Expert’s free hack to make home look professionally designed goes viral


When it comes to designing a home, you may have more knowledge at your fingertips than you think.

A video posted to TikTok by Claire (@thatcotswoldclaire) went viral for revealing a trick to make a home look like it was designed by a pro—and the best part is, it’s completely free. Using a few paint swatches, Claire shared color theory basics with viewers to level up home decor. Since the video was posted in April, it has received over 570,000 views and over 37,000 likes.

“Every time I share this trick, people didn’t know—I didn’t realize that people didn’t know it—but it is such an easy way,” she said.

In the video, Claire said that people decorating their home should choose between five and seven colors to have in their home—and they should stick only to these colors.

To select the right ones, she turned to paint swatches, which she said could be requested from any paint company for free or picked up at any decorating store. When looking at the swatches, which make up a grid of colors, she said that any colors belonging to the same horizontal line will work together.

The colors are grouped by experts, she said: “There’s a lot of science that goes into how they grouped the colors…but you don’t need to know that because they’ve done the hard work for you.”

Decorators should choose their five to seven colors from along one horizontal line, then potentially include some lighter or darker shades from the vertical line of the base color.

A couple looks at paint swatches
Stock image of a couple looking at paint swatches. A video on TikTok has gone viral for a woman’s free interior design hack.
Stock image of a couple looking at paint swatches. A video on TikTok has gone viral for a woman’s free interior design hack.
didesign021/Getty Images

What Do You Do After Selecting Your Colors?

Even with this method employed, Claire noted some common pitfalls that first-time decorators can easily fall into.

“This is where people often slip up, is that you don’t need to represent those five colors all in paint work,” she said, adding that other colors can be brought in through soft furnishings and accessories. She recommended selecting two or three colors as paint colors—perhaps for walls, ceilings or woodwork—and then integrating the rest of the colors through detail.

Many viewers had questions about the color method, including whether white and black count within a decorator’s core colors.

“I would always encourage adding black as it helps to ground a space, like black handles,” Claire wrote in response. “I wouldn’t count that—white is counted.”

Many were appreciative of the tips, saying that they had never realized color matching was a skill they could employ, and that they would use the hack for other design opportunities like clothing and fashion.

“I’m 40 and have never been able to make a home look like I think I want it,” @enjoying_being_me wrote. “This is really helpful.”

Newsweek reached out to @thatcotswoldclaire for comment via TikTok.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *