Decorating styles for our homes in the past decade has been referred to as safe, beige, casual and stuck in a rut.
The reality is now people want to move forward and bust out of that safe zone by being more open to having fun colours and patterns on their walls and furniture. People want more personality, more of themselves injected in to their spaces and as a decorator that is what I love to hear. And since most of us already have our beige basics, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to personalize a space. Here are some ways to add a personality to your living rooms:
1. Decorative Fabrics – A great way to get the most bang for your buck is to use fabrics with current colours and dramatic patterns for toss cushions or drapery panels. Any toss cushion tufted with button finishing shows a great tailored look.
2. Wallpaper – Another way to add a dramatic touch to your space even if you only wallpaper 1 accent wall. You could have a geometric pattern in monotone colours or have a large patterned design with lots of colours.
3. Art work – It costs just as much to frame a poster as it does a piece of original artwork. So whether you frame your child’s artwork, a floral photograph or a poster from an art show at the gallery, having it on your walls instead of nothing at all, will always add personality and style.
4. Room Jewellery –This is something you can add to any room. Place that special vase you bought on your last vacation front and center on your book shelf or console table; modernize your dining room light fixture with a drum-shade pendant or something more sparkly; update your kitchen backsplash with glass tiles to add reflection and color; hang a collection of framed photos of a family trip in your hallway; roll out a new area carpet; change up the toss cushions on your sofa. These are all great ways to add some pizzazz to your home.
Next month look in your mailbox for tips on making your dining room a space with purpose.