Most people want their home to be a haven and a place where people want to be. There is no magical formula, but here are some quick tips to help you make your home feel homier:
Keep it clean and tidy
If your home is clean and tidy, it will feel peaceful and calm. Piles of clutter can lead to stress and anxiety. There have been studies that show that people with clean houses are actually healthier. If you have ever tackled an organization project, you know that viewing something immaculate feels terrific! Spending a little time each day to pick up things and tackle small projects can keep things looking nice for longer. A clean house, regardless of decor or color, will feel comfortable to guests - the best part is, it is free!
Find your inspiration
When picking a color scheme or overall design feeling for a room, I like to select a quilt or piece of artwork that I love and pull colors from there as my inspiration. If the color combination works on the item, it will most likely work in your design.
Repeat
Once you have decided to have a color or a pattern in a room, if you repeat it somewhere else, it will help the design feel cohesive and connected. Repeating elements in multiple rooms will help the various areas feel connected, especially if you can see one from the other.
Implement Some Hygge
Hygge is a Danish concept of creating joy and coziness in everyday moments. For home decor, they suggest adding soft, warm light, fire, candles, wood furniture, vintage accents, pillows, throws, and items from nature. It is a state of mind where someone could walk into your house and feel this is a place people love to be. It incorporates textures and colors to engage all of the human senses.
Improve Your Lighting
Most lighting designs agree that you should have layers and that a room should have a mix of overhead, accent, and task lighting. Also, natural light is always highly coveted, so I would suggest searching for bulbs with a full-color spectrum.
Not Too Matchy-Matchy
Wabi-Sabi is a Japanese term meaning finding beauty in imperfection. In interior design, it values adding things you love to your home. The piece of furniture that was passed down from previous generations should be incorporated into your home to bring a heart and soul feeling.
Everything in Scale
Make sure to pick things that fit your space. You want your house to function well, as well as look well. When you are buying an area rug, make sure it is big enough for the furniture to sit one leg on it. Keep 14-18 inches between your couch and your coffee table - that should be comfortable for most people to reach the coffee table. Hang artwork at eye level. All of these could be considered part of Feng Shui, the concept designed to let light and air circulate through a room.
Don’t Be Afraid of Color
If neutrals are your thing, that is fine. You do you, but I for one love color. If it makes you worried, I would recommend sticking to the 60-30-10 rule. The dominant color should be in 60% of the room, and more neutral and not overpowering. You can bring in your next color at 30% of the room and the remaining 10% for pops of colors in your room. As long as colors have the same hue, they will read the same color even if they are a different tone.
Don’t Be a Slave to Trends
Just because something is popular right now does not mean that it will be in fashion five years from now. If you want to add up-to-date trends, I like to do them on things that are easy to switch out, like throw pillows or decorative accents. The more time you have to live with an item, the more neutral it should be.
Hopefully, this will help you say to yourself, “There is no place like home, there is no place like home!”
