Interior designers have a funny little secret: not everything in a polished, magazine-worthy home comes from a boutique showroom where the sofa costs more than a used car. Sometimes the magic is sitting under fluorescent lights next to a pallet of paper towels. Yes, we are talking about Costco.
Costco has become a surprisingly useful stop for stylish home upgrades because it blends three things designers care about: scale, quality, and value. A beautiful room is not built only from statement furniture. It is built from layers: soft towels, realistic greenery, generous throws, plump pillows, practical cleaning cloths, and outdoor pieces that make a patio feel like an extra living room. Those are exactly the kinds of Costco finds interior designers quietly use in their own homes.
The trick is knowing what to buy and how to style it. A cart full of random bargains can make a home feel chaotic. A few well-chosen Costco home decor finds, however, can make a room feel warm, edited, expensive, and lived-in. Below are six Costco finds interior designers love for creating a high-end look without turning the budget into a dramatic soap opera.
Why Interior Designers Shop at Costco for Home Styling
Designers are trained to notice proportion, texture, practicality, and how a room functions in real life. That is why Costco can be such a smart resource. The warehouse model often offers larger sizes, multipacks, family-friendly materials, and seasonal home products at prices that make experimentation less scary.
Costco is especially useful for foundational styling pieces. These are not always the showstoppers guests point to first, but they are the details that make a home feel complete. A throw blanket softens a sofa. A realistic faux tree fills an empty corner. White towels make a bathroom feel cleaner and calmer. Pillow inserts make inexpensive covers look custom. Swedish dishcloths keep the kitchen tidy enough to actually enjoy the styling you worked so hard to create.
In designer language, these are the supporting actors. In real-life language, they are the things that make your house look like you have your act together, even when there is a Costco rotisserie chicken in the fridge and three unopened boxes by the door.
1. Faux Plants and Trees That Add Life Without the Drama
One of the best Costco finds interior designers use is faux greenery, especially faux olive trees, monstera plants, and decorative indoor plants. Greenery is one of the fastest ways to make a room feel fresh, finished, and natural. The problem is that real plants have opinions. Some want bright light. Some want indirect light. Some punish you for watering them. Some punish you for not watering them. Faux plants, blessedly, do not hold grudges.
A well-chosen faux tree can transform a lonely corner in a living room, bedroom, entryway, or home office. Designers often use tall greenery to add height when a room feels too low or furniture-heavy. A faux olive tree beside a reading chair, for example, creates a soft vertical line and brings an organic shape into a space filled with straight furniture edges.
How to Make Faux Greenery Look Designer-Level
The key is styling the plant, not simply dropping it in the corner and hoping for applause. If the plant comes in a basic nursery-style pot, place it inside a larger ceramic, concrete, rattan, or woven basket planter. Add preserved moss, pebbles, or a clean layer of decorative filler around the base. This hides the “I came from a warehouse shelf” evidence and gives the piece a more custom look.
Scale matters, too. A tiny faux plant on a large console table can look like it got lost on the way to the kitchen. A taller plant, on the other hand, can balance a large sofa, fill dead space, or frame a window. Interior designers often repeat greenery in small doses throughout a home, such as a tree in the living room, a small potted plant on a nightstand, and a simple stem arrangement in the bathroom.
Costco’s artificial plants and trees are useful because they often come in generous sizes at prices that make it easier to buy more than one. Use them to soften modern furniture, warm up neutral rooms, and create that “I live near nature” feeling even if your closest view is the neighbor’s recycling bin.
2. Towels That Turn Bathrooms Into Mini Boutique Hotels
Towels are one of the most underrated home styling tools. Interior designers know that a bathroom can look instantly better when the towels are fresh, fluffy, and coordinated. Costco towels, including bath towels and beach towels, are popular because they often deliver good size and softness for the price.
For bathrooms, designers frequently rely on white towels because they create a clean, spa-like look. White towels are easy to bleach or refresh, easy to match, and visually calming. They also make a bathroom feel brighter, which is helpful if your bathroom lighting is doing its best impression of a cave.
