The High-Low Home

Designing a House That Feels Collected, Personal and Livable

When we moved into our new home, my goal was never to fill every room with expensive furniture or make the house feel overly designed. I wanted it to feel layered, comfortable and personal, a home that worked for a large family while still reflecting the way I love to design.

For me, that almost always means mixing high and low. I’ll invest where it makes sense, save where I can, repurpose awkward spaces and source pieces from both national retailers and local small businesses. Some of my favorite rooms are a combination of all of the above.

1. Spend Where It Matters - and Save Where It Doesn’t

One of my favorite examples is our living and family rooms. The curtains are from Amazon, and they were such an easy way to soften the spaces, add height and make the rooms feel finished without the expense of custom window treatments. I use the same philosophy with furniture. Our barstools are from Wayfair, but they have the look and scale of pieces I had seen at Arhaus for roughly a third of the price. I’m much less interested in where something came from than whether the proportion, material and overall look work in the room. Mixing price points also keeps a home from feeling too precious. We actually live in these rooms and, with a large family, that matters.

2. Make Awkward Space Work Harder

Sometimes the best design decision has nothing to do with buying something new. We were one bedroom short for our family, so I transformed an upstairs bonus space into what we now call the “sister suite” for two of my tween daughters. Rather than treating it like one large, shared bedroom, I wanted it to feel more like their own little apartment. I had Bullbourne Construction convert an existing closet into a bathroom and used adjacent attic space to create a long closet. The ceilings are angled and the space certainly wasn’t originally designed for this purpose, but it works beautifully. I think some of the most successful spaces come from asking, How could we use this differently? A house doesn’t have to be perfectly configured to function well.

3. Support Local When You Can

I sourced a significant amount of our furniture locally, including pieces from Head Springs Depot and we furnished much of our guest house with Sara Sells. I love finding a great online deal, but I also really value the relationships that come from shopping locally. You get to know the people behind the businesses and your home begins to tell a story about where you live. Supporting small businesses in my community has become an important part of how I decorate and remodel. It also helps a home feel more collected because everything isn’t coming from the same catalog or retailer.

4. Create a Feeling Without Creating a Theme

For one of our teen bedrooms, I wanted a coastal feeling that was a nod to her Florida roots…but I didn’t want the room to feel overtly beachy. Instead of filling it with obvious coastal accessories, we added inexpensive wood strips to the wall and painted them to create a simple architectural accent wall. Then I kept the rest of the room fairly neutral. The result still feels relaxed and coastal, but in a much quieter way. That is often the difference between decorating around a theme and designing around a feeling. Rather than using literal references, think about the colors, textures and materials associated with the look you love.

5. Think About How Color Makes You Feel

I believe heavily in the psychology of color and how much our surroundings affect the way we feel in a room. My office was originally completely color-drenched in black. I loved the drama of it, but because I spend so many long workdays there, I eventually realized I wanted the space to feel lighter. Softening some of that darkness completely changed the experience of working in the room. It still has personality, but it feels less visually heavy. Now, when I’m choosing a paint color, I try to ask myself more than, Does this look good? I also ask, How do I want to feel when I’m in this space? 

6. Design for Real Life

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that good design is not about buying everything from the same place…or getting every decision “right” the first time. It is about creating rooms that work for the people who actually live there. Sometimes that means Amazon curtains next to an investment piece. Sometimes it means turning attic space into a closet or choosing a Wayfair barstool because it gives you the designer look you wanted for less. A beautiful home should never feel so precious that your family is afraid to live in it.

7. Layer Your Linens

I have a bedding formula that I’ve shared in several national magazines over the years, and it’s still the formula I use in my own home: start with a great foundation and then layer seasonally. I typically begin with my favorite Pottery Barn duvet cover, that under $100, and pair it with my go-to Target sheets. Those sheets continue to be among the Top 10 sellers I share year after year on Instagram because they’re affordable, comfortable and hold up well. From there, I layer quilts depending on the season, often from Quince or Pottery Barn. It means I don’t have to reinvent the entire bed every few months. The foundation stays the same, and I simply switch out a quilt, throw or accent pillow to change the look. It is one of the easiest ways to make a bedroom feel layered and finished without constantly buying entirely new bedding.

8. Keep a Styling Shopping List

When I’m styling bookshelves, coffee tables, consoles or other surfaces, HomeGoods is almost always one of my first stops. Rather than walking in without a plan, there are a few categories I continually look for:

1. Coffee table books to stack horizontally or turn vertically on shelves

2. Stone and ceramic vases for texture

3. Metallic accents, especially brass

4. Light wood bowls, boxes and sculptural pieces

5. Decorative trays and bookends

6. Seasonal pieces that don’t feel overly seasonal

Right now, I’m especially drawn to brass equestrian-inspired objects for fall, mixed with lighter woods, stone and warm neutral textures. My biggest rule with accessories is to buy pieces that can move around your home. A great object should work on a bookshelf today, a coffee table next month and an entry console next season. That flexibility is also what makes high-low decorating work so well.

Ultimately, I don’t think a beautiful home is defined by how much you spend. It is defined by how thoughtfully you use what you have. Some of my favorite pieces were investments. Others came from Amazon, Wayfair, Target or HomeGoods. Some were found at local shops, and some spaces were created simply by looking at unused square footage differently. The goal is not for everything to match. The goal is for everything to feel like it belongs.

---

For more of my high-low design finds, approachable decorating ideas, home projects and everyday styling, follow along on Instagram at @jennyreimold. 

I also have an entire collection of rooms in my home on my LTK, @JennyReimold. I’m always sharing the pieces I’m using, the spaces I’m working on and simple ways to make a home feel beautiful, personal and livable.