What is Home Decor?

Home decor example with furniture and wall art

Home decor is clearing and creating living spaces that are visually appealing and more attractive to the human eye. Designing and decorating our homes is something we can easily envision. We all know what our ideal home looks like, and often it’s making this vision a reality that’s difficult to achieve. There are many pitfalls we can fall into when we’re on a mission to clear and create a beautiful living space that will suit our tastes. We’ve taken it upon ourselves to put some strategies together to help you through this process.


Contents

  1. Basics of Home Decor
  2. Tips & Tricks in Home Decor
  3. Seasonal Decorating Ideas – Spring
  4. Popular Home Decor Styles
  5. Decluttering Strategies
  6. 5 Common Mistakes Designing Your Space


Furniture and wall art together to create a room decor


Basics of Home Decor

Whether you’re decorating your home for the first time or if it’s your tenth furnishing venture, the first room on your list should always be the living room. Not only do living rooms boast one of the larger floor spaces in your house, but it’s also a communal area where you entertain guests and relatives. It’s also where you and your family spend most of your time together – second only to the dining room or kitchen. Start with this room, and take the below notes to work through the rest of the rooms in your home.


Establish a Focal Point

Rooms must not only be attractive and welcoming but a comfortable place to stay in. One of the first things you need to do is establish a focal point. Focal points can either be natural or artificial. Natural focal points include central points such as the fireplace or a very large window offering views of the outside to the room. Artificial focal points, on the other hand, are more diverse and can be furniture, a structure within the room, or even a piece of artwork. Take note that even if the room has an existing focal point, such as a window, you can draw the attention away to a new focal area through the creative use of decor. Eye-catching canvas prints or acrylic glass prints are the easiest type of decoration to turn into a new focal point, but you can use furniture as well.


Lighting

Unlike other rooms, the importance of lighting in a room isn’t always immediate – especially if the room has a large window that provides natural lighting during the day. Rooms can thrive with just ambient lighting from a couple of standing lamps or even recessed lighting that is neatly hidden in the recesses of the walls or ceiling. If you’re using different types of lighting (such as a mixture of ambient, accent, and task lighting), they should be at different levels to avoid crowding.


Furniture Arrangement

The biggest challenge when it comes to arranging room furniture is where to begin and how to get it right. It’s a common mistake to simply place a sofa or a chaise lounge right against the wall or prop up a coffee table in the very middle of the room. When arranging furniture, use your established focal point as a guide. If your designated focal area is on a corner of the room, for example, the furniture should neatly expand from the focal area into the rest of the room. You also certainly don’t want to arrange furniture that makes the room difficult to walk through. Simple rules include avoiding placing large and obstructive furniture near the transitionary areas of the room.


The Importance of Wall Art

While less is often certainly more, empty walls in rooms exude an atmosphere of incompleteness that you don’t want to permeate. The presence of wall art that works in conjunction with the rest of the  room’s decor is not only eye-catching and attractive to look at, but it also ensures a cohesive look for the rest of the room. Hanging wall art in your home also helps you avoid filling the walls with decor that can crowd the room.


Colour Palette

Finally, there’s the colour palette of your room. It’s ideally the last thing you should consider since, while painting is a difficult chore, it’s easier to find colours that match the room’s existing decor than the other way around. Use your primary focal points as well as the decorative pieces you’ve chosen for your room as a sort of colour guide so you can find an inspirational colour palette for your room.


Tips & Tricks in Home Decor

Designing and decorating your home is the easiest thing to plan but the most difficult to execute. Once you’re past the drawing board and have all the elements, you’ll often find yourself at a loss on how to put all the pieces together.


1. A Room with Personality

When you’re decorating your room, it’s important that you build it up with your personality in mind – especially if you’re decorating your personal room. Fill it with the things you love or best describe you as a person whether it’s your favourite books, collectibles, or even the artwork you want to showcase.


