You’ve just moved into your new place, and while it’s a dream, it doesn’t really feel like home yet. Those favorite pieces from your old home may not translate that well in your new space. It may be difficult deciding where to put everything, and if so, don’t be afraid to purge anything that isn’t perfect and start over.
Your home speaks volumes about you. Here are a few tried-and-true secrets to send the right message.
Incorporate Your Fashion Sense
Select a color palette to guide all of your design decisions. Look to your wardrobe for inspiration to find what colors, textures and prints best represent your personal sense of style. Incorporate these selections wherever you can in your home decor. By sticking within a color palette you can maintain a sense of cohesiveness, and by pulling inspiration from your wardrobe, you can infuse your personality into every space.
Add Inviting Accents
Aim for your decor to draw people in. You can do this by loading up your living room with cozy touches that make you and your guests want to settle in on the couch and stay awhile. Add soft throw pillows in every seating area, and sling a lush heated blanket or throw over the couch to quickly warm up on cold nights. Another way to make a space more inviting is with an array of unique art and unusual bric-a-brac that tells stories of your adventures. Avoid having a ton of framed photos with similar composition. Instead, have a mix of candids and landscape shots mixed in with portraits of family and friends. Arrange your bookshelves with a mix of these items and books on subjects that you are
really passionate about.
Shop Around
Avoid getting too much from one brand or store and instead mix it up for a look that is more intentionally styled. You want your home to look like a place where you’d like to curl up with a good book and a glass of wine, not something out of a catalog. It should represent your past, present and future, so don’t be afraid to mix in some family heirlooms and thrifted art with your new purchases.
Don’t Rush It
If you want your house to look staged and generic, then by all means, decorate it as quickly as possible. To really craft a space that looks like the inviting home of your dreams that really represents you, take your time making design and decor decisions. Allow yourself some time to acclimate to the new space with just the bare essentials so that you can make decisions based on what your actual needs are, not just what you assume you will need. Avoid settling on anything you don’t love; wait until you find that perfect rug, throw pillow or couch, no matter how long it takes. It isn’t worth spending your hard-earned money on stuff that doesn’t positively contribute to your vision for your home.
By using your wardrobe as design inspiration, adding in inviting accessories, shopping around and not forcing or rushing design decisions, you may be surprised to discover that you have an interior design prowess that you didn’t know about. When you find yourself opting to stay in and entertain at home instead of going out, you know that you’ve really done a fantastic job transforming your house into a home. x