How Designers Style Costco Towels
For a primary bathroom, stack folded towels on open shelving or roll them in a basket. Rolling towels can make even a modest bathroom feel more like a hotel. In a powder room, use a tray with neatly folded hand towels, a small candle, and a pump soap dispenser. The combination is simple but polished.
For color, stick to a restrained palette. White, ivory, charcoal, soft blue, warm beige, and muted green are safe choices that work with many interiors. If you love colorful towels, use them intentionally. Beach towels from Costco can be fantastic for pool houses, guest bathrooms, kids’ bathrooms, or summer-ready mudrooms. Their patterns can add personality without requiring you to repaint anything, which is always nice because painting sounds fun until you are washing brushes at midnight.
The designer move is to buy enough towels so the room always looks stocked. Two towels hanging and one sad backup in a closet will not create the same effect as a cohesive set. Matching towels make a bathroom look organized even when the medicine cabinet is secretly a tiny jungle of half-used products.
3. Outdoor Furniture That Makes the Patio Feel Like a Real Room
Outdoor furniture is another Costco category designers often watch closely. Patio sectionals, Adirondack chairs, dining sets, loungers, umbrellas, and conversation sets can help turn a backyard, balcony, porch, or deck into an extension of the home. The best outdoor spaces feel less like leftover square footage and more like rooms without ceilings.
Designers love outdoor furniture that has clean lines, durable materials, and enough comfort to invite people to sit down and stay awhile. Costco often carries all-weather patio furniture and seasonal outdoor seating, which makes it a practical place to look for larger pieces that can anchor a space.
How to Style Outdoor Furniture Like an Interior Designer
Start with a layout. A patio sectional works beautifully when it faces a fire pit, coffee table, or outdoor rug. Adirondack chairs look classic around a fire pit, near a garden path, or on a front porch. Outdoor dining sets should be placed where serving food is easy, because nobody wants to carry a tray of burgers across a backyard obstacle course.
Next, layer in accessories. Outdoor pillows, planters, lanterns, and side tables make the setup feel intentional. A durable outdoor rug can define the seating zone and make the patio feel more like a living room. If your outdoor furniture is neutral, bring in color through pillows and plants. If the furniture has a strong color or texture, keep the accessories quieter.
One designer trick is to repeat indoor colors outside. If your living room uses warm neutrals, black accents, and olive green, echo those colors on the patio. This makes the transition feel smooth and helps your home appear more cohesive. It is a small detail, but small details are where the design elves do their best work.
4. Oversized Throw Blankets for Instant Cozy Luxury
Throw blankets are the interior design equivalent of a good finishing sauce. They add warmth, texture, softness, and a sense of welcome. Costco’s oversized throws are especially useful because generous scale often looks more luxurious than a tiny throw folded like a napkin on the sofa.
Designers use throws to break up large blocks of upholstery, add contrast, and make a room feel relaxed. A leather sofa looks softer with a chunky knit throw. A white bed looks more layered with a textured blanket at the foot. A reading chair becomes more inviting when a throw is draped casually over one arm.
Where to Use Costco Throw Blankets
In the living room, drape a throw over the back or arm of a sofa. Avoid making it look too perfect. A little softness is the goal. In the bedroom, fold a throw across the bottom third of the bed. This adds depth and makes the bed look styled, even if the rest of your morning routine involved heroic levels of rushing.
In a guest room, a cozy throw says, “You are welcome here,” without requiring a handwritten poem on the pillow. In a family room, keep a basket of throws nearby so the room feels casual and comfortable. If you have kids or pets, washable throws are your friend. Actually, they are more than your friend. They are your emotional support textile.
Choose throws with texture rather than loud patterns if you want a designer look. Boucle, waffle weave, faux fur, cotton knit, and soft fleece can all work depending on the style of the room. Neutral colors like cream, taupe, gray, camel, and soft charcoal are flexible. For a richer look, try deep green, rust, navy, or chocolate brown.
5. Pillow Inserts That Make Affordable Covers Look Custom
Here is a design secret that changes everything: the pillow insert matters as much as the pillow cover. A beautiful pillow cover with a flat, limp insert will still look sad. A simple cover with a full, supportive insert can look high-end. This is why interior designers often look for quality pillow inserts at Costco.
