At some point, you’ve thought your home needed more or less of something, like color. Or maybe more décor, or less clutter. Or more lighting, or better lighting.
But what if the real factor making your home feel flat and uninspired wasn’t visual, but sensorial? You might not have just needed more or less (or better) “stuff,” but more feeling.
Of course, I’m talking about texture! In high-end interior design, texture is the language that speaks to your brain through multiple senses. A room first says ‘come in’ with what you see, then it says ‘stay awhile‘ with what you feel. And that’s texture.
How is texture used deliberately in interior design, though? And how do you know if your spaces have enough or the right kinds or the right combinations of textures?
Here’s how to make your home feel as good as it looks…
1. Use Texture for Depth
Depth is a room’s feeling of dimension, and a room without it feels empty, especiallyif it’s a bigger space.
Texture is how you create a rich, complex depth that draws people in.
To achieve this look, work with your interior designer to orchestrate textural contrasts. Let the chemistry between rough and smooth, warm and cool, soft and solid give a space soul, without making it overly busy.
Try this:
- Layer a chunky knit throw over a sleek leather sofa
- Add a raw wood accent piece to a room with lots of polished surfaces
- Combine matte finishes with gloss (like honed stone next to lacquer)
2. Select Your Décor by Touch
It’s natural to design with our eyes, but high-end designs are done with the hands and skin, too. Texture invites touch, and touch creates connection. This is no accident in luxury spaces!!
When you make selections for your next renovation or interior design project, choose textures that seduce the fingertips, like looped wool rugs, soft velvet, silk, linen, or suede. These are such visual textures that even before running your fingers through them, your brain knows how they feel and includes that sensation in your appreciation of the space.
Just look at this item I selected as a Market Pro at High Point Market last year…and imagine the feel of it between your fingers!!
Try this:
- Add a bouclé chair or velvet ottoman to your reading nook
- Drape your bed with a quilt that has visible stitching and dimension
- Swap plain cushions for ones with embroidery, fringe, or raised patterns
3. Use Light for More Texture
Lighting adds another layer in interior design and it interacts with the tactile textures you select.
Each new texture you introduce into a space is a new surface that absorbs, scatters, or reflects light in a different way. That gives your space movement, and it gives you an incredible visual tool to play with!!
Once you start to notice the use of lighting with texture in luxury designs you interact with, you’ll LOVE how hammered metals, plaster, and woven surfaces play with shadow and highlights. These materials transform throughout the day, too, giving the room a rhythmthat a flat wall or smooth painted cabinet never could.
Try this:
- Use a ribbed or fluted vase near a sunny window
- Choose a woven light fixture that casts shadow patterns on the walls
- Add texture-rich window treatments, like raw linen or layered sheers
4. Tell the Story Behind Your Selections
A reclaimed wood beam, a handwoven rug, a tumbled stone backsplash…these are pieces with personality and their textures are a signature feature. Each carries the evidence of being touched, shaped, and aged, and that sense of authenticity leads to more stimulating design.
As a professional interior designer, I intentionally use natural and artisan-grade materials to add history and character. They make a space feel real. And when your home feels real, it feels lived in. Not in a messy way…in a meaningful one.
Try this:
- Replace a store-bought vase with a handmade ceramic one
- Display a textile you brought home from your travels
- Choose a dining table with visible wood grain and natural irregularities
5. Make Your Home Make Sense
Texture can be transformative, but it can also go VERY wrong!! Without the right balance, a room becomes too visually “loud,” making it chaotic. This is something we see a LOT in poorly-applied maximalism, now that this style is back in vogue.
Learn the “dos” and “don’ts” of maximalism.
But mediums have rules. That’s why you work with a designer…because poorly applied, textures anddécor quickly spill into a look that feels cluttered.
With over 30 years in the industry, I know when to stop, when to mix, and when to make a statement. I know how to scale (and use varied scale as a complement to varied texture), AND how to create consistency for a unified “look” while still varying sensorial textures. The goal is harmony, not noise!!
When done right, your use of textures isn’t what you notice first. But you definitely feel it, and you LOVE being in each space all the more because of it.
Try this:
- Choose three contrasting textures for one room: soft, hard, and reflective
- Repeat a similar texture (like rattan or marble) in three different places
- Keep one texture dominant and let the others play supporting roles
Ready to FEEL something incredible?!
Here’s a simple test: walk into your living room and close your eyes. Now, reach out and feel your way around the room. How many things feel different AND pleasant under your fingertips? What stories do those textures tell?
If your mind is blank or you notice the lack of variety OR pleasure in your home’s textures, you’re missing out on the silent luxury that texture brings. This isn’t about spending more money…it’s about seeing your home with new eyes (AND fingertips).
Has this got you thinking?! Let me help you bring that missing layer of luxury into your home. Reach out to me personally or start a conversation with our team!
About the author:
Robin Burrill, RID, NCIDQ, ASID, IDS, CAPS, is an award-winning professional kitchen, bath, and interior designer. Robin and her husband, Robert Mathews, have owned Signature Home Services, Inc. for over three decades, establishing a superior in-house team with a widespread reputation for delivering meticulous design to their many repeat clients.
In 2022, the national publication, Kitchen and Bath Design News magazine, named Robin to their Top Innovator list in recognition of her achievements in the field of kitchen and bath design. In 2024, she was named one of the Fall 2024 Market Pros and “tastemakers” by ANDMORE at High Point Market. Also in 2024, Fixr identified her as one of the Top Professional Interior Designers for their nationwide audience. At the start of 2025, she then acted as one of Dallas Market’s “Style Eyes” at Lightovation and Total Home & Gift Market.
Over her extensive career, Robin has been quoted in Architectural Digest and Forbes multiple times; her design work has been featured in top national trade publications; and she has been interviewed for Designers Today magazine’s “Profiles in Design” video series, among others. Widely respected for the depth of her knowledge, Robin is a sought after speaker and judge for many design industry events.
In 2023, Robin designed a bench for Charleston Forge, making her foray into product design. Robin currently serves as a volunteer on the board of the Dallas/Ft. Worth chapter of the Interior Design Society.
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