Furnishing a New Home
Furnishing a new home can seem daunting, especially if you aim to create a harmonious look that feels uniquely yours. With so many styles, colours, and designs available, how do you ensure everything matches and looks stunning?
Follow these easy techniques to make your space come together beautifully:
Define Your Style: Before buying anything, determine what kind of look you’re aiming for. Whether it’s contemporary, rustic, traditional, bohemian, or a mix, understanding your style will provide a roadmap for your purchases. Create mood boards with inspirations from magazines or platforms like Pinterest to visualize your ideas.
Start With Neutral Foundations: Choosing neutral tones for larger pieces like sofas, beds, and dining tables provides flexibility. Earthy tones, greys, and whites can serve as a canvas, allowing for easy updates with accessories and décor.
Use a Consistent Colour Palette: While you don’t need to limit your home to two or three colours, it helps to have a consistent palette. Choose two or three primary colours and one or two accent colours to ensure cohesion throughout the space.
Invest in Key Pieces: Focus on acquiring essential pieces first. For the living room, this might be a couch, coffee table, and TV stand. For the bedroom, begin with the bed and wardrobe. Once you have these foundational pieces, it’s easier to accessorize around them.
Mix and Match with Intent: While the matching furniture sets of the past might seem tempting, they can sometimes give a space a catalogue feel. Instead, mix different pieces, but ensure they share a common element, be it material, colour, or design detail.
Texture Adds Depth: Different textures can bring warmth and dimension. Incorporate materials like wood, metal, glass, fabric, and ceramics. Layer soft textiles like rugs, cushions, and throws to create a cozy feel.
Balance Scale and Proportion: An oversized sofa can overwhelm a small room, just as a tiny table can look lost in a spacious dining area. Ensure that the furniture fits the room’s proportions and leaves enough space for movement.
Introduce Greenery: Plants are a wonderful addition to any décor style. They bring in colour, life, and can complement most colour palettes. If you don’t have a green thumb, consider low-maintenance plants or stylish artificial options.
Use Art and Personal Items: Personalize your space with wall art, photographs, and souvenirs from travels, except your collection of travel teaspoons, keep them in your drawer. Not only do they tell your story, but they also add character and make the home truly yours.
Functional can be Aesthetic: Storage doesn’t have to be boring. Consider stylish baskets, decorative shelves, or colourful bins. When every item has its place, your home remains tidy and visually appealing.
Layer Lighting: Different lighting can change the entire mood of a room. Incorporate ambient, task, and accent lighting. Think beyond ceiling lights; floor lamps, table lamps, and wall sconces can add layers and depth to the space.
Consistency is Key: Whether it’s a similar wood finish or matching metals, maintaining some consistency in materials will tie the space together. This doesn’t mean everything should match perfectly, but repeating certain elements can make the design feel intentional.
Iterate as You Go: Rarely do homes get furnished overnight. As you live in the space, your needs and tastes might evolve. Feel free to swap out or add new items, keeping the overall design philosophy in mind.
In conclusion, the secret to a beautifully furnished home lies in thoughtful planning, a clear vision, and attention to details. With these techniques in hand, you can create a cohesive space that’s both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Remember, your home should be a reflection of you – so while these guidelines can help, don’t forget to infuse your personal touch!
Define Your Style: Before buying anything, determine what kind of look you’re aiming for. Whether it’s contemporary, rustic, traditional, bohemian, or a mix, understanding your style will provide a roadmap for your purchases. Create mood boards with inspirations from magazines or platforms like Pinterest to visualize your ideas.
Start With Neutral Foundations: Choosing neutral tones for larger pieces like sofas, beds, and dining tables provides flexibility. Earthy tones, greys, and whites can serve as a canvas, allowing for easy updates with accessories and décor.
Use a Consistent Colour Palette: While you don’t need to limit your home to two or three colours, it helps to have a consistent palette. Choose two or three primary colours and one or two accent colours to ensure cohesion throughout the space.
Invest in Key Pieces: Focus on acquiring essential pieces first. For the living room, this might be a couch, coffee table, and TV stand. For the bedroom, begin with the bed and wardrobe. Once you have these foundational pieces, it’s easier to accessorize around them.
Mix and Match with Intent: While the matching furniture sets of the past might seem tempting, they can sometimes give a space a catalogue feel. Instead, mix different pieces, but ensure they share a common element, be it material, colour, or design detail.
Texture Adds Depth: Different textures can bring warmth and dimension. Incorporate materials like wood, metal, glass, fabric, and ceramics. Layer soft textiles like rugs, cushions, and throws to create a cozy feel.
Balance Scale and Proportion: An oversized sofa can overwhelm a small room, just as a tiny table can look lost in a spacious dining area. Ensure that the furniture fits the room’s proportions and leaves enough space for movement.
Introduce Greenery: Plants are a wonderful addition to any décor style. They bring in colour, life, and can complement most colour palettes. If you don’t have a green thumb, consider low-maintenance plants or stylish artificial options.
Use Art and Personal Items: Personalize your space with wall art, photographs, and souvenirs from travels, except your collection of travel teaspoons, keep them in your drawer. Not only do they tell your story, but they also add character and make the home truly yours.
Functional can be Aesthetic: Storage doesn’t have to be boring. Consider stylish baskets, decorative shelves, or colourful bins. When every item has its place, your home remains tidy and visually appealing.
Layer Lighting: Different lighting can change the entire mood of a room. Incorporate ambient, task, and accent lighting. Think beyond ceiling lights; floor lamps, table lamps, and wall sconces can add layers and depth to the space.
Consistency is Key: Whether it’s a similar wood finish or matching metals, maintaining some consistency in materials will tie the space together. This doesn’t mean everything should match perfectly, but repeating certain elements can make the design feel intentional.
Iterate as You Go: Rarely do homes get furnished overnight. As you live in the space, your needs and tastes might evolve. Feel free to swap out or add new items, keeping the overall design philosophy in mind.
In conclusion, the secret to a beautifully furnished home lies in thoughtful planning, a clear vision, and attention to details. With these techniques in hand, you can create a cohesive space that’s both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Remember, your home should be a reflection of you – so while these guidelines can help, don’t forget to infuse your personal touch!
KNOW WHAT CUSTOMISATIONS WOULD FIT YOUR LIFESTYLE?
Take time and avoid regrets - 72% of people who have built a home say they wish they’d spent more time customising their plan to include more of the little things that would suit their lifestyle.We hope we’ve got you thinking, ‘What little changes would ensure our home design fits the way we live our life? Our lifestyle profiler will help design a home that fits your life.
COMPLETE A LIFESTYLE PROFILE