Is your home in need of a makeover? Maybe you’re bored of looking at the same four walls, perhaps the decor is tired, or over time additional things have accumulated, and now nothing matches. You may just have been browsing through Pinterest and other social media sites and have been inspired by pictures of gorgeous homes. But before ordering a load of new furniture and accessories, it makes sense that you will settle on a theme first. This helps you to tie everything together- it means that everything you buy will all work together and can generally just make everything easier. Here are some of the decor themes you could consider for your next home makeover!
Classic and Classy
Classic furniture is the kind that never goes out of style. While it’s not considered ‘trendy’, it always looks elegant through the years and is a good investment for this reason. You could browse Craigslist, auctions and even junk shops for genuine antique furniture- since this is made out of solid wood, it lasts a long time. Some simple restoration work could have it looking as good as new. Another option would be to buy antique reproduction furniture. You can view products like this online, often they’re made out of solid wood so are stunning pieces in their own right. But they give that antique look that’s perfect for a classic themed room. Wooden floors are classic and never go out of fashion, and wood panelled walls are another option. If you don’t want to go for full panelling, half panelled with a light paint colour on top works well. Something like this would work well in an office or study, but will be ideal for any room.
Shabby Chic
Shabby chic is an incredibly popular decor theme and it’s easy to see why. It’s pretty and girly- light neutral walls give it a bright and airy feel and ditsy florals, lace and ruffles all give a sweet feminine finish. Shabby chic looks very homely, cosy, much like an old country cottage or a modern ‘grandma chic’. Go for white furniture, anything with a worn, rustic finish will work well. There are tonnes of options for shabby chic style furniture on the high street, but if you’re creative and in need of a project you could upcycle your own. Go on the hunt for good quality solid pieces online, and then prep, coat in white chalk paint and then sand down the edges to give the shabby, worn appearance. You’ll get fantastic one-off pieces of furniture without spending much at all. Finish the room with mismatched cushions, knit throws, wicker baskets, cute ornaments and accessories. Keep it light and girly, avoid dark colours or heavy fabrics for this look. Shabby chic is particularly nice for bedrooms although it looks beautiful elsewhere in the home too such as in kitchens and living rooms.
Minimal
While shabby chic gives a very homely and cosy finish to a room, modern minimal looks aim for clean lines. If you’re not a fan of cluttered surroundings or you are living in a very small space then something like this would be ideal. You would start with flooring in a neutral shade, this could be carpet or wood flooring. Paint the walls in a light neutral colour, white is a good option for keeping everywhere look very clean, sleek and minimal. Your walls need to be in fantastic condition to pull off this look, if they’re worse for wear get a plasterer skim them over before you paint them. The key to getting the minimalist look right is finding the right storage, as the overall aesthetic means not having lots of things out on display. Built-in wardrobes are a good choice as they look sleek and unfussy, and they can be built around any odd shaped rooms or nooks and crannies. Since everything else is so scaled back, you could add one or two statement pieces to bring some personality to the room. It could be a gallery wall, a unique light fitting or a couple of cushions in bold colours.
Glamorous
Want your home to feel Hollywood glam? Sumptuous curtains, plush rugs, mirrored furniture and a gorgeous chandelier, are all touches that will bring this theme to life. If you’re decorating the bedroom, you could go with a four-poster bed with silky sheets. In the bathroom, it could be marble tiles and roll top bath. In the living room it could be a crushed velvet sofa, have a look at glamorous decor designs online and pick out the items you most like the look of to build your look.
Industrial
If romantic and pretty aren’t for you, and want to achieve a cool modern vibe, how about going for an industrial theme? Exposed brickwork makes a the backdrop- you could go for realistic wallpaper or even have faux bricks applied. These work like tiles and are thin brick faces. They give the exact look without having to lose inches of space by having a real brick all built. Exposed metals are another good feature of this theme, things like statement light fittings, metal drawer pulls, and metal lamps are the kinds of pieces to keep an eye out for here. It’s worth keeping the rest of the room minimal- plain white sheets on the bed, uncluttered surfaces and simple wooden furniture will give you the unfussy, scaled back look you need to pull off this theme.
Ethnic
If you have a culture or country that you love or is close to your heart, you could draw inspiration from this when it comes to your decor. For example a Middle Eastern theme would incorporate bronze and gold metals, colourful patterned pieces and large decorative lanterns. Moroccan style poufs can be picked up on most homeware stores and will work as a footstool or additional seating. Warm colours like oranges and reds would be a good choice on the walls, but if you wanted to keep it simple, you could always go with plain white. Then you could bring in the cultural finish through accessories and soft furnishings. If you love bright and bold colour, one option would be looking into Indian decor. This is known for being a colourful culture for things like home decor as well as clothing. You could finish with yellow ‘Indian gold’ accessories for a truly striking look. Display some of your travel mementoes from the country you have visited to pull the look together even further. It could be things like ornaments, rugs or wall hangings.
Island Living
Who wouldn’t want to wake up every morning feeling like they’re on the beach? If you’re a beach bum and want to feel like this every day, an island-themed room might be right up your street. Perhaps you live miles from a tropical beach but want to keep that holiday vibe all year round. You could keep the walls neutral which will work with any other decor, although light blues, yellows or greens would work well here. You can find decals to create a feature wall, they have designs like palm trees or beach scenes. Alternatively you could just go with accessories instead. A large living plant would give you that outdoorsy feel, something like a yucca or fern would be ideal. You could add a tropical fish tank to the room for a fun addition that fits with the theme. Whitewashed wicker and gorgeous beach wall art would tie everything together.
Natural
Another outdoors kind of room but with more of a general theme, a natural looking design works well and helps to bring the outdoors in. Go with things like exposed, raw wood for furniture as well as floors, and accessories. This is things like mirror frames, even lathe turned wooden bowls and other bits and pieces. Choose light flowy fabrics at the windows to let plenty of the natural light in, you could always install blackout blinds roller blinds which could be pulled down at night. Bring in lots of plants, from potted floor plants to twine macrame hangers to hang them at different levels. You could line a shelf with smaller varieties of cacti. Decorate in earthy natural and neutral colours to make the entire look cohesive. Light, bright and airy to reflect the outdoors is key for this theme, one thing you can do is position a large mirror opposite the window which will bounce more light back into the room. Use a natural wood frame which will fit with everything else within the theme.
Use your theme to help you decide on flooring, wall colour, furniture, window treatments, accessories and more. A room based on a theme means all of the items work well together and you can create a more expensive looking and well thought out look.
Which of these themes most appeals to you? Have you ever decorated a room using any of the above suggestions?
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