Have you noticed how grey everything seems to be at the moment when it comes to home décor? Grey walls, grey furniture, grey textiles – everything seems to be a variation on the scale of grey.
Maybe the 2020s ought to be the decade when we can slip back into some degree of decadence to counteract the impact of the current cost of living crisis – seeking out low cost ways to elevate your home without breaking the bank.
We’ve picked out some of our favourite ‘themes’ and thought through ways in which these themes can be recreated in the home to give your home a lift.
Whimsical – Creating A Sense Of Serenity
Whimsical is defined as ‘playfully quaint or fanciful, especially in an appealing and amusing way’. Think diaphanous nymphs skipping through the early mist – which immediately brings to mind white muslin curtains billowing gently in the breeze.
A whimsical approach to decorating is infinitely more feminine, but there is no reason why the man of the house shouldn’t also enjoy and gentler, more dreamlike home environment.
To achieve this whimsical effect, think gentle pale colours, whites and creams, pale pinks, barely there blues. Add deeper contrast colours in the background, such as a rich sky blue that evokes the freshness of a summer’s day.
Textile wise, you need to look for soft, undulating materials – textures that appear as though they are barely there, but have strength and durability behind them. The senses you are evoking are based on a sense of peace, calm and serenity.
Industrial – Evoking Economic Progress And Revolution
To counterbalance the more feminine nature of the whimsical look, an industrial approach fulfils the more masculine, dominant personality.
When you think about industrial design, harder textures come to mind. Concrete, steel, ferrous metals, exposed brickwork, re-purposed timbers.
Scoping out materials for an industrial look interior can be fun – from skip diving to exploring reclamation yards, finding unusual one-off pieces that might not usually be used for a residential project, but with a bit of imagination can be re-purposed into some intriguing and unusual design features in your home.
Gothic – Adding Some Drama To Your Circumstances
Not everyone needs the calming, soothing effects of a whimsical design, or appreciates the harder lines of industrial design. An alternative is a more gothic approach. The word ‘gothic’ can evoke certain images – whether it is more architectural, with dramatic flying buttresses and unusual creatures sculpted into the overall design. Alternatively the word ‘Gothic’ might evoke a more literary approach – think Jane Eyre walking through a dark and spooky house, or Edgar Alan Poe reciting a macabre tale of mystery and horror. Despite its more gloomy and morose nature, the gothic style can respond to a lot of people’s different emotions, appealing to a more creative and spirited side of their personalities.
Minimalist – Not For The Faint-Hearted
Finally, there’s nothing like waking through the clean, pure lines of a minimalist home to truly appreciate the impact that mess and disorder can have on your overall well-being. While it is an understandable assumption that minimalism shouldn’t cost much to achieve – surely it’s just a case of throwing everything away.
In actual fact, minimalism is very difficult, and often expensive to achieve, as it is not simply a case of building the cupboards to hide everything away 0 the quality and finish of the workmanship needs to be that much more elevated to meet the high demands of the standard required.