FROM THE “DUH-WHY-DIDN’T-I-THINK-OF-THIS” DEPARTMENT comes this clever idea courtesy of designers Martha Angus and Phillip King and Metropolitan Home’s Designer Showhouse in San Francisco. To give a boy’s bedroom a clever spin, Angus and King hung striped wallpaper sideways instead of vertically. You could do the same with any striped paper, making a common (and oftentimes inexpensive) pattern feel fresh and bold. I also like the way they incorporated budget  finds, like West Elm’s ubiquitous Parsons Desk, which frequently shows up in high-end interiors, but is on sale right now for a paltry $299.

Photos: Matthew Millman/Metropolitan Home