Top Tips for Decorating in a Contemporary Style
If the new year has you thinking about refreshing your home in a big way or moving to a new place, you might be busy checking out different decorating styles and deciding which one to opt for. It can be fun yet overwhelming when there are so many options, including farmhouse, French country, traditional, art deco, boho, and more.
However, one style that tends to be popular continuously and can give you a modern look and feel that suits many architectural styles is contemporary. Here are tips for decorating in a contemporary way this year.
Pare Back Your Belongings
One of the hallmarks of a contemporary home is that it doesn't look too cluttered. As such, it's wise to pare back your belongings as much as possible so that you don't create rooms that are overbearing because there's too much to see, visually. A contemporary home is meant to be relaxed and calming, but you can't get into this kind of zone when you constantly see "stuff" lying around that reminds you of jobs you need to do or that make it harder to clean and be organized and find things.
Regularly schedule times to go through the items in a room bit by bit to see what you can sell, donate, recycle, or bin. If you do this every month, say, you'll find it a less strenuous and stressful task to take on and will stay on top of your clutter. Consider what you have taking up visual space on walls and the ceiling, too, not just your furnishings and smaller items.
For example, it's best to limit adornments on the roof to a stylish modern ceiling fan and some elegant lighting or to pick out one or two stand-out artworks for the walls of a room rather than decorating them with lots of galleries.
Give Everything a Place
A related tip is to, once you've said goodbye to everything you don't love or use, give everything you're retaining a place. When you designate areas for all your possessions, you don't have to constantly think about where to put things, and mess is much less likely to build up. Plus, you'll find that all your spaces look more streamlined, fresh, and inviting.
Go through every area of your property and find the best use of different spaces and how you can organize them so that everything has its place. Things like shelving, hooks, bookcases, ottomans or beds with storage underneath them, and other pieces can help you to keep your possessions sorted.
Create an Open Floor Plan
Contemporary homes typically always have an open floor design, meaning lounge, kitchen, dining room, and other entertaining areas flow seamlessly from one to another. This kind of layout means families can feel together even if they're doing different activities. If your home has a lot of smaller, subdivided spaces, getting a builder, carpenter, or another qualified tradesperson to knock down one or more walls for you is worthwhile.
Provide consistency by keeping the flooring of all these integrated rooms the same, such as with tiles, wooden floorboards, or vinyl. You also need to provide some definition to the spaces, though, by defining different zones, such as dining or media viewing spots, with subtle visual cues like area rugs, shelving, or significant pieces of furniture.
Choose Simple Pieces with Clean Lines
A top tip for decorating in a contemporary style is to utilize fresh, modern furnishings with clean lines and plenty of simplicity. While you want the pieces you choose to make a statement in the rooms you situate them in, you also want to keep things uncluttered. Picking smooth geometric shapes for your furniture will help keep rooms looking contemporary; don't be tempted to try to pack too many pieces into one area.
It's best to pick out goods that steer clear of too much decoration, such as fringes, tassels, trims, skirts, ruffles, excessive carved details, and over-the-top floral prints. Instead, pick out sofas, chairs, ottomans, tables, and the like with bare, basic, and structural footprints. It also helps to select products made from natural fibers such as jute, bamboo, wool, cotton, linen, wicker, seagrass, etc.
Other tips to help you decorate effectively in a contemporary style are to pay attention to lighting (lots of natural light is essential, so keep drapes sheer and add windows or skylights as needed) and incorporate some natural elements by bringing the outdoors in with potted plants or other touches.
It's also essential to stick with a primarily neutral color palette consisting of white, gray, black, beige, or soft pinks or greens.
A contemporary style won't go out of fashion any time soon, so this décor can help you modernize and add value to your property with just a few simple changes.