If you designed and decorated your home without much help or without a background in home design, you may have struggled to keep a sense of consistency throughout it. Even if you love each room in your home, you may feel a sense of confusion as you walk from room to room. For example, you may have a spa-like bedroom, an ocean-themed living room and a modern kitchen. While none of these styles are necessarily wrong, they can create a sense of dissonance for yourself and for guests. Follow these five tips for keeping your home’s style consistent throughout and for making changes that will improve simplicity and unification.
Consistent Architectural Styles
If you are designing a new home, you will have the greatest opportunity to create cohesive style. The main style of your home, whether it is ranch, colonial, Cape Cod, Victorian or something else, should be the same inside and outside. For example, a Colonial will certainly have a distinctive shape and elevation outside but will also have a boxier feel inside than a Victorian would have.
Consistent Flooring
Flooring that remains the same on each floor of the house can help rooms flow easily into each other. Consider hardwood floors that work well in nearly any room of the house. To create distinct yet cohesive flooring, consider layering plush rugs in bedrooms or sisal carpeting up stairways.
Consistent Color Palettes
Most likely, you will not want every room in your home to have the exact same colors. However, be sure to carry over at least one or two of the same colors into each room even if it is in the color of accents. You can use bold pillows, lamps, drapes and even kitchen mixing bowls to keep your color palette continuous.
Consistent Doors and Hardware
The look of your front door should set the theme for the rest of your interior doors and trim. Its lines and level of elegance will set the stage for other elements, and you may want to consider adding cheap wood panels and new doorknobs to your interior doors.
Consistent Hardware
In the same way, your home’s hardware should carry similar themes. Your switch plates, drawer handles, drapery hardware and even bathroom faucets should maintain the feel of your home rather than having been chosen randomly. Visit a site like Build.ca to make sure you keep hardware color, size and lines the same while also ensuring that they match your personal taste.
While you do not want to get carried away with design consistency to the point that your home looks boring, you will find that some design elements that are carried through can add a sense of simplicity and cohesiveness. If you are designing a new house, keep room sizes proportional to each other, and choose trim and hardware that matches the architectural style of the home. If you are looking for a budget-friendly step, begin with a cohesive color palette because paint colors can be cheap and easy to change.
