subtle ways to polish your decor

This is a guest post brought to you by Eva Stephen. Thank you Eva and WELCOME!

“Following on the heels of the fashion catwalk, interior design has become more intimate and personal. No longer must everyone follow the same narrow path, using an identical and limited colour palette and choosing only one type of fabric. Rather, trends now allow for individual tastes to be satisfied, the only criteria being that the various parts of the interior décor add up to an elegant, interesting and comfortable whole.

If you have designed your home around a neutral, slightly plain basic arrangement you have done yourself a huge service, as this allows you to experiment easily and even change the whole look with the judicious use of accessories and soft furnishings.

Add just a touch of elegance and class
Add red silk cushions or a boldly striped or patterned footstool to give a living room a subtle classiness. Discreet muted gold ornaments whisper a tasteful message, but be careful not to scream tacky by going too glittery or glitzy. It is all too easy to overdo these touches or to be too heavy handed, but do practise restraint and only allow the barest hint of sumptuous luxury to show; as the saying goes, 'less is more!'

Add a touch of whimsy

To avoid a room becoming too serious or bland you can add a touch of whimsy by filling an otherwise empty space with an unusually shaped or coloured vase, or a delightful ornament or sculpture. I always enjoy visit to Uncommon Goods, they have displayed really interesting and unusual things in all of their categories.

Once again, avoid using too much whimsy as this can overpower the room and make it into a caricature of the impression that you are trying to create.

Add texture to every room
If you have furnished your room tastefully and carefully, making sure that all the furniture matches and goes together harmoniously – Visit Shop 4 Furniture that has a beautiful range sure to suit all tastes and pockets – yet feel that the room looks somewhat impersonal you may need to add a little texture. This does not have to involve great expense, something as simple as a chunky knitted throw draped artfully on the couch can do the trick. Embellished or embossed fabrics add a surprising wealth of richness and detail to a room without costing the earth.

Add fine details in unexpected areas
Most of us paint or wallpaper the walls and leave it at that, but picking out cornicing and ceiling roses in gorgeous colours – See the ceiling roses range at Decorating Direct, they are truly amazing– even a glamorous touch of gold paint here and there – can really bring a room to life, ensuring that everyone who walks through the door instantly feels the impact.

Add just enough!
Do not be heavy-handed with all these hints and tips and try not to combine too many textures and pieces of advice! A room stuffed with broadly striped objects in silk, with gleams of metallic at every turn, flashes of lots of colour and jaunty patterns and interesting textures is in danger of becoming too busy and confusing! Choose one or two touches that you personally prefer, and implement only those! This advice holds true of matching fabrics and wall-papers too. Do not try to cover everything in the same pattern or theme. Matching floral carpet, curtains, bedding and wallpaper sounds lovely, but will feel overpowering and overdone after a very short time! Allow for areas of blank expanse here and there, this will act as a foil for the patterns or textures, offsetting them perfectly.

The new trend in styling and décor can be alarmingly lacking in specific guidelines. Embrace the challenge and use it as an opportunity to really express your own creativity. By making only small and subtle changes to add class to your home you are not going to break the budget, nor do you have to keep to any scheme that didn't quite come off as planned – you can simply change it back while you think again!”

Thank you Eva for this helpful tips on improving our home decor and making it more fashionable! What do you think guys?

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