8 Simple Home Decor Tips to Always Follow

7 Simple Home Decor Tips to Always Follow

Home has a new meaning for me these days, as does it for many of you. Because of the rise of COVID-19, many of us are spending a lot more time in our abodes. We dine-in, workout, work, and more at much higher rates. As we move into a new phase of norms, many reports suggest that our homes may become more permanent places of work, even for larger corporations. If it’s not required, then you may have the option to work remotely more frequently. So, is your home somewhere you want to be?

You owe it to yourself to turn it into a place of inspiration, productivity, sanctuary and restoration. As you begin exploring new decor and design projects for your home, here are a few tips you can follow to get started.

Simple Home Decor Tips Anyone Can Follow

Know your style and stick to it: Modern, farm house, transitional, contemporary, industrial, bohemian–these are just a few decor categories you can file your personal aesthetic under. When you start decorating, it’s important to know where on the spectrum you want your home to fall. It will help guide your decisions. While you can always blend decor styles and items, you should have a core style that can drive your decisions for purchasing, creating and also pairing down. Here is a good guide to home decor styles.

Start with a core color family: You may notice I have a lot of color in my apartment.. When you look closer, I’m actually working with a tight palette. Green is always a core color. Even when I invested in new art recently, I made sure that art had prominent green colors. Everything sort of works around that core color idea, from whites to greens, to blues, to corals, I make sure they can play well with a dark green hue. While every room can have it’s own color pallet, you’ll notice that green color bleeds into the rest of my apartment. See more photos of my apartment here.

Mirror mirror: Adding a mirror into your space is the simplest decor trick of them all. It works for a few reasons. Firstly, it instantly makes a room look bigger because it reflects light and other decor. Secondly, a mirror is a wonderful design tool because it can help you amplify some of your favorite decor aspects. I can look in one mirror in my living room and see my great bar stools and cute ottomans all the time.

When in Doubt, Go White: White is always a good idea, especially if you already have rich colors placed around your apartment or house. White chairs, tables, vases, and even frames can help brighten up darker corners. Adding more white also helps highlight the colors and patterns that already exist. It’s the same concept as putting together an outfit to highlight a statement pant or necklace. Don’t be afraid to take a spray can or a paint brush to a vintage frame or accent chair, either. Bring the old into the new.

A rug is better than a renovation: This is especially helpful if you rent. You can’t always redo your floors and you have to work with what you got. Investing in rugs can help you transform any space instantly. I always opt for lighter colors over darker floors and darker rugs over lighter floors. The other great thing about rugs is that they can help you reframe and shape a room. For me, my living room is very open, so we have a couple rugs we can move around to create separate areas. Pro tip: don’t be afraid to layer rugs, especially of different textures and patterns!

Shop Rugs:

Nothing is permanent. Change it up: You can always replace art, upgrade frames, reposition decor, move couches, and more. Play around. Unlike building a house, decor is something you can always change, often for little cost. I’m so glad about my new artwork investment. It didn’t cost much and it helped me rethink our whole living room set up. The new colors and shapes also made my room look larger. I found places for paintings and photos I already had in new spots I hadn’t imagined before. I didn’t change up my style or functionality, I just improve it. Just like adding new clothing to your closet, you can create new outfits with new items.

Reupholster small pieces: I have a small ottoman that I found on the side of the road years and years ago. I have reupholstered it twice. It’s relatively inexpensive and even easy to do yourself. These smaller accent pieces like ottomans, curtains and stools can really bring your space alive. Play around with bolder colors and patterns with these, too. If you are scared of a green couch, start my adding green pillows and .Instead of buying new furniture, reupholster an old chair to give it a completely new look.

Blend textures: This tip comes from my years as set designer and stylist. If you have a leather couch, make sure you have some plush blankets and cotton pillows on it. If you have a crushed velvet chair, add a silky pillow and a faux fur throw. The key is contrast. This helps amplify the textures and colors that exist. If you think about it in terms of color: you don’t want to put all green pillow son a green couch. While it’s okay to have a few green pillows, you want to highlight and bring out the green color by adding patterns and colors that help you do just that. The same concepts apply to texture.