In 2019, we started spotlighting the lovely real-life homes of GearDen customers who sent in photos through their product reviews. It's been five years now, but we still can't get enough! We love how these houses are realistic and lived-in, but decorated with style and character. Plus, they show interior decor tips that are doable for the rest of us trying to prettify our own spaces.

Here's batch 7 of our favorite customer pictures, with decor tips and tricks you can copy.

 

1. Beautiful overmantel

We're in love with this fireplace vignette by customer Carol C.! A tall, irregular wall like this can be challenging to decorate, but she perfectly did hers with just a few decorative pieces. The best part is that she gave it a personal touch, placing her family photo front and center. And -- lest you missed it -- check out the adorable dog figurine in the foreground! 

Real-home decor tip: Want to decorate an irregularly-shaped wall? It may not accommodate a square or rectangular wall picture, but a custom metal art piece can work! Notice how Carol's arrangement above complements the triangular roofline because she hung a family tree metal art over the wide mantel.

Metal art pictured above: Personalized Family Tree Custom Metal Sign

 

2. Half-patterned wall

Sandra W. sent this snapshot of a sweet corner of her home filled with several interesting things. It flaunts a half-patterned wall, a personalized family artwork with names of family members, and of course, a cute hedgehog candleholder!

Real-home decor tip: Half-decorated walls are so stylish! Painting or wallpapering just a fraction of your wall is a great way to make the design pop while lowering costs. One option is to do a two-toned wall by painting just the upper and lower fractions in different shades. Or you can do like Sandra above and apply a pattern instead of paint. Want more savings? Try contact paper instead of wallpaper!

Wall art pictured above: Personalized "My Greatest Blessings Call Me..." Premium Canvas

 

3. Home coffee bar

This coffee bar by Tonia C. is pretty and practical! We especially love the clear country-chic design scheme here. You can tell she curated items in the same white-and-wood color palette, then added a few pops of red. Also, she kept her materials natural, such as woven fibers and ceramics. The result is a cohesive tabletop that looks like a charming café display. Well-done, Tonia!

Real-home decor tip: It's so easy to make a coffee station at home. If you're a coffee-holic or a breakfast person, we highly recommend creating one! In Tonia's photo, you can see she simply styled a buffet cabinet with coffee paraphernalia and some art. Read our blog post explaining the easy steps to make a coffee bar at home -- click here!

Wall art pictured above: Personalized "Bless The Food, Family, Love" Premium Canvas

 

4. Hallway picture gallery wall

We can't resist a good family photo gallery. Above, Marney M. brings a nice twist by featuring a family wall art in the center and symmetrically surrounding it with photo tiles. Note the flawless placement and spacing between all the pieces!

Real-home decor tip: Picking gallery pictures is fun -- the hard part is hanging them right. To ensure the perfect layout, height, and spacing, try this hack: First, trace all your pieces onto paper and cut out the shapes. Use these cutouts and some painter's tape to do a trial-and-error display on your wall. Adjust as you like, and when you're satisfied, simply replace the cutouts with the actual pictures.

Wall art pictured above: Personalized "This Is Us" With Names On Background Premium Canvas

 

5. Family room picture gallery wall

We've received a few gallery wall photos over the years, and each one is unique. Here's another fabulous take, this time from Jerisha F. She says, "I used this product as a centerpiece of mixtile portraits I'd ordered... Great for the largest wall in the family room!"

Real-home decor tip: The color of your picture frames makes a huge difference! You can see the difference in color mood between this and our previous gallery example. With black frames, the display looks more vivid, while white frames make the space feel softer and brighter. Pick your colors wisely!

Wall art pictured above: Personalized "This Is Us" With Names On Background Premium Canvas

 

7. Glimmering dining

You can't help but gaze at this dressy dining room by Mary R.! From the remarkable height of the room, to the pretty mirror arrangement, to the elegant chandelier, this space is filled with ritzy style.

Real-home decor tip: As Mary's dining area shows, metallic finishes can elevate the ambiance of a room. Imagine this space without that chandelier and the brass candleholders -- what a difference! To try this look, punctuate your space with two or three metallic items, but make sure they're in the same finish. Mixing various types of metals runs the risk of looking gaudy.

Wall art pictured above: Personalized "Bless The Food, Family, Love" Premium Canvas

 

8. Radiating charm

Radiator? What radiator? Rachel F. turned this common eyesore into an eye candy with her super-sweet Easter bunny decor. She then completed the vignette with an equally charming custom metal sign. Goes to show, you can never underestimate the style potential of even a tiny radiator shelf!

Real-home decor tip: A mid-height shelf or ledge can easily act like a console table, so go ahead and jazz it up! Arrange a few tabletop elements of varying sizes, such as figurines and framed pictures. Decorate the wall behind as well. A proportionately-sized art piece will work nicely.

Metal art pictured above: Personalized "This Is Us" Custom Metal Sign

 

9. Fall of style

Can't help but fall in love with this wall display by Heather D.! For her autumn decor, she took advantage of her family tree metal art by hanging apple tree ornaments on it, matching the fruit-and-foliage decor on the table. Just the sight of this vignette makes us long for Thanksgiving already!

Real-home decor tip: This is just another wonderful reason to get metal art -- you can jazz it up every season! Our laser-cut metal signs at GearDen are sturdy enough for tiny, lightweight ornaments like Heather's above. And by the way, our metal pieces look great anywhere. You can place a small one over your entryway key hooks, a medium one for an irregular extra wall, and a large one for your mantel!

Metal art pictured above: Personalized "Family Tree" Custom Metal Sign

 

10. Family history wall

Major kudos to Erika Y. for creating this beautifully rustic wall gallery of old family photos. Firstly, it's a marvelous idea to preserve and display pictures from generations past. But the bonus here is that Erika's aesthetic is on-point: she honored the sepia hues of the photos and kept all the surrounding decor in the same color scheme. This corner tells amazing stories in a visually pleasing way.

Real-home decor tip: Don't be afraid of a color palette of soft grays and browns. As Erika shows, it doesn't have to be boring, and can even be sweet and calming. The trick is to apply texture and layering.

Texture refers to the variety of textures in a space: the solidness of the wood, the softness of the flowers, and a touch of glimmer from the decorative tray. Meanwhile, layering means arranging objects so they're not all in one line. Note how the tiny chalkboards above are layered in front of the flowers (which are taller and more visible).

Wall art pictured above: Personalized Names On Tree "Family" Premium Canvas

 

We hope you enjoyed this batch of real-life homes as much as we did! Which one is your favorite? If you have your own photo of a decor moment with a GearDen item, do send to us via a product review. We are always excited to see our customers' decor savvy!

If you want to see the previous edition of Real Homes with Fab Decor, click here.