For those of us who don’t have a hugely creative streak, updating our homes can be quite stressful. Few people wish to splurge on interior designers, which is why many find themselves online searching for design tips. In just a few minutes of reading, discover some of the best design tips collected for your convenience when you buy furniture online.
Buy furniture online to design your home
You may wonder what buying furniture online has to do with updating and transforming your home. It is quite simple, however. When we visit a physical furniture store, we are often limited in terms of design and colour options.
Oftentimes we may have to visit several furniture stores only to discover that none of them have what we have in mind. To avoid such disappointment and limitations, shopping to buy furniture online is a great way to get exactly what you’re looking for and keep in line with your design plans.
When you buy furniture online, you are more likely to have a positive experience in your search, with minimal levels of frustration and general discontent that can hamper your decoration experience in its entirety.
Buy furniture online with maximalism in mind
While not everyone’s cup of tea, maximalism is a bold and emerging trend seen throughout the world this year. It is predicted to increase in popularity, so jumping on the bandwagon may not be such a bad idea when you buy furniture online.
If you are a fan of neutral colours and plain, simple designs and textures, maximalism is not for you. As the opposite of minimalism, which advocates a ‘down to earth’ vibe in your home, maximalism encourages the use of bold colours, differing textures, patterns and strange décor.
If this sounds appealing to you, keep the following tips in mind when you begin to buy furniture online:
• Colour your home – This type of style requires vibrant colours, and every bit helps. One will note, when researching, the recurring use of darker shades such as dark red and navy blue, for couches and walls.
If you are concerned about your room appearing too dark and damp, balance it out with some lighter colours in other pieces such as carpets and curtains. Bright accents and vibrant patterns can quickly solve this issue. Don’t forget this when you buy furniture online.
• Mix it up – While some may prefer to avoid clashes in design, maximalism encourages a ‘more is more’ in terms of utilising the space by filling it with more patterns, colour, textures and decorations. Mixing these textures and patterned pieces is smiled upon, much to the horror of conventionalists.
This type of style does not dictate rules. It provides homeowners with a free experience of applying their own creativity and letting it grow. People visiting your home will have a clear glimpse of your personality in your bold and innovative design.
• Comfort is key – Over the years, the general acceptance of the minimalist trend saw homeowners downsizing in comfort in preference of sturdy, straight and emptier pieces of furniture.
Maximalism, however, prioritises comfort, meaning that you ought to search long and hard for the comfiest and coziest couch that you can find. Leather couches, or chairs with thick pillows are great options in this regard, giving you that perfect spot to snuggle up with your favourite book.
• Shower your home with art – Bring out the art critic in you with gallery walls in your home. Not only does this collection of artworks you’ve found interesting give you a sense of calm, but they also serve as great conversation starters.
Achieving this look is as easy as identifying a lonely, empty wall and filling it to its maximum capacity with artwork. One thing to keep in mind however is the spacing between the frames – which should always be uniform.
Buy furniture online to give your home a vintage makeover
Arguably, vintage can never go out of style. Some online furniture stores offer customers some exciting vintage styled pieces – which you can use to spice things up in your home in terms of playing with multiple time periods.
During your search, keep a look out for such items, especially if they are on sale. Don’t be shy to surround yourself with old pieces that you love. That old sofa you inherited from your mother has its own unique aura, and is not necessarily outdated.
In today’s consumerist society, there is the constant notion of ‘big, better, best’ which encourages people to never be satisfied with what they have. If something does not need fixing, don’t let go of it – especially if it adds value and vibrancy to your space.
A comforting mess
As established, when utilising maximalism in your home decoration, there are no rules. However, there exists a line in terms of a vibrant and comfortable space and cluttered chaos.
This is easily avoidable if you make an effort to connect your spaces. This can be done by finding a way to tie each room together, even if it means to simply combine your red walls with a few red pillows somewhere in the room, as an example.
While seemingly unnoticeable, ensuring these sorts of elements are in place can make all the difference when someone steps foot into the space. If you manage this successfully, your home will always appear to be cohesive in design.
