Initially revealed in July 2021
Take into consideration the final time you walked into a house and felt one thing. Perhaps it was curiosity, a way of calm, or a shift in power 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 finished, however this put up is supposed to present you a head begin.
These are seven of my favourite methods so as to add character to your house…
1. Take into account the distinctive qualities of your house.
Having an understanding of the small print of your house you gained’t change is a superb place to start out. A big side of constructing “character” in a house is determining the best way to create a singular mixture of parts that symbolize your private model. The simplest place to start out is to embellish your house with items that distinction the model of the structure.
In case your house is tremendous conventional, the distinction of midcentury trendy items might be an effective way to infuse extra character. Geometric-printed pillows on a standard sofa would make for a superbly distinctive assertion.
In case your house is industrial, a crystal chandelier might shine in a completely completely different method.
In case your house is trendy, a daring de Gournay-inspired print on an vintage chair would create a shocking focus. Take the (very) trendy condominium 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 towards 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 bit of little bit of effortless-looking put on and tear on a chunk of decor or furnishings. From the worn spines of books to the nicked edges of a espresso desk, imperfections = LIFE, and life breathes power into a house. A bit like a classic rug with holes shouldn’t be instantly seemed over when purchasing. With a patch or restore, it will probably contribute its personal distinctive high quality to the general story of your house.
This can be a significantly useful factor to remember when purchasing thrift shops, vintage retailers, 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 purchasing at locations like Goal as nicely, however I discover myself extra hooked up to the items I’ve discovered amid the issues nobody wished, realizing that sourcing the identical merchandise elsewhere is unlikely.
The hunt can really feel overwhelming at occasions, and in case your first few journeys to the vintage store are usually not fruitful, you could wish to surrender earlier than realizing the magic of discovering that excellent merchandise hidden behind a bunch of junk. However I guarantee you, when you keep the course, the search will virtually at all times be nicely value it.
For my purchasing suggestions, learn this text: “7 Thift and Vintage Procuring Tricks to Assist You Discover Objects 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 couple of. Small decor parts look nice in odd numbers (three, 5, seven) and might add visible curiosity to bookshelves, espresso tables, and facet 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 bit of cafe desk in entrance of a window, drape it with a tablecloth, and stack a few of your favourite puzzle packing containers on prime. Out of the blue 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 an extended day’s work.
6. Add colour and sample.
Whether or not it’s by means of recent flowers, contrasting throw pillows, or an explosion of patterned blankets, cushions, and prints in your wall, each house advantages from the life that colour brings. That doesn’t imply portray an in any other case “uninteresting” room with a heat coral colour is true for everybody, however generally we neglect that even in probably 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 colour, 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 Properties and Precisely What I Love About Every One.”
7. Gown your home windows with texture.
One among 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 pretty and layered, with zero development required. Valances have a foul rep for feeling stuffy, however if you’re adorning a bed room that lacks architectural curiosity or just wants some “oomph,” this may be an effective way to make it really feel polished.
Inform me, what’s your favourite method so as to add character to your house?
Kate is presently studying to play the Ukulele, a lot to the despair of her husband, children, and canines. Comply with her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.
