Studies have shown that the most popular definitions of a happy home are a space where you feel secure (69 percent), a place for relaxation (64 percent) and a space where you can be free to be yourself (57 percent). When it comes to making a home feel like a home and feel comfortable, interior design is a big reason why.
The interior design industry generates $10 billion annually as homeowners buy living room furniture, do remodeling projects or redecorate to spruce things up in a home. This is especially true of new homeowners. In a 2014 survey, millennial homeowners were found to be just as likely to renovate their homes as other age groups and were driven by a desire to make a newly purchased home their own.
Whether you’re redecorating, renovating or redesigning, here are five tried and true tips to think about when doing interior design in your home.
- Add color: Adding color to a room, whether by adding a new coat of paint or going with a unified color scheme can really liven it up. If you’re redecorating a bedroom for example, consider matching the blinds with the bedspread and maybe a throw rug. Depending on your tastes, you can color coordinate a room as much as you want and even have a different color scheme for each room of the house.
- Add texture: Depending on how you want to set up a room, adding texture can add a lot to it. Adding touches like plants or rugs or furniture or a coffee table with a tabletop book puts things in the room, things that people can see and touch. There’s nothing quite like curling up on the sofa with a good book and adding texture can make the room even more comforting.
- Invest in furniture: A big part of interior design is furniture. In fact, furniture and home furnishing stores generated more than $106 billion worth of sales in 2015. Furniture is typically the third most expensive thing people buy after a home and a car and when buying furniture, people look at five key qualities.
- Durability
- The look
- Quality
- Comfort
- Cost
If you’re in the market for new living room furniture, leather furniture is a good option. It’s durable, looks good, is high quality, provides comfort and is well worth the long term investment. Ultimately you want your living room to be a welcoming, comfortable place and adding a sofa or comfortable chairs around a coffee table can make your living room the place to be.
If you’re looking at giving your living room an entirely new look, another option is mission style living room furniture.
Mission style living room furniture is straight and to the point. It’s defined by horizontal and vertical lines with flat planes and panels which are aimed at highlighting wood’s natural grain. Rather than being marked by elegant carving or other bells and whistles, the beauty of mission style living room furniture is in the simplicity.
The vertical and parallel stiles help mission style living room furniture in two ways: they help the furniture appear strong and also light, by creating a balance. Mission style furniture is great if you’re looking for furniture pieces that are authentic, sturdy and stable. - Hang Mirrors: Mirrors can add character to a room, but keep in mind what they might reflect. Hanging a mirror in the right spot can visually expand a space and can also make a statement in a small space. A framed, full-length mirror for example can add a certain something to that room.
- Ask a designer: If interior decorating isn’t your thing, a designer is more than willing to help liven up your home. A designer can give you ideas on what type of style you might want for a house or how a certain color scheme might work in a home. A good designer is well-versed in all aspects of interior design and will know how to transform your home into a look you’ll love.
Keep in mind that interior designers recommend updating a room’s decor every five to 10 years. A home is a place to rest easy and feel comfortable and following the right design tips or asking an interior designer for help can do wonders to liven up your home.
