Your home is where you feel most comfortable, but you don’t want your design scheme to be too comfortable. Instead, you want something spicy, something outside of the beige box that reflects your personality.
It may seem daunting to add a bit of fiery flare to your home’s existing décor, but sprucing up your space doesn’t have to be difficult, especially with spiciness as your inspiration. The following four design tricks prove that: bring one or two of them to life and you’ll see just how much better your abode can look.
Add a Bold Paint Color
When it comes to spicing things up, the first thing to consider is new paint. Chances are, your walls are a neutral hue that goes with everything. This was, of course, a smart choice by the person who built or sold the home in which you live: a neutral color is more likely to suit more peoples’ tastes, which makes it easier to sell. But, now, it’s your space, and it should reflect your favorite colors, not someone else’s.
One of the best ways to add color to a room is with a boldly tinted accent wall. This is also a great way to test your bright color tolerance: paint a single wall and see how you like it. If you love it and want more color, slick different shades onto the walls of other rooms in your home.
Waft a Spice-Inspired Scent
Another surefire way to create a spicy ambience is through scent. We often focus on visuals when it comes to designing our homes’ interiors, but a scent can add so much to the feel of a space. You might choose candles, which, as an added bonus, add even more ambience with their low, flickering light. You could also opt for reed diffusers, potpourri, essential oil diffusers… no matter which method you choose, your home will smell just as you like it.
Be sure the scent you choose reflects the spice-inspired environment you’re trying to create. Cinnamon, spiced pear, pumpkin spice, cardamom, sandalwood… choose the spicy scent that speaks most to you. Bringing a little bit of your chosen scent into each room of your home will make the vibe of your house flow from living room to bathroom to bedroom and beyond.
Mix Your Textures
Spiciness can be brought to your home via colors and scents, but it can also inspire bold design choices. One great example is the deft blending of textures that might seem too different to appear side-by-side, but end up looking perfect together.
This is especially true when it comes to metals paired with an unexpected metallic accent. A simple black dresser with glamorous, diamond-inspired glass pulls will become an eye-catching addition to any bedroom. You might also try a painted jewel-toned end table with a shiny gold lamp, for example, to play up the brightness of both hues.
You can even spice things up by blending two different colors, stains or styles of the same material. Mixing two or more types of wood finishes, for one, can breathe new life into a space. A space with only one wood finish seems flat, while one with different paints, stains and finishes feels multi-dimensional.
Play With Patterns
Once upon a time, design rules would have advised you against mixing fabric patterns. Instead, they would tell you to choose a single pattern per room and use its colors to inspire the rest of the fabrics, paints and furniture finishes for the rest of the space.
Today, that rule can be boldly broken by the spiciest of interior designers. The truth is, there’s no right or wrong when it comes to mixing a handful of different patterns. There are, of course, some tips for doing so to make it look as chic as possible. Start by collecting patterns in threes, so that it doesn’t feel too busy or too safe. Make sure your fabrics are all the same level of intense, meaning you don’t have one extra-loud print with very subtle ones to accompany it.
These rules apply to all colors and prints of fabric, except for plain white ones. While layering different variations of the same pink, green or blue can look fresh and different, a handful of whites and creams set atop one another can look as though they weren’t pattern-matched on purpose. Instead, they look messy and accidental, which you certainly don’t want from your interior design.
Spice Things Up
Of course, everyone’s definition of spicy will be different. The above ideas are only four of the myriad ways you can switch things up in your home to make it a fun, exciting and bold reflection of you. So, throw traditionalism, neutrality and basics to the wind — it’s time to spice up your house so it feels like it’s your home.