves. You can also paint or put wallpaper on the inside of bookcase shelves to make your books and objects stand out more. Now you can organize your items in a fun way.

Brooklyn Loft | via Karen Chien Inc

Details

Curtains, pillows, and accessories play a huge role in successfully finishing a room. Patterned pillows on a solid white or cream sofa are a great way to change the look of a room without having to redo everything. Using interesting groups of objects made from metals like copper or antique brass will add a final finishing touch to any room.

DUMBO Penthouse | via Karen Chien Inc

Bold colors

One fun, bold color is yellow citrine. Paired with neutral colors like cream or light gray, it’s the perfect color to use on pillows, throws, or an accent chair.

For more ideas and information on interior design, visit Karen Chien’s website.