How You Can Style Your Home Like Molly Sims

Molly Sims has an effortless look about her, and you can’t help but wonder if the supermodel simply (for lack of a better phrase) “woke up like this.” But she’ll be the first to tell you that’s far from the case, and why she wrote her new book in the first place—following the success of her first release, Everyday Supermodel, which was about taking care of oneself.

“But now, it’s all about internally bringing it back into the home, and having that healthy, happy home,” Sims tells Domino. “We should really be focusing on trying to embrace the happy mess because at the end of the day, if you miss those moments, you’ll regret it.” The book is therefore divided into sections such as decor, entertaining, cooking, and our personal favorite, keeping things real. In her no-nonsense, relatable tone, Sims talks us through styling, organizing, and truly making one’s home a sanctuary—without brushing over how incredibly hard it can be.

“I wanted to keep it real with my readers,” says Sims. “People make mistakes—I certainly have—and I want people to know that’s totally normal.” But luckily, you can learn from Sims’ mistakes, thanks to her refreshingly honest perspective.

“Never chose floral wallpaper for your office—you’ll be sick of it in two weeks. For me, I really loved this expensive wallpaper, but I ended up not having enough money for the room. So if you love florals, go small with your floral pattern,” laughs Sims. “Brass totally elevates, high gloss totally elevates, and always add texture. You can layer things, even if it’s beiges and browns and creams. And then you can throw in a color. I love an emerald green or a red or a blue. But don’t overdo it—you’ll get sick of it.”

Want some more advice? Sims has provided an exclusive excerpt from her new book for Domino readers about adding pops of color to the home.

USE COLOR REPETITION. This is an excellent strategy for creating a cohesive home and smooth transitions from room to room, especially if you can see into one room from another! And you can change up the ratio of color used. For example, in one room, you might pick up color in a bold red painting over the couch, and then in another, you might repeat that red in a much smaller percentage, featured simply in a pillow or a vase.

CONSIDER COLOR TEMPERATURES. Cool colors are considered calming (blues, greens, purples), while warm colors (yellows, reds, oranges) are energizing. Keep this in mind when choosing a color palette for your space. The dominant color tends to set the emotional tone of the space. In one of our bedrooms in Mexico, we used light neutral woods and whites, set off by yellow tones. The effect is a happy, bright, sun-drenched space.

RULES ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN. There is a design rule that says that darker colors should be used toward the bottom of a room, getting lighter as you work your way up. This mirrors nature if you think about it. However, I will say that this rule can be very effectively turned on its head. For example, if you want to create a sense of intimacy or shrink a large space, go dark, very dark, on the walls or ceiling! The bedroom of our Los Angeles home has these gorgeous, super high ceilings, but we wanted to make the space feel cozier, so we painted the ceiling a rich shade of charcoal.

WHEN IN DOUBT… If you are at a loss for how to work color into your house, pick one accent color for each room. I’ve been doing this since I was 27 and living in my first Hamptons home (I had a coral room, a sage green room, and a sky blue room), and it still works.

Want some more great tips? Grab a copy of the book—out today—here. And as you look through the gorgeous images and impeccable design, recall these words by Sims: “Perfection is a unicorn. It doesn’t exist. Everything on instagram is retouched, filtered, edited—it’s not real. Remember that.”

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