How Designers Use “Decorative Camouflage” to Make the Ugliest Things in Your Home Disappear

3 min read

No matter how much you love your home, there will always be parts you wish you could hide. The good news is you can. You don’t have to live with an eyesore just because it serves a purpose or costs too much to replace.

Designers use a concept called “decorative camouflage” to make unsightly items blend seamlessly with the rest of your decor.

“By using strategic design elements such as bold artwork, statement lighting, interesting textures, plants, rugs, or thoughtfully placed decor, we can redirect the eye toward something more visually appealing,” says Rachel Simpson, senior interior designer at Revive Design and Renovation.

Here are a few situations in which decorative camouflage can come in handy.

Flooring That’s Long Past Its Prime

Before, the old flooring in this bedroom made the entire room feel heavy and dated.

Designer Rachel Simpson chose not to replace the floors, but made strategic decisions in the paint color and decor to lighten the space.

If you have older flooring that runs throughout your home but it’s too costly or disruptive to remove and replace, you’re not out of luck. Rather than fighting it, work with it.

Designers recommend that you paint the walls in a color that complements the existing flooring while still giving the space a completely refreshed look. You can also incorporate area rugs and runners wherever possible to add softness, texture, and color while visually breaking up the flooring’s heaviness.

“The goal is to shift the focus so the flooring is no longer the dominant feature. Instead, it becomes a background element that naturally fades into the overall design,” Simpson explains.

Upper Kitchen Cabinets That Don’t Extend to the Ceiling

Before, this kitchen’s glaring issue was the sizable gap between the upper cabinets and the ceiling.

To avoid a costly kitchen remodel, Rachel Simpson decided to paint the upper cabinets the same color as the walls to effectively camouflage the gap.

This is a common issue that can make your kitchen look unfinished. Fortunately, you don’t need a full reno to resolve the awkward space.

“One of my favorite tricks is to paint the wall above the cabinets the same color as the upper cabinetry,” Simpson says. “This visually blends the two together and creates the illusion that the cabinets extend higher than they actually do.”

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The result? A kitchen that feels more cohesive and intentional.

A Sloped Ceiling That Throws Off an Entire Room

Before, this home with dramatically sloped ceilings in the living room looked perpetually off-kilter.

After designer Hilary Greenhalgh worked on it, the fireplace mantel—not the ceilings—became the rightful focal point of the room.

Sometimes, a sloped ceiling adds character to a room, but other times it makes it look uneven. Hilary Greenhalgh, owner and principal at Proper House Design, recently dealt with this issue in a client’s family room.

“There was a staircase on one wall, a fireplace on another, French doors on the other, and it was open to the kitchen on the back side. The biggest obstacle in the design was a ceiling that was sloped in one direction,” Greenhalgh explains.

When anyone looked at the fireplace, which was the focal point, the room felt out of balance. Greenhalgh’s solution was to build the fireplace out dramatically with gorgeous millwork.

“We built the center of the wall out and then added millwork, crown molding, and other details to create very strong horizontal lines surrounding the fireplace,” says Greenhalgh.

This drew the eye away from the sloped ceiling and toward the fireplace.

Air Vents That Stick Out in All the Wrong Ways

A small but impactful upgrade is to swap out your interior air vent covers for a more aesthetically pleasing design—or one that blends in with its surroundings.

Air vents are large areas in the wall that are anything but pretty, but they are necessary for airflow. And more times than not, they’re in a place you don’t want them. Fortunately, there are quite a few ways to make them disappear.

“If the room is wallpapered, my favorite trick is to completely cover the vent in paper, so it doesn’t jump out at you,” says Raquel Skrobarczyk of HS Interiors.

There are also really pretty decorative grills that take something that can look very builder-grade and level it up to give off a more high-end vibe.

“I love incorporating ones that have a quatrefoil or geometric pattern,” Skrobarczyk adds.

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