Initially revealed in July 2021
Take into consideration the final time you walked into a house and felt one thing. Perhaps it was curiosity, a way of calm, or a shift in vitality you couldn’t fairly place or describe. A house’s character isn’t restricted to distinctive accents, charming home windows, or unique hardwood flooring. It’s the fruits of particular person expression inside its partitions. It’s the way in which we add life to an in any other case empty shell. It’s what makes our houses private.
Restricted budgets, Instagram envy, and overwhelm can all contribute to the sensation that having “character” in your house is out of attain. I’m not proof against wishing I had another person’s flooring plan, funds, or broad sense of fashion. It occurs to all of us. So why not search for methods we are able to embrace what’s ours and let the character come from inside? It may be simpler mentioned than accomplished, however this put up is supposed to present you a head begin.
These are seven of my favourite methods so as to add character to your property…
1. Take into account the distinctive qualities of your house.
Having an understanding of the main points of your property you gained’t change is a superb place to start out. A big facet of constructing “character” in a house is determining the best way to create a singular mixture of components that symbolize your private fashion. The best place to start out is to brighten your property with items that distinction the fashion of the structure.
In case your house is tremendous conventional, the distinction of midcentury trendy items might be a good way to infuse extra character. Geometric-printed pillows on a standard sofa would make for a fantastically distinctive assertion.
In case your house is industrial, a crystal chandelier may shine in a very completely different approach.
In case your house is trendy, a daring de Gournay-inspired print on an vintage chair would create a surprising point of interest. Take the (very) trendy condominium the place Joe and I first lived collectively, pictured beneath, for example. Amid all of its sharp traces and white partitions, I did what I may to infuse character. I added vintage items, just like the trunk pictured beneath, and substantial furnishings that contrasted in opposition to the in any other case ethereal really feel of the house, just like the adjoining outsized leather-based chair.
2. Embrace items with “imperfections.”
There may be nothing I really like greater than a bit little bit of effortless-looking put on and tear on a chunk of decor or furnishings. From the worn spines of books to the nicked edges of a espresso desk, imperfections = LIFE, and life breathes vitality into a house. A bit like a classic rug with holes shouldn’t be instantly regarded over when buying. With a patch or restore, it will probably contribute its personal distinctive high quality to the general story of your property.
This can be a significantly useful factor to bear in mind when buying thrift shops, vintage retailers, and FB market. These imperfections could also be simply what your property wants, which brings me to my subsequent level.
A house’s character isn’t restricted to distinctive accents, charming home windows, or unique hardwood flooring. It’s the fruits of particular person expression inside its partitions. . . . It’s what makes our houses private.
3. Store secondhand!
Nothing makes a house really feel extra distinctive than one-of-a-kind items. I really like buying at locations like Goal as properly, however I discover myself extra connected to the items I’ve discovered amid the issues nobody needed, understanding that sourcing the identical merchandise elsewhere is unlikely.
The hunt can really feel overwhelming at occasions, and in case your first few journeys to the vintage store will not be fruitful, chances are you’ll wish to hand over earlier than realizing the magic of discovering that good merchandise hidden behind a bunch of junk. However I guarantee you, when you keep the course, the search will virtually at all times be properly value it.
For my buying ideas, learn this text: “7 Thift and Vintage Procuring Tricks to Assist You Discover Objects You Love.”
4. Show your collections.
A lot of my decor is centered round issues I like to gather—vases, brass collectible figurines, colourful candles, and lace tablecloths, to call just a few. Small decor components look nice in odd numbers (three, 5, seven) and may add visible curiosity to bookshelves, espresso tables, and aspect tables, particularly when styled in various heights and sizes. Absolutely anything can develop into a group!
5. Make house for hobbies.
Along with exhibiting off your collections, dedicating house to the fruits of your favourite hobbies can add some life to your property. Love puzzles? Add a bit cafe desk in entrance of a window, drape it with a tablecloth, and stack a few of your favourite puzzle containers on high. All of a sudden you’ve added a brand new seating space, a bit of material for texture, and a fairly little vignette that additionally works as a refuge after an extended day’s work.
6. Add coloration and sample.
Whether or not it’s by way of contemporary flowers, contrasting throw pillows, or an explosion of patterned blankets, cushions, and prints in your wall, each house advantages from the life that coloration brings. That doesn’t imply portray an in any other case “uninteresting” room with a heat coral coloration is true for everybody, however typically we neglect that even in probably the most minimal of areas, we are able to discover a function for one thing dynamic. It might be a big rug in royal blue or a small-scale patterned print on curtains.
Some houses scream coloration, whereas others use it in ways in which make you really feel it earlier than you discover it.
For extra on the ability of colourful house decor, learn this text: “5 Colourful Properties and Precisely What I Love About Every One.”
7. Gown your home windows with texture.
Certainly one of my favourite methods to make blah home windows look “full” is so as to add blinds AND curtains in differing textures. A bamboo shade with striped linen curtains? So so pretty and layered, with zero building required. Valances have a foul rep for feeling stuffy, however if you’re adorning a bed room that lacks architectural curiosity or just wants some “oomph,” this may be a good way to make it really feel polished.
Inform me, what’s your favourite approach so as to add character to your property?
Kate is at present studying to play the Ukulele, a lot to the despair of her husband, children, and canines. Observe her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.
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