When you personalize your home, they feel more authentic and give you more pride in your home. A personalized room is so much more interesting to me. It pulls me in with a glimpse into the homeowners’ life. These rooms feel warm, comfortable, and unique.
There are some good style-based reasons to personalize your home — you have a vision to follow, for example — but did you know that personalizing your space is actually good for your wellbeing too? When we’re able to put our stamp on a home and express ourselves in it, our very soul is made known.
It’s in that spirit that I want to share some easy ways you can get creative with your decorating and personalize your home.
Create Collections
Use collections to create a focal point. With everything together — in one place – they look chicer and more organized. Collections are a nice way for hobbyists to show off what they love to do. Whether you’re an art collector or vase collector, a hockey fan, or a musician, you can use collections to group your favorite items for maximum decorating impact. And as shown here, family photos look great when grouped as a collection.
Hack Mass-Produced Items
Hacking mass-produced items from Ikea and West Elm in unexpected ways is another clever way to stylishly add your personality to your home. Kristina Lyne took a TARVA pine IKEA dresser and painted and stained it to look more mid-century. She even switched out the legs. You’ve gotta love crafty ladies!
Do A Gallery Wall
The gallery wall is one of the longest-running and nicest decorating trends for a reason. They’re so versatile and add instant drama. When Sarah Huggins (see video) renovated her home, she took it from ’90s drab to looking modern and on-trend. One of her features was the gallery wall in her living room. By displaying a collection of her grandfather’s Bauhaus-era sketches, she created quite the conversation starter, which is one great way to add personality. The sketches in her display were her grandfather’s very first as an architect in the 50s and have become a family heirloom. Now, Huggins says, the family makes a space for them in every home they live in.
Use Bright and Unexpected Colors
A sofa in a bright or unexpected color like yellow, lime, or pink shares your colorful side with us. It also adds that wow factor. If your sofa or most of your space is neutral, a pop of color, such as in your pillows, will give it more interest and personality.
Decorate With Oversized Art
A large oversized piece of artwork adds a sense of grandeur and makes no apology for what you love. You can create a whole decorating scheme around it!
Add Foreign Objects
Objects that represent your heritage or culture and that means a lot to you is another way to show your personality. A collection of masks or other objects you collect on your travels is another great way to make your style stand out.
Display Your Equipment
Oh, you guys are a tennis family? You love to travel, and you really love fashion!!! I like knowing things like that about a household when I walk into someone’s home. When space at a premium, going a step further by mounting your equipment and making it part of the decor can look impressive. Whatever you’re into, if you thoughtfully and stylishly incorporate it into your design you will make it more you.
Make a Colorful Statement
It’s laying it on thick but going all out on your favorite color is another way to create an impact in your home. Oh, the things you can do with a can of paint!
Update Light Fixtures
There are so many amazingly beautiful and stupendous light fixtures out now that I’m almost disappointed when I go into a home and see plain old ones, circa 2002. Personalize your home by choosing fixtures that capture your vibe. There are so many ideas out there that it’s not hard to find and bring in YOUR style.
Show Off Your Whimsical Side
I love it when others use a little levity in their designs or are a little obsessive about something, like vintage, when many people aren’t. I’ve tried but I don’t quite have whimsy down yet. But when they’re tasteful, whimsical pieces can help your space feel welcoming. This approach is another great conversation starter!
Make Clever Use Of Your Space
Making do with what you have by turning nooks into living spaces speaks volumes about a homeowner. That’s someone with personality… and ingenuity. Here are a few things that I’ve seen in decorating that demonstrate creative uses of space.
- Wall-to-wall bookshelves or storage.
- Nooks with a purpose. Using the area under stairs as a home office or for a photo gallery.
- Overhead storage that wraps a room and is filled with tchotchkes you actually want to see.
I hope you found something among these ideas that you can use, or that you were inspired to come up with some of your own. Here’s to expressing yourself at home and finding ways to add a beautiful personality to it — yours.
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