2. Add Some Greenery

Incorporate greenery into your home as you’re decorating each room. Whether it’s something as simple as a potted plant or wall art of a rolling green hill, it makes the room feel more natural and establishes a relaxing atmosphere, too. It’s also a good idea to allocate some empty space into your room as you’re filling it with everything that describes you. Doing this keeps things from getting too cluttered and gives you some room to breathe. This works in conjunction with your green additions; even if you place your potted plant on an empty spot of the room, it doesn’t feel cramped because it falls in naturally.


3. Embellish Your Walls

Unlike other rooms, the importance of lighting in a living room isn’t always immediate – especially if the room has a large window that provides natural lighting during the day. Your living room can thrive with just ambient lighting from a couple of standing lamps or even recessed lighting that is neatly hidden in the recesses of the walls or ceiling. If you’re using different types of lighting (such as a mixture of ambient, accent, and task lighting), they should be at different levels to avoid crowding.


4. Dabble in the Different

When you’re decorating your room, don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone and dabble in the different. Contrasting décor, even if it’s just a singular piece, is a great way to break the monotony of an otherwise one-note room. Try adding some high contrast for a less monotone colour scheme. White tones offer a sharp contrast to more saturated tones, but they balance each other well and can really liven up a room. The same applies to earthy colours and lighter shades.


Seasonal Decorating Ideas – Spring

Spring is a time of rejuvenation and new beginnings – when flowers start blooming again and the snow and ice make way for the verdant grass. Just like Mother Nature, you may be considering doing your spring renewal in your home. 


Minimize the Clutter

Before you add lush greens and enticing summer flowers. You need to set space for spring to settle in by minimizing the existing clutter in your home. Living rooms and hallways must be easy to traverse while bedrooms should be free of wall decor that looks too heavy or cluttered.


Add Flowers and Floral-Inspired Art

Without making your home feel cluttered. Fresh cut spring flowers are the quintessential decor for a spring-inspired home, but don’t go too overboard on it! Your choice of flowers should be unique decor in your room instead of ubiquitous, so place them in focal points such as on top of the living room’s coffee table or the dining table’s centrepiece. To complete your room’s floral infusion, choose wall art that will fill your wall space and bring the room together. 


Fill Your Room with Natural Lighting.

Spring may be in full bloom outside but winter would have never really left your home if the atmosphere remains gloomy because it’s lacking in lighting. A neat trick to help natural light travel throughout your room is by introducing a white colour scheme to your space, such as painting the walls white or getting light-coloured furniture and small decorations. 


Blue Details

Blue details isn’t always associated with coldness and winter. If your current decor feels a bit too warm for spring, balance the atmosphere by adding some choice blue details to your room such as a blue floor rug or wall art. Because it’s a cool and subtle colour, it doesn’t take up that much visual space so these details won’t clutter up your room. This is a welcome colour for the spring, and you’ll find enchanting blue details in otherwise verdant landscapes – whether it’s a babbling brook, the gentle seaside or the endemic dampieras that blossom at the height of the Australian spring.


Popular Home Decor Styles

Split image showing several home decor styles

Whether you live in the sprawling suburbs, a gated community or in an apartment, how you decorate your interior space speaks volumes about your home and personality. There are plenty of design styles to choose from – from trendy contemporary to the simple aesthetics of the Scandinavian house interior, but there’s only one that best fits your space.


Contemporary

Contemporary home decor example

Contemporary interiors, while adhering to the design rules laid out by Modernism, aren't restricted to the art and interior movements of the early 20th century. The contemporary style is trendy and always fresh and modernises past trends to create something new. Because of this, there can be many interpretations of the contemporary interior.

Contemporary spaces prefer glass and metals. Contemporary interiors often adhere to a stricter colour palette – usually muted colours such as black, white and grey. Colour palettes that are muted or monotone are paired with saturated tones to create high contrast. A lax approach to minimalism; while contemporary styles still adhere to clutter-free aesthetics, it’s less stringent on flashy and eye-catching decor.


Modern

Modern home decor example

The best way to describe modern interior design is ‘clean and crisp’. Homes with this style have simple but vibrant colour palettes and tidy furnishings, and there’s a focus on keeping things clutter-free. You may have noticed a lot of apartments and smaller spaces with modern decor.

