The old house requires some decoration to brighten it up.

decoration 是名词，来自动词 decorate（装饰），指"装饰物"或"装饰行为"。decorate 由前缀 de-（加强语气）和拉丁词根 cor（心、核心）演变而来，原意是"使核心部分更美"，引申为"装饰"。