We spend more time indoors than ever before. A study released in 2019 by YouGov, done over 14 countries and 16 000 people in Europe and North America found that we spend 90% of our time inside. While it is crucial that we spend more time outside, playing, exercising, or just walking around, the chance of lowering that number considerably is a mirage. We are spending hours in our homes. Sleeping, yes, but also eating, cleaning, entertaining ourselves and others, reading, talking, playing with our kids, our pets, cooking… We are spending so much time in our homes, yet most of us hardly spend time making it homey.

Here are easy ways to make your house feel like a home. In the words of Eche Martinez, "make sure you're having fun. What's more fun than making your own home more beautiful?"

Style

Style selection is the first step. Your style should match the personality you want to give to your living space. Do you want a casual vibe, reflecting comfort, warmth, encouraging you to relax after a hard day of work? Perhaps your style is more formal and you wish to impress, with elegant furniture, symmetrical and vertical lines, ornate accessories like chandeliers and antiques. You may choose contemporary, with simple but sophisticated designs, neutral colors and clean lines. Alternatively, you may want to stick with the traditional style, which you’ll observe often is inspired by the 18th and 19th centuries, with classic art and pieces reflecting historical elements. Natural colors and materials complete the package.

Of course, style is only the starting point, but it is important to know it in order to design the entire home to match. Style is the foundation of creating a home that resembles you.

Balance

Unbalanced interiors are uncomfortable. To create an equilibrium, you must understand the visual weight of objects. By weight, we do not mean the actual weight, but rather the textures, the shapes, the material, the width, the height. Some objects with lots of textures or an usual shape can usually be put into the “heavy” item category, while items that are white and hold a standard shape, are often considered “light”. Creating a balance isn’t quite as much of a challenge as one might think. All one needs is to choose how to balance.

Symmetrically, you will look at evening out the shapes along a central axis, which tends to bring a feeling of stability, calm… but no fun. It can be achieved by copying almost perfectly on the left side of your space, what is on the right side. The objects can be different as long their weight stays the same.

Asymmetrically, you will need to reflect on the opposing axis while using different items. Take your knowledge of heavy and light objects in order to get this equilibrium. This could be as simple as mirroring one couch with two armchairs made of the same color and material and “weighting” the same as the one couch. It could also be balancing a floor lamp with a plant, as both are slender.

Radial balance is circular. Take a point of focus, whether it be a table, a round coffee table, a sculpture or anything you wish, and distribute the weight around that item. The eye will be drawn inward and the item you have put as a central point will shine like no other staging would be able to.

Staging your interior in a balanced way can help draw the eye to the important elements you wish to showcase, and impact the way the eyes perceive the space.

Focal Point

Finding a focal point is essential when coming up with your interior design because it will be where the eye is drawn, the emphasis point where all the attention will be focused on. Focal points do not have to be created from scratch, they sometimes are already part of the house. It can be as simple as framing a beautiful window with a gorgeous view of the outdoors, or putting a beautiful art piece on top of a fireplace mantle to showcase it.

Alternatively, you can also create your own focal point with the help of eye-catching wallpaper or an accent wall, a beautiful artwork piece, or a heavily framed mirror. You may use the help of statement furniture, such as a big bed, or a L-shaped couch with accessories like accent pillows. A focal point can essentially be anything you want it to become, as long as you are sure that you will not get bored of the piece easily. After all, it’s where your eye will be constantly drawn to.

Color Palette

The color scheme finishes the main elements to consider before designing your home. A color palette is the combination of colors used to make the space or spaces cohesive, it’s the color theme. That palette usually consists of a primary color, which will be the main color used throughout the space. For this, better to use neutral or pale colors, to avoid too much strain on the eye with too bright or too dark.

The accent color comes to balance the primary and give structure to the space. The eye will be attracted to the accent colors and travel with it around the space.

Finally, you can add a bold color, which will be a definite eye catcher. These colors create a visual relationship through one or several spaces. They make the space cohesive, as long as the color combination matches. You can use analogous colors (three colors adjacent to each other on the color wheel), monochromatic tones, shades or tints of one specific color. Depending on the chosen color, they’ll create a mood. Warmer tones might be more engaging and inviting, optimistic, while cooler shades will feel more calm and comforting, if sometimes a little impersonal.

These are the most important first steps when thinking about your interior design. All these elements will help your home feel harmonious. The living room, the bathroom, the bedrooms, the dining rooms, they can all match and feel like an extension of yourself. You can purchase elegant pieces of furniture for your bedroom, copper sinks for your bathrooms, and have all the art pieces that bring you joy, while carefully mastering the art of putting them in a special place to shine a light on them. You can of course rely on an interior designer to create your dream plan… or you can use our design tool Space Designer 3D and try it all out by yourself- without ruining your budget.