Down-alternative inserts are especially practical. They can provide a plush, full shape without using down, and they often work well for households with allergies or personal material preferences. Designers use good inserts to make inexpensive covers, seasonal covers, or custom covers look fuller and more tailored.
The Designer Formula for Better Pillows
For a fuller look, many designers size up the insert. For example, a 22-inch insert inside a 20-inch pillow cover can create a plumper, more luxurious shape. This works best with soft, flexible covers. For very structured covers, check the fit carefully so the pillow does not look like it is trying to escape.
On a sofa, use pillows in layers. Start with larger pillows at the ends, then add smaller pillows in front. Mix textures rather than using five pillows from the same set. Linen, velvet, boucle, cotton, and woven fabrics can live happily together when the color palette is controlled.
On a bed, avoid building a pillow mountain so complicated that going to sleep feels like clearing a construction site. Two sleeping pillows, two Euro shams, and one or two decorative pillows are often enough. The goal is comfort plus style, not a nightly upper-body workout.
Costco pillow inserts are a smart buy because they can be reused as your style changes. Swap the covers seasonally and keep the inserts. That means fall plaid, winter velvet, spring linen, and summer stripes can all happen without buying an entirely new pillow collection every few months.
6. Swedish Dishcloths That Keep the Styled Kitchen Actually Clean
At first glance, Swedish dishcloths may not sound like interior design. They sound like something your practical aunt would get excited about, right before explaining the correct way to load a dishwasher. But designers care deeply about maintenance because a beautiful kitchen only stays beautiful if it is easy to clean.
Costco’s Swedish dishcloth sets are popular because they are reusable, absorbent, and useful for everyday wiping. They are typically made from natural cotton and plant cellulose, giving them a sponge-meets-cloth quality. They can replace many single-use paper towels and help keep counters, sinks, appliances, and tables looking presentable.
Why Designers Like Practical Kitchen Finds
Good design is not just about how a room photographs. It is about how a room supports daily life. A kitchen with beautiful stone counters, warm wood cutting boards, and stylish open shelving still needs to survive coffee drips, pasta sauce, and mysterious sticky spots that appear five minutes after cleaning.
Swedish dishcloths can also be styled neatly. Keep a clean stack in a drawer, a small basket under the sink, or a pretty ceramic holder near the counter. Choose patterns or colors that coordinate with your kitchen palette. Black-and-white prints, leafy patterns, or simple neutral designs can look tidy rather than purely utilitarian.
This is the unglamorous side of design, but it matters. The easier your home is to maintain, the easier it is to enjoy. A gorgeous kitchen that is always messy will never feel as good as a simple kitchen that functions smoothly. Swedish dishcloths may not get applause at a dinner party, but they quietly do the work. Honestly, relatable.
How to Shop Costco Home Finds Like a Designer
Costco shopping can be exciting, but the warehouse environment can also encourage “cart confidence,” which is when everything seems like a brilliant idea because it is oversized and on sale. Designers shop differently. They look for pieces that solve a specific problem.
Check Scale Before You Buy
Before buying a faux tree, measure the corner where it will go. Before buying outdoor furniture, measure the patio and leave room for walking paths. Before buying a giant throw, make sure it fits the sofa or bed without swallowing it whole. Scale is one of the biggest differences between a room that looks expensive and a room that looks awkward.
Stick to a Color Palette
Designers rarely buy home items in random colors. They use a palette. For example, a calm modern home might use cream, warm gray, black, and natural wood. A coastal home might use white, sand, blue, and woven textures. A traditional home might use ivory, navy, brass, and dark wood. When shopping at Costco, filter every purchase through your palette.
Prioritize Texture
Texture makes neutral rooms feel interesting. Faux greenery, woven baskets, fluffy towels, soft throws, smooth ceramic planters, and plump pillows all add tactile variety. If your room feels flat, it may not need more color. It may need more texture.
Buy Multiples When It Makes Sense
Designers often use repetition to make a home feel cohesive. Matching towels in every bathroom, two faux trees flanking a large window, or repeated pillow inserts across several rooms can create visual continuity. Costco’s multipack model is helpful here because it makes repetition more affordable.
