Decorating
These Homes Have All Used One Simple Styling Trick
Think you don’t have the time, creativity or accessories to create these looks? It could all be just a rainy Sunday away
We tend to buy home accessories because we like their colour, their texture and – mainly – because they go so well with our existing decorative schemes. So why not devote the odd quiet weekend to colour-coordinating your best pieces like a total interiors pro? Let these looks give you some ideas.
Reframe your pictures
Black-and-white framed photos are an interior guru’s staple, but why not go a step further and not only colour-coordinate the frames, but the mounts, too? If that’s not enough, you could also coordinate both of those with your room’s colour scheme. This trick works best when photos are closely grouped to show off your eye for detail.
As an alternative, you could try frames that sandwich artworks and photos between two pieces of glass, allowing the wall colour to show through around them.
Black-and-white framed photos are an interior guru’s staple, but why not go a step further and not only colour-coordinate the frames, but the mounts, too? If that’s not enough, you could also coordinate both of those with your room’s colour scheme. This trick works best when photos are closely grouped to show off your eye for detail.
As an alternative, you could try frames that sandwich artworks and photos between two pieces of glass, allowing the wall colour to show through around them.
Restrict your colour palette
There’s a lot to be said for having everything to hand in a kitchen, but even more to say if the display is as good-looking as this one. How to get it right? Stick to just a few shades. Greys and whites are classic and work beautifully here; other toning neutrals are a good option, too.
Mix up complementary blocks of colour, juxtapose differently shaped pieces, and dot about contrasting materials and finishes. That way, a carefully planned display will look quite random, but alluringly neat.
Browse tableware in the Houzz Shop
There’s a lot to be said for having everything to hand in a kitchen, but even more to say if the display is as good-looking as this one. How to get it right? Stick to just a few shades. Greys and whites are classic and work beautifully here; other toning neutrals are a good option, too.
Mix up complementary blocks of colour, juxtapose differently shaped pieces, and dot about contrasting materials and finishes. That way, a carefully planned display will look quite random, but alluringly neat.
Browse tableware in the Houzz Shop
Rework your home office
Tidy home office, tidy mind… So the next time you’re out choosing new files and boxes in which to stash your paperwork, make a conscious effort not to settle for whatever the local newsagent has on sale, but to go for a coordinated selection. Being able to tuck anything that doesn’t match behind doors or in drawers will also help, of course.
Tidy home office, tidy mind… So the next time you’re out choosing new files and boxes in which to stash your paperwork, make a conscious effort not to settle for whatever the local newsagent has on sale, but to go for a coordinated selection. Being able to tuck anything that doesn’t match behind doors or in drawers will also help, of course.
Reorder basketware
If you love a particular texture, you can use it to real effect by repeating it over and over in different accessories or on furnishings. Here, basketwork on the walls, the lampshade and the seating gives the room a really strong identity, enhanced by the matching woody tones of the table. This works for colour repeats, too, but choose subtle shades for best results.
If you love a particular texture, you can use it to real effect by repeating it over and over in different accessories or on furnishings. Here, basketwork on the walls, the lampshade and the seating gives the room a really strong identity, enhanced by the matching woody tones of the table. This works for colour repeats, too, but choose subtle shades for best results.
Rethink your living room
If you’re redesigning your main reception room from scratch, you have a brilliant opportunity not only to choose a colour scheme that matches all of your best, most coordinated finds, but to group them en masse in a single space where they’ll create a toning scheme to be reckoned with. Keep the finish tidy by putting similar items in their own, individual groups.
If you’re redesigning your main reception room from scratch, you have a brilliant opportunity not only to choose a colour scheme that matches all of your best, most coordinated finds, but to group them en masse in a single space where they’ll create a toning scheme to be reckoned with. Keep the finish tidy by putting similar items in their own, individual groups.
Rebalance your bedroom
Going all out with colour coordination isn’t just about identifying toning shades, it’s also about achieving balance and symmetry. In other words, creating a mirror image in a room will exaggerate your matchy-matchy look and will please the eye no end, because it looks unfailingly neat. It’s the best ploy for creating a hotel-style bedroom.
Going all out with colour coordination isn’t just about identifying toning shades, it’s also about achieving balance and symmetry. In other words, creating a mirror image in a room will exaggerate your matchy-matchy look and will please the eye no end, because it looks unfailingly neat. It’s the best ploy for creating a hotel-style bedroom.
Restock your drinks’ trolley…
…or mug shelf… or bathroom bottles… or candles. This rule could apply to just about any display of coordinated accessories: they don’t have to absolutely match, but if you pick out an even mix of materials, colours and finishes that complement each other, and group a critical mass (at least five, more than 10 is better) in a carefully arranged huddle, you’ll get a good-looking result like this.
…or mug shelf… or bathroom bottles… or candles. This rule could apply to just about any display of coordinated accessories: they don’t have to absolutely match, but if you pick out an even mix of materials, colours and finishes that complement each other, and group a critical mass (at least five, more than 10 is better) in a carefully arranged huddle, you’ll get a good-looking result like this.
Repeat (and repeat)
China, cookware, flower pots –whatever – only really look good on display, whether on open shelves like these or behind glazed dresser or cabinet doors, if there’s a purposeful layout and colour scheme for them. Here, little actually matches, but it all tones and – importantly – each shelf has a more or less even, if randomly placed, distribution of every material, colour and finish.
China, cookware, flower pots –whatever – only really look good on display, whether on open shelves like these or behind glazed dresser or cabinet doors, if there’s a purposeful layout and colour scheme for them. Here, little actually matches, but it all tones and – importantly – each shelf has a more or less even, if randomly placed, distribution of every material, colour and finish.
Re-establish order
Remember the tips about creating a mirror image and repeating colours and finishes? Here’s how to do it over an entire room, with each half either side of the central point of the fireplace consciously copying the other. Why bother? It means you can fit quite a lot of lovely stuff into one busy room without it seeming untidy. Looks posh, too.
Tell us…
What have you colour-coordinated in your home? Share photos in the Comments section – or just pick your favourite look from these.
Remember the tips about creating a mirror image and repeating colours and finishes? Here’s how to do it over an entire room, with each half either side of the central point of the fireplace consciously copying the other. Why bother? It means you can fit quite a lot of lovely stuff into one busy room without it seeming untidy. Looks posh, too.
Tell us…
What have you colour-coordinated in your home? Share photos in the Comments section – or just pick your favourite look from these.
Where once you might have either a) stuffed books onto your shelves willy-nilly or b) filed them alphabetically by author to make them easy to find, now’s the time to colour-coordinate the spines to create a rainbow of shelving. It beats redecorating the room and looks great – and might even throw up some gems you’d forgotten you had. Maybe make a note of where you’ve stashed your favourite tomes, though.
Should you ever display books this way?