Looking to furnish your new home or do some remodeling? Urban Home has everything you need from urban furniture, decor, and unique furnishings.
Modern home decorating can be an eclectic mix of influences, from the ancient to the up to date. When skillfully blended, pieces from disparate eras can create a beautiful whole. By following a few guidelines, anyone can create an urban home space that successfully pulls together the best ideas from different time periods to make a unique, distinctive look in their home.
Blending the influences of different design periods can be a tricky business, particularly for the novice. To avoid ending up with rooms that look like a confused, jumbled mess, try choosing a couple of adjectives that will best describe each room. Choose words like massive and formal or delicate and casual to help capture the atmosphere that should be influential in each room.
Some people prefer a hearty home decorating style. If so, they should focus on mixing older Mission or Arts and Crafts pieces with modern oak furniture that features straight lines. The Mission and Arts and Crafts styles enjoyed the zenith of their popularity around the early 1900’s and these beautiful, solid designs work well with the clean lines and organizational sensibilities common to contemporary furniture pieces. For accent pieces, look to American folk art or even African textiles. Their bold colors will be beautiful against this style of furnishings.
Other people prefer a lighter, sleeker look in their home. The Art Deco pieces from the 1920’s to the 1940’s will blend beautifully with the soft, round curves common to modern urban décor. Focus on Art Deco accents, commonly crafted from glass or silver, to complete the look.
Of course, some people decide to go the wholly modern route, without attempting to blend the styles of other periods with contemporary pieces. All things considered, this is probably the easiest route to achieving a harmonious theme for every room. But there is still plenty of room for creativity. Leather and chrome are still considered to be cutting edge choices, but they are not the only way to go. Natural, light colored wood and nubby linens also signal a modern design choice and make a nice alternative to leather and chrome. When accessorizing a wholly modern design scheme, look to the art and artifacts of Africa and Asia, as many of these pieces feature clean lines and bold colors.
Whether choosing to blend different styles, or go with an entirely modern approach, the homeowner can still follow some common guidelines. Baskets, boxes, and cabinets are great ways to store miscellaneous items neatly, attractively, and quickly. Small rooms can be expanded through the artful placement of mirrors, which can make a small room appear much larger. Consider accenting various rooms with indoor plants. They improve the air quality, and produce a nice calming effect on the occupants of any room. Of course, it is best if they are healthy, exemplary specimens; anything else will simply bring down the room. Combine colors to make a chic completed room. Use a creamy white with primary colors or bright pastels with a neutral base color to make a vibrant, cheerful room. The creative use of color can make a room look bigger and brighter, or smaller and darker, than it actually is.
Successful home decorating often comes down to a matter of personal taste. What seems uncluttered and peaceful to one person might seem downright boring to another. The goal of any good home decorating plan, however, is for the designer to please themselves. After all, they will be living in the space and it should reflect their personality and inclinations, rather than strictly adhering to a theory of design.