Common Mistakes to Avoid With Costco Decor
The first mistake is buying something only because it is a good deal. A bargain is not a bargain if it becomes clutter. The second mistake is ignoring proportion. Large homes can handle oversized pieces, but small rooms need breathing space. The third mistake is forgetting to edit. Even beautiful items lose impact when there are too many of them.
Another common mistake is using every item exactly as packaged. Designers often upgrade the presentation. They put faux plants in better planters, pair Costco towels with stylish hooks, use pillow inserts inside custom covers, and place throws in woven baskets. The product is the starting point, not the whole story.
Real-Life Experience: Styling a Home With Costco Finds
The best way to understand these Costco finds is to imagine using them in a real home. Picture a living room that feels almost finished but not quite warm. The sofa is neutral, the coffee table is nice, and the rug is fine, but the room lacks personality. Instead of replacing major furniture, start with three changes: a tall faux olive tree in the empty corner, two plump pillow inserts inside textured covers, and an oversized throw draped over the sofa. Suddenly the room has height, softness, and a more welcoming mood.
In my experience writing and analyzing home styling topics, the most successful rooms rarely depend on one expensive purchase. They depend on layers. A Costco throw may not seem dramatic in the cart, but on the end of a bed it can make the entire room look more intentional. A set of white towels may seem basic, but stacked on a bathroom shelf they create the same quiet order people love in hotels. Good styling is often less about shouting and more about whispering, “Yes, someone thought this through.”
For a guest bathroom, Costco towels can be the foundation. Use white bath towels, add a small basket of rolled washcloths, place a candle or diffuser on a tray, and include a small faux plant for color. This takes only a few minutes, but it changes the feeling of the room. Guests may not say, “Wow, excellent towel curation,” but they will feel that the space is clean and cared for.
For an outdoor area, the experience is similar. A patio with only chairs can feel unfinished. Add an outdoor rug, a small table, a couple of weather-friendly pillows, and a planter or two. If the seating comes from Costco, the styling can still feel elevated when the layout is thoughtful. Think of the patio as a living room that happens to have birds, bugs, and the occasional neighbor with a leaf blower.
In the kitchen, Swedish dishcloths are a small upgrade with a daily payoff. Keeping counters clean is easier when the right cloth is always within reach. A tidy kitchen also makes decorative details stand out more. The wood bowl, the vase of branches, the pretty cutting board leaning against the backsplashall of it looks better when the counter is not covered in crumbs. Beauty and practicality are not enemies. They are roommates who finally learned to share chores.
Pillow inserts may be the most satisfying upgrade because the result is immediate. Many people buy decorative pillows and wonder why their sofa still does not look like the inspiration photo. Often, the insert is the problem. A fuller insert gives the pillow shape, structure, and that slightly overstuffed designer look. Once you see the difference, flat pillows become hard to ignore. They start looking like they need encouragement and perhaps a snack.
Faux greenery is another high-impact change. Real plants are wonderful, but not every room has the light or care routine to support them. A realistic faux tree can bring movement and softness to a space with zero watering. The experience is especially helpful in rentals, apartments, or rooms with awkward corners. Place the tree in a better pot, add moss at the base, and suddenly the room feels more finished.
The larger lesson is that Costco home finds work best when treated like design materials rather than random bargains. A designer does not see just a towel, a dishcloth, or a throw. A designer sees texture, repetition, function, and atmosphere. That mindset is what turns a warehouse purchase into a home styling win.
Conclusion
Costco may not be the first place people imagine when they think of interior design, but that is exactly why it is so useful. The best designers know how to mix high and low, polished and practical, decorative and durable. Faux plants, towels, outdoor furniture, oversized throw blankets, pillow inserts, and Swedish dishcloths all help create a home that looks beautiful and works hard.
The secret is not buying everything in sight. The secret is choosing pieces with purpose. Use greenery for height, towels for hotel-level order, outdoor furniture for livable patios, throws for softness, pillow inserts for shape, and Swedish dishcloths for everyday maintenance. Do that, and your home can feel more styled, more comfortable, and more youwithout requiring a showroom budget or a designer’s poker face at checkout.