Keep in mind that ‘modern’ doesn’t necessarily mean what’s new or currently trending. It’s quite the opposite; modern interiors interpret a certain design and style that began in the 20th century, such as Art Deco and Bauhaus, while contemporary has a broader range and usually includes the current trending styles. Think of modern design as less of what’s new and more like the ‘new’ vintage. Modern Interiors utilise wood and earthy elements, boast a more vibrant colour scheme, and generally adhere to one style.


Hamptons

Hamptons home decor example

The Hamptons is arguably the most popular interior style here in Australia, and in some cases, is even more popular than French Provincial. There’s something about this design trend from Long Island, New York that resonates well with us. We think it’s because the Hamptons style boasts an elegant coastal atmosphere that’s perfect for our setting.

Apart from the seaside and beachy atmosphere, the Hamptons interior incorporates the following: White interiors, including white walls, light coloured furnishing, and sandy tones. Blue and white stripes on accessories such as rugs, carpets and curtains. Comfy furniture with relaxed fabrics.


Scandi

Scandinavian interior design has a clean, crisp style while also being calming and inviting. The design movement began in the twentieth century and mixed past and present interior styles from Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Iceland. Scandinavian style is characterised by its simple, minimal, functional, and affordable craftsmanship.

The Scandinavian interior design style teaches us to emphasise bright, open spaces. These spaces should have enough room to allow us to breathe. To achieve this, we look to the Scandi clean lines and white spaces, which evoke a sense of calm and openness. Clutter is a rare occurrence in a Scandinavian room. To avoid clutter, adopt the Swedish term lagom (translating to “in-between” or “just right”. This tactic is more personal and relies on your instinct to know when you’ve reached it. Maintain Scandi tradition by investing in high-quality pieces that are both practical and please the eye. If you’re concerned about a lack of colour, don’t be. The Scandi style appreciates a pop of colour and greenery in living spaces. And then there is that all too famous Danish export, the hygge. Hygge is a term given to that which is cosy and together, reminding you of warmth and comfort. Blankets, slippers, candles can help you achieve hygge while also being entirely practical.


Shabby Chic

In the 1980s, shabby chic emerged as a popular style trend. It began with British bohemians and artists looking to revamp old furniture and make them look like works of art. This could look something like reupholstering an old Victorian chair. In this way, shabby chic emphasises eco-sustainability. This style of interior design embraces the old, the worn, and the nostalgic, and it has warm, charming, and relaxed characteristics.

Scour the markets and second-hand stores for vintage-looking glassware, furniture with distressed wood, chandeliers, and mirrors. Besides embracing old, second-hand items, shabby chic will have you loving white and other soft pastel colours. If you think but there is only one shade of white, you couldn’t be more wrong. But don’t fret. While white is the statement colour of a shabby chic home, don’t be surprised to find blues and greens in the mix. This will give you a chance to throw in a teal cushion on the off-white couch. Shabby chic also looks to the blooming season with florals. This style can be very feminine and romantic, and florals can be incorporated into antique rugs and curtains. 


Decluttering Strategies

Clutter is the enemy of comfort, and it becomes an increasing problem as your family grows and your living spaces get busier. All these excesses will turn a well-designed and neat room into an inhospitable place and can even affect your health by inciting stress. Fortunately, you don’t need to live in a sea of clutter so long as you keep these decluttering strategies in mind.


The Practice of Putting Away

It’s easy to leave items that you’re using just lying wherever you are, especially if you’re in a hurry to do something else. This is where clutter begins and ultimately becomes the foundation of a messy and uninhabitable room. Putting away things when not in use isn’t so much a strategy as it is a practice you should follow. Whether it’s a broom, book or an article of clothing, be mindful of where you took them from so you can return them.


Broken Items Need to Go

It may seem like a no-brainer, but many have a difficult time getting rid of damaged or broken items – especially if they have sentimental value. If it’s not possible to restore these items, then you need to get rid of them, otherwise, they can drive up the clutter in your home. Alternatively, you can place them in storage where they won’t clutter your room.


