4 Quick & Easy Ways to Style Your Home

Tips from Adera's in-house, award winning Interior Designer

We are all spending a lot more time at home these days, and with that may come a desire to finish home projects or start a few new ones. One way that always gets me feeling refreshed and inspired is with a little redecorating. Adding style to your home doesn’t need to be an overwhelming or financially straining activity. We asked our Interior Designer, Deborah Kerr, for some quick and easy styling tips. Here is what she said.

Texture and Pattern

A super simple way to add interest to any room is by introducing pattern and texture. The best part about patterns – mixing them is good!! Throw the rules out the window and mix stripes with florals or geometrics with photo prints. You can also vary the scale of the pattern –  think chunky cable knit, oversize polka dots or fine pinstripes.  The key to keeping a room cohesive, is to make sure the colours used relate to each other in some way, like with repeated accents or contrasting tones. Pattern can be introduced through art, throw cushions, upholstery fabrics, wall coverings and carpets.

Adding texture refers to the surface quality of the material (ie: smooth, bumpy, rough, matte). To get the most impact in a room, or a whole home, you want to try and repeat the texture. In the kitchen, a fun way to add texture is matching the plumbing fixtures with the hardware. Consider a matte black faucet along with matte black hardware for the cabinets and drawers.

Varying the textures in fabrics, wallcoverings and floorcoverings adds depth to a room. Let those textures play with light and shadow, creating fun contrasts and cosy spaces. All good things.

Colour

Don’t be afraid of colour! White is great as a base, but too much can make a space feel sterile. If your walls are all white and you are not ready to change a whole room, consider painting one accent wall. The best part about trying just one wall, if you decide it doesn’t suit you, it’s a quick and affordable fix. Wallpaper is also a great way to add serious flair to a room. It has had a strong resurgence over the past few years and there are some fabulous local businesses in the market, consider supporting local and create a playful accent wall with wallpaper.

Colour, of course, can be added in many ways. Consider some bold colours on big furniture items. It doesn’t have to be permanent, it could be a seasonal change – something like red slipcovers for your sofa in the winter and white in the summer.  Blend colour with texture and introduce a handmade wall tapestry or fibre wall hanging like Macrame.

Keep in mind you don’t want to go adding a different colour to every room. Pick one hue and mix with a couple of variations of it to go with a neutral main wall colour, and limit it to that. Limiting your accents will help everything hang together and create a gentle flow from one room or area to another.

Artwork

When in doubt, have artwork! Make it colourful, make it interesting and make sure it has meaning to you.  Placing and hanging art can we really challenging but here is a pro tip – lower your artwork!  Stand up and place the piece so that the top 1/3 is at approximately eye level. Art placed over the couch should be about 8-10” above the backrest. Support local artist to fill your space with original, meaningful art. It will keep on giving back to your home and your space for years to come.

Let Your Personal Style be Your Guide

Find your own style and embrace it. Go to sites like Houzz and Pinterest and start to collect images that you love, this will help you figure out your style as you will start to see a pattern. Seek out things that fall into the category you love.  You might yearn for the sparse beauty of a Japanese Tatami room, or you have a passion for all things bohemian and folksy.  Your space should be a reflection of what you love and what makes your heart sing.