Is that a matter of laziness or a lack of confidence? It seems that too many people are relying on “design experts” (or catalogs/magazines) to tell them how their place should be furnished and decorated. Buying your furniture at IKEA – or any other equivalent – is fine when you are on a tight budget or in a hurry.
But why would you need to buy everything there, from pillows, vases, lamps, etc to decorative prints to decorate your home – how often have I seen this picture of Audrey Hepburn hanging on a wall at a place I was visiting?
Have a look for instance at “IKEA Family Live” the monthly magazine published by the eponymous Swedish brand: interiors which are featured in the pages of this magazine are anything but boring and common. They actually show how easy it can be to mix mass-produced furniture with unique decorative objects and people’s tastes, to get a wow effect when it comes to designing one’s home.
Home design: Why you should ultimately be the one in charge
After all, you’re the one who will ultimately be living there. So the way you decorate your home should tell who you are, and not how cool or hype you are. You might be thinking that I’m just stating the obvious. But unfortunately too many people don’t trust enough their own taste when it comes to home decor, and would rather grab a home design magazine to exactly reproduce into details what they see in there.
Don’t understand me bad: magazines can be a great source of inspiration for home decor and design. And they should remain so: “an inspiration”. Because they’re not 100% tailored to your own tastes and history. So they will never fit perfectly in your home. So don’t be afraid to bend the decor rules!
So, what now?
Learn to trust you own taste. Follow your own path when it comes to decorating YOUR home. And don’t try to end up creating a too perfect sanitized world around you, as there is something beautiful and poetic in living in a place which displays your history and your personality traits. Like for instance owning a set of eclectic chairs! Or decorating the wall and floors of the rooms of your house with a variety of ceramic tiles to give them a vintage kick. Such a place shall call or “echo” your inner self.
People visiting you should in one glance be able to embrace what surrounds them and understand who you are: the eccentric, the perfectionist, the artist, the vintage lover, the traveler, the flea market freak…
Offices, administrations, malls, hotels – and most public places in general, are sanitized places which are so, because they are meant to please the many. But there’s only one place where you can do absolutely what you want: your home. And nobody is going to judge you for your tastes or the way you decorated your place, as long as it bears its dose of uniqueness and reflects who you are.
And odds are high that people will actually get inspired by you and will start doing the same (how contagious isn’t it?).
And if you’re not too sure where to start to compose your own home decoration & design, have a look at the pictures above which showcase eight different living rooms and the way they were furnished. You will probably discover that it actually does not require much to create a unique and beautiful interior.
Remember: everything is possible. You are the one setting the limits; so try and push them always further.
