By Denise Marks
Like lots of women, I really like to feel good about my house. I know its just four walls and the things inside are merely “stuff”, but somehow God seems to have wired us to take a certain pride in this place where our family life revolves and our hospitality is practiced. And we would all like for people to enter our house and be, well, maybe not impressed but at least pleased and definitely not appalled!
One of my favorite things to hear when someone enters my home is that it looks like ME. Now granted, a few of my friends tease me for being eccentric, so that might not sound like a compliment, but to me it is the highest praise. I want my home to reflect the people who live in it. Fortunately, home design trends in recent years favor a look that isn’t perfectly matched and coordinated…good news for those of us who can’t afford to buy the whole furniture showroom. Even if you feel like your style is “neo-clutter” and your home looks too much like you, there are ways to let your personality shine through.
Here are a couple of tips that may get you started.
- Don’t get too hung-up on your home furnishings’ style. If you have certain items of furniture, or a picture or some other keepsake that you love, by all means use it! Grandmother’s treasured antique table can still look great with a more modern décor. Concentrate more on coordinating fabrics and colors rather than woods or furniture styles. Mix styles a little at a time if the whole concept feels like a leap of faith to you. Go with what you like and remember that only in catalogues does everything in a room match.
- Decorate a room with the little things that typify you. Frame your kid’s artwork. If you or a family member collects something (even if you don’t want to show the whole collection) put out a couple of things on your coffee table. Do you love books? Stack a few favorites under a lamp or table top picture frame. Don’t over do it with the knick-knacks, but place things around that will pique someone’s curiosity when they walk in or stir a memory for you when you see it.
Tomorrow we’ll read the last of Denise’s decorating tips!
April 28th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Great tips, Denise. I agree about not being able to buy the whole furniture showroom. For us, we have to save up for a long time to buy different pieces of furniture. Or someone has given us stuff. We still have some end tables in our living room that were just here when we moved in the house. They serve their purpose, but they are next in my radar for replacing.
April 28th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
We have a coffee table that Rob’s parents had when they first got married! But we also have some other nice stuff. Definitely not a show room house but I like my eclectic little house.