Creating Cohesion, Part 5

As a designer, I tend to play with my home decor quite a bit. My husband jokes that he can't leave me at home for more than a couple of hours or our house will not look the same by the time he gets home. Which, even though it's a joke, it does have a whole lot of truth to it. Furniture swapping, walls being painted, a new project - I'm not afraid to give something a go and even try something unconventional. So today's post is here to inspire you to play around in your home decor.

What exactly does this mean? It means that your old nightstand could work really well between your armchairs in your living room. It means the mirror above your fireplace could be stunning in your bathroom. And it means the dining room wall that's starting to look a little plain could look great with a bold new paint color. Trying something unconventional may stress you type A personalities, however, starting off slowly, like swapping around furniture, is the best way to start. It's immediately reversible if you hate it and it hasn't done any damage. This little step pushes your comfort zone and could make you realize your furniture/decor/style is more flexible than you think.

Once you've become more comfortable with switching things around, start thinking about your walls. There are lots of wall treatments out there that can bring the style of your home to the next level. A few of my favorite concepts are below. All of these are great options for getting comfortable playing around with your style in your home.

Adding wood planks to a wall in small areas do a couple of things. First it makes it gives the appearance of being thought out - because it was. When you intentionally add features like this it immediately upgrades the feel of the room. There are lots of different ways to do this, including using paneling (inexpensive and sometimes can be inexpensive looking), installing wood flooring (somewhat easy to install and fairly simple since it could already be finished), and using standard planks of wood (more labor intensive but always worth it).

Another wall option is to choose an area to add a chalkboard finish. Keep the square footage small as not to look messy. Use this area to write inspiring quotes and write reminders. The key to this looking finished is to make sure it's trimmed out in a way that matches your home. Adding a light fixture at the top of the wall really makes it a feature.

A lot of people cringe when they think about wallpaper. I understand - there is some bad looking stuff that came out of the 90's and for those of you who have been lucky enough to remove it (or even wallpaper border which is worse looking in my opinion), please hear me out! Not all wallpaper looks bad. And there are some great removable options on the market now. Adding a pattern to your walls, whether subtle or bold, it can dramatically change the atmosphere of the room. Make sure you buy samples and look at them in the lighting of the room where it will hang. Tape it up on the wall for a bit if you're uncertain.

I really hope these ideas inspired you to get creative in your home. Make sure to click here to check out all the other parts of Creating Cohesion in your home!

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