Storage Space

There are many storage options to choose from, ranging from simple baskets to large containers. These should be used sparingly in each room as you don’t want to fill it completely with your bins and containers. You may also want to consider multi-functional storage that doubles as furniture or decorative pieces for your room such as Ottoman chairs, beds, and benches. Here, you can store pillows, clothing, and electronics when not in use.


Cleaning Your Room

Make it a habit to clean your room regularly. Dirt, dust, and debris all contribute to clutter and makes organising the room more difficult, too. Make sure you get those hard-to-reach places such as shelves on the walls and the closet. If you’re having a difficult time storing your new clothes or displaying that new item on your shelf, chances are there’s some debris preventing that so clean it up. We recommend you set a day all for cleaning at least once a month.


Lessen Wall Clutter

Clutter isn’t just the mess of items strewn about your room. There’s also visual clutter, which is when there are too many decorative elements in the room with no cohesion. The walls are particularly susceptible to this kind of clutter as it’s the easiest part of the room to decorate. In fact, most people go overboard when decorating them without knowing they are contributing to the overall clutter of the room, Since the walls are among the first things you see when you enter your room, they make an immediate impression that sticks. Avoid filling the walls with too much decorative stuff. Instead, stick with one decor that will serve as your focal point and primary decorative element. 


5 Common Mistakes Designing Your Space

There’s a thin line between decorative and a full-blown mess, so do your best to avoid clutter. One of the most common mistakes people make when designing and decorating a room is that they tend to go overboard with the decor – whether it’s too many decorative set pieces on the wall or additions that take up too much of the floor space. Let’s take a look at some of the common mistakes made when designing space.


1. Not Defining Your Need and Wants

As early as the “conception” stage of your interior design endeavour, you must set boundaries on what the room wants and needs. The distinction between the two depends on each person and is not really clear-cut, but it’s important that you define these so that you don’t unintentionally go overboard when designing your room. Defining your needs and wants keeps you on track with plans and prevents you from exceeding your budget. It’s always a good idea to put things on a list to help you decide what you need versus just the things you want. From that list, you can already define what are the practical and necessary additions to your room.


2. Cluttering the Wall

The walls in a living space are easily the most versatile part of the entire space. It’s also one of the most cluttered areas as many go completely overboard decorating it. Since the walls are one of the first things you’ll see when you enter a room, a cluttered first impression will last a long time. If you want to make the walls of your room stand out without cluttering it, you can simply pick a decorative element that will serve as the focal point of the room. Paintings, photography prints, and wall art are the most commonly used focal points for any room. Not only do you have the freedom to choose what’s the overall theme of your room, but they are also easy to install. We recommend canvas wall art as unlike your standard framed picture of a photograph, they have a three-dimensional aspect, which means they pop up from the wall instead of lying flat and static on it.


3. Forgetting the Flow

A well-designed house has a flow to it, and you can best describe it as the ease with which you move from room to room or within the individual spaces. Establishing the proper flow is tricky but it is something and needs some proper planning to avoid making your home feel uncomfortable. The simplest way to go about this is by incorporating the elements that “make sense”. For example, it makes sense to put a coat hook near your front door so that you can hang your jacket or coat as soon as you enter your home.  Similarly, you don’t want to place a huge obstruction in a room close to a door or window as it’s going to be inconvenient moving through that part.


4. Lack of Storage Space

Whether it’s a bedroom, hallway or the kitchen, storage space is necessary and should never be the last thing you add to your room. Establishing a place where you can put away things when not in use helps prevent the room from becoming a cluttered mess once you’re all settled in.


5. Clashing Decor

Finally, there’s the common problem of clashing décor which occurs when decorative elements don’t really work with one another. A contrast between a modern piece of furniture and a more traditional canvas prints is okay, but it becomes a problem when each decorative element and set piece starts to clash with one another. High contrast between modern art pieces and more traditional-looking furniture is nice; just don’t go overboard with it.

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