It’s hard not to feel jealous when you flip through home décor magazines or browse trendy design websites. Each picture-perfect room manages to be attention-grabbing, perfectly balanced and deeply calming all at the same time. You may start to feel like your own living space is missing something by comparison. Sure, your home has a lot going for it, and you love the furniture that you’ve lovingly accumulated over the years. But have you been feeling like your living area isn’t quite meeting its magazine-worthy potential?
It’s possible that all you need are a few small tweaks to really tie your existing rooms together! Consider these five design touches that work to elevate what you already have into a truly composed space.
Add an Area Rug
Rugs are versatile, but an ill-fitting floor covering is an eyesore in any room. If you’ve been using a runner or an accent rug where you really need a full-sized area rug, it’s certainly weighing down the continuity of your room. A small rug makes the entire room feel uncomfortably undersized. As interior designer Danielle Oakey says in Good Housekeeping, “You need your rug to set boundaries and ground your furniture. In a living room, your rug defines the conversation area, and it should be large enough so at least the front legs of the furniture are on it.”
Homeowners need not be afraid of putting a rug over carpet, or picking a large rug with an assertive pattern. Prominent rugs do a lot of work in tying a room together, and the art of anchoring a room truly starts from the ground up.
Hang a Chandelier
The key to pulling a room together is balance. Just as the floor covering is mightily important, so is the light fixture hanging above. A good ceiling lamp is more than just a way to illuminate the room; it’s a tasteful centerpiece that helps uplift the symmetry and sophistication of a room. If your home is still rocking drab, outdated fixtures that have been there since who-knows- when, it’s past time to upgrade.
Modern chandeliers from Lumens push form and function to new heights. Gone are the days where chandelier automatically equates to a heavy, multi-tiered fixture dripping with crystals. This new wave of tasteful ceiling-mounted pieces includes enough shapes and materials to freshen up any living room, bedroom or dining room. An artful new chandelier allows you to pick up other forms throughout the room, whether you choose a chandelier with a playful round shape, an abstract form or crisp corners for a more structured vibe.
Play with Texture
It’s easy to focus narrowly on a theme and forget to include dashes of contrast here and there. Pairing a leather sofa with a set of leather chairs in the same color is only going to serve to make your room overly homogenous. As your eyes move around the room, they need relief from sameness. That’s why it’s crucial to incorporate texture all around.
Freshome provides a great example to show textural details that can keep an all-white room interesting: linen draperies, a velvet chair, silk cushions, rattan chairs, woven baskets, a cotton sofa and a faux fur blanket. If your room is already silky smooth, pepper in some gritty textures for relief. You can ramp up the glam factor in an otherwise plain living room by spreading shimmering, silky and plush textiles around the space. No room is complete without a handful of contrasting textures working in tandem.
Three Instances of Color
You don’t need to repaint every to pull a space together. Before you drag out the drop cloth and paint roller, consider this tip from designer Cecilie Starin for Elle Décor: “We’re in a time now, where there isn’t a lot of matching. Instead, when adding color to a room it’s good to pick it up in three different accent areas. You don’t have to use that much color to make it feel like there is color in a room.”
Once you’re done celebrating getting off the hook from a challenging paint job, start thinking about how you can coordinate color in your home. Throw pillows, accent rugs, antique furniture, candles, wall art and upholstery are all great points to pick up color without going overboard. Stick to the rule of three and you’re well on your way to crafting a lively (but not overly busy) design scheme.
Revamp Your Drapes
What’s the deal with your wall hangings? Do you have unsightly plastic strips in a neutral tone? Have your ratty curtains seen better days? As Architectural Digest points out, window treatments are just as important as anything else in the room. Choosing floor-kissing curtains in a naturally perky material might be just the ticket for your living room, while a bedroom may call for pull-down blinds that block out harsh morning light. Curtains, drapes and shades provide a great point to perpetuate color and texture within any room in the house.
When you’re working on pulling a room together, don’t panic and feel like you need to start over from scratch. By incorporating a few tasteful touches—a chandelier overhead, a rug under your feet, colorful throw pillows and a new set of curtains blowing in the breeze—you can take any room from ordinary to extraordinary.
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
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