Initially printed in July 2021
Take into consideration the final time you walked into a house and felt one thing. Possibly it was curiosity, a way of calm, or a shift in vitality you couldn’t fairly place or describe. A house’s character isn’t restricted to distinctive accents, charming home windows, or authentic hardwood flooring. It’s the fruits of particular person expression inside its partitions. It’s the best way we add life to an in any other case empty shell. It’s what makes our properties private.
Restricted budgets, Instagram envy, and overwhelm can all contribute to the sensation that having “character” in your house is out of attain. I’m not proof against wishing I had another person’s ground plan, finances, or broad sense of favor. It occurs to all of us. So why not search for methods we will embrace what’s ours and let the character come from inside? It may be simpler mentioned than completed, however this put up is supposed to offer you a head begin.
These are seven of my favourite methods so as to add character to your house…
1. Think about the distinctive qualities of your house.
Having an understanding of the main points of your house you received’t change is a good place to begin. A big side of constructing “character” in a house is determining tips on how to create a singular mixture of components that characterize your private type. The simplest place to begin is to brighten your house with items that distinction the type of the structure.
In case your house is tremendous conventional, the distinction of midcentury trendy items might be a good way to infuse extra character. Geometric-printed pillows on a conventional sofa would make for a fantastically distinctive assertion.
In case your house is industrial, a crystal chandelier might shine in a very totally different approach.
In case your house is trendy, a daring de Gournay-inspired print on an vintage chair would create a surprising point of interest. Take the (very) trendy condo the place Joe and I first lived collectively, pictured beneath, for example. Amid all of its sharp traces and white partitions, I did what I might to infuse character. I added vintage items, just like the trunk pictured beneath, and substantial furnishings that contrasted in opposition to the in any other case ethereal really feel of the house, just like the adjoining outsized leather-based chair.
2. Embrace items with “imperfections.”
There may be nothing I really like greater than a little bit little bit of effortless-looking put on and tear on a bit of decor or furnishings. From the worn spines of books to the nicked edges of a espresso desk, imperfections = LIFE, and life breathes vitality into a house. A chunk like a classic rug with holes shouldn’t be instantly appeared over when buying. With a patch or restore, it may contribute its personal distinctive high quality to the general story of your house.
It is a significantly useful factor to bear in mind when buying thrift shops, vintage outlets, and FB market. These imperfections could also be simply what your house wants, which brings me to my subsequent level.
A house’s character isn’t restricted to distinctive accents, charming home windows, or authentic hardwood flooring. It’s the fruits of particular person expression inside its partitions. . . . It’s what makes our properties private.
3. Store secondhand!
Nothing makes a house really feel extra distinctive than one-of-a-kind items. I really like buying at locations like Goal as properly, however I discover myself extra connected to the items I’ve discovered amid the issues nobody needed, realizing that sourcing the identical merchandise elsewhere is unlikely.
The hunt can really feel overwhelming at instances, and in case your first few journeys to the vintage store will not be fruitful, chances are you’ll need to surrender earlier than realizing the magic of discovering that excellent merchandise hidden behind a bunch of junk. However I guarantee you, should you keep the course, the search will virtually all the time be properly price it.
For my buying ideas, learn this text: “7 Thift and Vintage Procuring Tricks to Assist You Discover Gadgets You Love.”
4. Show your collections.
A lot of my decor is centered round issues I like to gather—vases, brass collectible figurines, colourful candles, and lace tablecloths, to call a number of. Small decor components look nice in odd numbers (three, 5, seven) and might add visible curiosity to bookshelves, espresso tables, and aspect tables, particularly when styled in various heights and sizes. Absolutely anything can grow to be a set!
5. Make house for hobbies.
Along with displaying off your collections, dedicating house to the fruits of your favourite hobbies can add some life to your house. Love puzzles? Add a little bit cafe desk in entrance of a window, drape it with a tablecloth, and stack a few of your favourite puzzle containers on prime. Abruptly you’ve added a brand new seating space, a bit of material for texture, and a fairly little vignette that additionally works as a refuge after a protracted day’s work.
6. Add coloration and sample.
Whether or not it’s by way of contemporary flowers, contrasting throw pillows, or an explosion of patterned blankets, cushions, and prints in your wall, each house advantages from the life that coloration brings. That doesn’t imply portray an in any other case “boring” room with a heat coral coloration is true for everybody, however typically we neglect that even in essentially the most minimal of areas, we will discover a objective for one thing dynamic. It might be a big rug in royal blue or a small-scale patterned print on curtains.
Some properties scream coloration, whereas others use it in ways in which make you really feel it earlier than you discover it.
For extra on the facility of colourful dwelling decor, learn this text: “5 Colourful Houses and Precisely What I Love About Every One.”
7. Gown your home windows with texture.
Considered one of my favourite methods to make blah home windows look “full” is so as to add blinds AND curtains in differing textures. A bamboo shade with striped linen curtains? So so beautiful and layered, with zero development required. Valances have a nasty rep for feeling stuffy, however if you’re adorning a bed room that lacks architectural curiosity or just wants some “oomph,” this may be a good way to make it really feel polished.
Inform me, what’s your favourite approach so as to add character to your house?
Kate is at the moment studying to play the Ukulele, a lot to the despair of her husband, youngsters, and canine. Comply with her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.