Decorating your home like a pro

I often get asked for advice when it comes to home decoration, which is part of the reason why I started blogging about it in the first place. My personal esthetic is what I would call ‘comfortable contemporary’. Basically, I make things pretty and functional. Below are some ideas of ways to make your home beautiful and make it easy to keep it that way.

#1. Buy furniture that will accommodate your stuff. If you have a high ceiling, get a big entertainment center with a lot of cabinet space for toys, movies, extra blankets, or whatever you want to hide away. If you have a small space, get a few storage ottomans to use as coffee tables, or a console table with storage to place behind the couch. You can also have floating wall storage, where you can artfully display your things. It can also be used to hang some of your items with the help of a no drill glue or some hooks, saving a little more of your storage space while keeping it organized. The key moreover is to keep the items from looking cluttered, so keep books up straight with book ends, and make sure there is some empty space to make it look planned. Think practically as well – when it comes to dangerous items such as cleaning products, you’re going to need a safe way to store them. Storemasta has a range of products that can help to store your more risky items, making your home not only tidier but safer too. Also, you may want to buy new furnishing for your bathrooms such as a bathtub or a new washbasin that may add to the aesthetics of the room. However, you may have to contact local plumbers to make those new fittings in your bathroom.

Our entertainment center. Yo gabba gabba on tv, as usual.

Toy storage, an absolute MUST.

#2. Pick a color palette for the entire home. Often we decide on paint colors on a whim, or for each room individually without considering the other rooms in the home. Think about the home as if you were visiting it for the first time, and how the colors of the rooms work with each other as you explore the entire space. Painting the entire house to match a specific and consistent color pallette can actually be quite the undertaking, especially considering the materials and labor required to pull it off. The financial aspect of doing this may also be a concern for some, therefore something like the home improvement loans from SoFi may be of interest.

If you are unsure of your taste in color, vary a neutral palette, that is usually the most appealing way to go, and add one bold color to make it exciting. My home has a palette similar to this one below, and I love it!

Living Room

Main color of the home

Library/Office and Powder Room

#3. Buy colorful accessories. Pick a color opposite of the colors in the room, or just pick a color you love, and buy a few pillows or a throw that coordinate. I am really into tribal and Ikat prints at the moment, and those can coordinate with any color. Try to put at least 3 items of the same color in the same space- a pillow, throw, and vase could work great.

I love this use of a neutral palette, with turquoise blue and fuchsia pink pops of color. Gorgeous! Image: Houzz.com

#4. Add art that you love, or don’t do anything at all. I have some walls that are bare, just waiting for the perfect piece.

One rarely sees what is right in front of them. Wise words from Z gallery, in our living room.

#5. Bring the outside in. Bring in fresh flowers or plants. It never fails to breathe life in to a space. Whether you buy an indoor tree, or a small cactus plant, it is always a good idea.

I love this use of indoor trees. Image: Houzz.com

#6. Think of symmetry. The eye is always attracted to what is symmetrical – but you don’t need to rely on that for everything, because sometimes breaking that rule makes the space infinitely cooler.