No house is perfect. Here are some clever interior design tricks to minimize your home's flaws and make it a more beautiful place to live:

1. Dark Rooms
Everyone loves light-filled rooms. If your home's small windows don't let in enough light, paint the walls a light color to help brighten dark corners. Hanging mirrors on walls opposite windows will bounce daylight around a room. Reflective surfaces can also brighten a space, so decorate with gold and silver accessories and invest in furniture with high-gloss finishes. Lastly, make sure that sunlight can reach your windows; trim any overhanging branches outside your home.

2. Lack of Storage
Storage space is no longer a luxury—it's a requirement. If your closets are overflowing, it's time to clear the clutter. Start by donating the items you no longer need to local charities. Invest in organizers for your home's bedroom and front hall closets. A double clothes rail and a few shelves for shoes and sweaters can double or even triple the amount of storage space in a closet. Finally, toss those old wire hangers; wooden hangers make a closet look organized and tidy.

3. Awkward Architecture
Low, sloping ceilings in the bedrooms, narrow hallways, and steep staircases don't help a home's appeal. To help take the focus off a low ceiling, paint the walls and the ceiling the same color, preferably a light one. If you want to make a narrow hallway feel wider, paint the walls and the trim in a pale, cool tone; colors on the cool end of the spectrum visually expand a space. To camouflage a steep staircase, tack a horizontal-striped carpet runner on the treads and risers.

4. Ugly Views
You can't change your home's location, but you can help disguise the train tracks in the backyard or the factory across the street. Outside your home, plant a row of evergreen trees to hide the view (investing in more mature trees will give you immediate cover). Inside your home, hang curtains with bold patterns or colors. The bright curtains keep the eye focused on the home's interior instead of that unfortunate exterior view.