When it comes to home decorating, interior designer Vern Yip has some old-school advice: Get offline and find design inspiration in the real world.

"What you're seeing on your screen might be an OK starting point, but nothing beats physical samples," says Yip, like a carpet swatch, a paint chip or a piece of wallpaper.

He shares this philosophy and more in his book, Color Pattern Texture: The Foundation to Make Your Home Your Own , published in September. In it, Yip encourages readers to foster a more tactile, hands-on approach to interior design. That can help you build a room that doesn't just look good, but feels good too, he says.

Yip, host of the design show Home Reimagined and a former designer on Trading Spaces , shares four reasons why you should decorate your dr

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