Moving to modern while you buy furniture online
While maximalism certainly is not for the faint of heart, modern design and furniture styles are timeless classics to keep in mind when you buy furniture online. The following are some good tips to consider when you decide to remake your home into a modern dream:
Consider colours
Without a doubt, when creating a modern look, colouring is one of the most important aspects to keep in mind when you decide to buy furniture online. One needs to carefully consider the impact that certain colours can have in terms of mood, aesthetics and general vibe of the home.
Colours ought to complement each other, adding an interesting comparison to the space. Every aspect should serve a purpose in creating your modern look. Needless to say, when decorating your home, you should think about colours.
When you think about wall paint, keep in mind that soft colours are in fashion, and goes very well as an accent wall on one side of the room.
Accessorize, accessorize after you buy furniture online
Your walls may be beautiful, and your furniture gorgeous, but a home can still appear empty if you have not taken care in placing elements in a space to make it stand out.
This may sound more complicated then it really is, when all it takes is perhaps placing some of the following elements in your home:
• Ornaments
• Trays
• Candles
• Lamps
• Gold/silver framed mirrors
• Framed artwork
• Books
However, try avoid overloading your space with too many elements in the event that it looks too cluttered – if of course you are pursuing a modern look.
And then there was light!
Let’s face it, standard light fixtures are boring, and at best serve only one purpose. While they may provide light, they do not do much to serve your home aesthetically.
Consider instead installing some interesting fixtures, such as hanging bulbs, or metallic, interestingly shaped light fixtures, to name a few.
The internet is full of references and lighting stores near you, ready to assist you in creating a more magical and aesthetically pleasing home.
Make sure that there is no corner in your house that is without light. Not only could this scare the kids, (and guests) but it could ruin the general atmosphere with its dinginess.
Textured bedspreads
Increasingly popular, the act of purchasing textured bedding is a great way to set your space apart. Whether steamed, ironed or left alone, it looks great and is hassle-free.
Velvet is a great example, and its glamourous appeal and feel makes it easy to understand why. This simple element can completely transform your bedroom, with minimum effort on your behalf. Textured pillows and throws are also surefire ways to attract the eye and please the senses.
Declutter
Because modernism embodies minimalism in style, a main objective of the style is to avoid cluttering a space. When you remove clutter and unncescaery elements from a room, you create an illusion that the space is much bigger.
Furthermore, doing so will point attention to the pieces you purchase when you buy furniture online, highlighting your modern preferences.
Buy furniture online style guide for small spaces
Decorating small areas of the home, or a small area in general can be tricky, especially if you are trying to fit in some gorgeous pieces of furniture. Smaller homes and flats can get messy and cluttered very quickly, and when you get creative with furniture and decorating, you may run the risk of making the space feel cramped.
Luckily, there are various ways to make your small space look bigger. The following are some easy tips to assist you in maximizing your space to the best of your ability:
Do you really need it?
Human nature encourages us to horde our belongings, even when we have outgrown them and they no longer serve a purpose. This becomes problematic when you are faced with storing your trash and treasures in a very small space.
Smaller spaces look even smaller when severely cluttered, only if you have a few pieces of furniture in the space. To avoid this, take time to declutter your rooms. You don’t necessarily need to throw your unused items out, you can put them in storage or even better, donate them to a good cause.
A lighter colour scheme
Another effective way to make your home look more spacious is by using a colour scheme that only includes lighter colours. Whites, creams and beige hues are a few colours that can give your room the appearance of being larger.
There is a science behind this. The lighter colours function to reflect light off their surface, causing your space to have a brighter and airier feel. On the other side of the spectrum, darker colours tend to shrink the space. Another interesting way to create a feel of spaciousness iis to use the same colour on the walls as the ceiling, to create a blurring effect and make the ceilings appear higher.
Mirror mirror, on the wall
A mirror placed in a strategic position can go a long way in making your space appear bigger. There is a reason that mirrors are considered to be such effective tools in the décor industry.
Leaning a mirror in a corner of your room to create an interesting focal point that reflects natural light. You are free to decide whether you’ll utilise a few separate mirrors to create a sort of gallery, a cabinet with a mirror built in, or an oversized mirror that covers a large section of wall.
Either way, you are guaranteed to feel the positive effects in your space.