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Home decoration is the new black. No matter where you look, home furnishing magazines and DIY tipsters explain to you that it’s easier than ever to accumulate fashionable homewares.
However, that’s only the start of your journey. When you’ve purchased your fabulous new wares, how are you supposed to style them in a way which makes your whole house seem ‘put together’ and stylish?
The following 5 tips are designed to help get your brain in seamless decorator mode – without a degree in feng shui.
Bring It Together
An old decorators trick is to use a recurring motif or emblem throughout your home. This can be as literal as a wall-paper or tiled floor, or it could be an overarching design period/movement you aspire to.
By picking a motif and creating areas with a common goal, you can more easily transition from one space to another without obvious changes in colour scheme, stylistic choice, or furnishing density.
Soft Touches
The soft furnishings throughout your home are one of the easiest and most effective items to coordinate. Blinds, curtains and coverings make an immense difference to the feel and look of your space, and when executed well, can tie an entire design concept together.
Drab blinds and curtains are often the most dated elements of an otherwise chic home. Updating the curtains in your home is a task you can complete without leaving your chair. Many services and providers allow you to select from a range of curtains online, with made-to-measure and bespoke services widely available.
Colour Wheel
A basic and central concept to all artistic endeavours, selecting a colour palette will help you to select items to furnish and adorn your home.
If you’re on a budget or are trying to work with limited resources, it can be a good first step to first do a stocktake of items you already have. Ask yourself if there’s an existing colour scheme – and if so, is it effective. If you have the luck of having already decorated with a neutral colour palette, you’ll have a whole host of options to update your look.
Once you’ve defined your colour palette and chosen any accent colours, you can begin the process of removing or replacing any items which don’t provide harmony or a point of interest. If you decide to sell these pieces, you can garner additional funds to purchase new items in the colour palette of your choice.
Start Small
If restyling your whole home seems like too big of a project to tackle at once, start small. Pick an area which you deem to be most in need of your attention, and focus on making that space fulfil its potential.
Once you’ve translated your ideas into a smaller space, it will be easier to see a flow-on effect. By working bit-by-bit, you can make your entire space reflect the newly-honed area – one room at a time.
Get Inspired
There are so many inspiring resources available that it can be hard to know where to start or who to follow. For the more visually-minded, creating a Pinterest (or Instagram) account for home and decorating style ideas can be an excellent way to keep your influences organised.
Seeing your ideas laid out can also help with the process of visualising items in a space together. The ability to see how various influences work together before investing money in items which may or may not fit an overall spectrum is incredibly valuable.
Creating a sense of harmony in the style of your home requires patience, a keen curatorial eye and a ruthless ability to discard items which no longer serve your theme or your purpose. By employing a mixture of art principles, decorator techniques and personal preferences, you’ll be on your way to your most stylish home ever.