Designing your home’s interior is a multistep undertaking. No guide will be able to guarantee your satisfaction. When it comes to creating a home that caters to your tastes and to what you wish to express, the criteria lie with you. Though bringing in elements from other styles or designers can be helpful, the mixture of outside influences and your preferences inevitably forms something that will work for you.
But no one is perfect, and even the best DIY designers can find themselves falling for easy strategies that don’t always offer the best outcomes. To help you out along the way, here are some interior design tips to transform your home.
Avoid Too Much of a Good Thing
Suppose you enjoy plants and greenery. You add a potted plant in the corner, some intermittent hanging vines, and maybe a centerpiece vase on the coffee table. At this point, you’re closer to exploring a safari than decorating a living room. Being wary of how many of your favorite elements you add to a room is key to maintaining a good balance.
When it comes to actively preventing this, some people get too scared to personalize their rooms altogether. This results in them holding back and not being satisfied with the finished results. By being aware of these small factors, you’ll be able to gauge for yourself what the room is lacking and what it has too much of.
Hang Art at the Right Height
Have you ever felt that something was off when you looked at a piece of art in someone else’s home? Maybe the art felt too detached from the room or unnatural for a reason you couldn’t put your finger on. One likely possibility for this feeling is that the homeowner didn’t hang their artwork at the recommended viewing height of 57 inches. This height is typical for keeping things uniform and flowing in a room. When decorations are hung too high, they begin to separate from the whole image and feel like they don’t belong.
Though this recommended height can vary slightly with the height of each viewer, 57 inches is the safest middle ground for both taller and shorter individuals. By using this rule in your designs, you avoid that uneasy, detached feeling while maintaining a consistent look. As for how people perceive each room, you typically want the experience to be smooth and seamless as they navigate the space with their eyes first.
Space Out the Furniture
Some home designers tend to play it too safe and bring all their furniture pieces to the edges and corners of a room. Yes, this is a cozy setup that maintains an open area. However, people tend to compensate for the open space by overstuffing the room to make it feel less barren. Putting your furniture in different sections of the room closes off different areas yet simultaneously opens up the space for conversation and makes it more convenient for people to get around. There’s no need to be afraid to use your furniture layout to create a better sense of community within the room.
For example, a larger lounge area can seat people in the center while storage shelves occupy the corners. You can then use your imagination for the additional space. Whether you use it for an office setup or additional seating is up to you.
Regardless of the size, any room is flexible with the correct layout and placement of furniture. Don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone, even if it’s only to see what a certain arrangement looks like. Exploring the design of your rooms with this open mind set will allow you to find something you love in unexpected choices you wouldn’t typically make.
Mix It Up
A lot of new homeowners who are just starting to fill their rooms with furniture tend to buy complete sets of matching furniture. This is not inherently bad, per se, but it sets up limits as to how you explore your personal design style. Natural uniformity doesn’t always mean that everything has to be the same. If you look at examples of boho-chic designs, for example, the furniture is often varied, but no piece feels out of place.
Consider looking at different collections and picking out your favorites from each one. Mixing in a bamboo shelf with some modern blue area rugs and a solid oak coffee table, for instance, ties things together subtly with a contemporary design. Though the mix of items wouldn’t typically belong to the same sets, their colors and textures come together naturally.
Play With Scale
One design flaw that normally goes unnoticed is filling rooms with items and furniture that are all around the same height. Though this creates a uniform look, everything also tends to look flat and a bit unexciting. Adding some variation in height and size gives the eyes a chance to wander and scan the area rather than only looking around vertically. Different-size paintings, vases, and plants act uniquely in balancing the space and preventing it from feeling too basic or orderly.
This isn’t to say that a minimalistic style that relies on simplicity and fewer items is impossible to make appealing. Lamps, couches, tables, and shelves are all able to play around with these elements that help create a more interesting room without having to add more items for the sake of variation.
Don’t let the heights of your walls or the color of your carpet limit your creative mind. When it comes to designing your home, expressing yourself through your personal design choices is key. Play around with things you’re not familiar with, and discoveries will always remain on your horizon. Again, no textbook will be able to guide you to the right answer. Staying true to your own design style and the different ones that inspired it will cement your personal aesthetic. By considering a few of these interior design tips to transform your home, you’re bound to create fresh designs that last and that will wow new visitors.
