Even the most beautiful finishes in a space can feel a bit underwhelming if you haven’t paid attention to the little details. While that beautiful design and construction are imperative to having a finished home, it needs those details to feel complete. It’s sometimes compared to a woman investing in a beautiful dress and shoes only to feel it’s not a complete outfit without the beautiful earrings, statement necklace or perfectly matched purse.
A home shines more brightly when you add all those little details like artwork and small decor items. These are the final layer in your space that brings it all to life. If you struggle with how to finish off your spaces and make them look more inviting, this post will help you. These are my favourite ways to add the final layer to any space I work on.
Understanding the Importance of Little Details
Why are those items so important in a space? It’s because they add texture, shine and a dimension that’s hard to create in any other way. We all want our homes to feel warm and inviting and that’s most easily accomplished through the finishing touches. Here are the benefits of finishing off your space and adding in all those special objects and artwork.
1/ Create a Cohesive Colour Palette
It’s not often that we use finishes in interior design that have a lot of colour. I always recommend sticking to classics when selecting tiles, flooring and countertops. That means we rely on the accessories to add the punch of colour. You may have a beautiful foundation of neutrals in all your building materials but you now have an opportunity to add in your favourite colours.
Taking time to create a colour palette means you won’t end up with various shades of clashing accent colours. For those who are risk averse it also means being thoughtful around the tones of the neutrals you incorporate. You can create a beautiful palette from just neutrals but you have to plan it just as you would with colour.
Since the paint on your walls is the largest injection of colour, be sure to include that in your palette. You don’t want to find yourself in the paint store without a plan or you may end up painting more than once.
Need some help with paint? Here are my favourites Benjamin Moore colours and Sherwin Williams colours.
2/ Create a Softness to the Space
Interior design finishes can feel cold when they haven’t been surrounded with that additional layer. Although we always carefully select the materials for our renovations, they lack warmth all on their own.
If you finish a kitchen renovation and leave it without adding in those finishing decor pieces you’ll be met with just wood, tile and metal. While these are all beautiful materials, you’ll want to add some soft finishes like rattan baskets, green plants or fabric in the barstools to take away the cool feeling of just the room’s hard finishes.
3/ Adds Your Personality to the Space
You may have had a strong hand in selecting materials but those materials don’t reflect anything about your life or family. When you add in your favourite colours, some artwork you bought on trips abroad and family photos it starts to feel like the home is yours.
You don’t want your home to look like a showroom or a model suite. I always aim to incorporate as much of my clients’ personality into the space as possible. The biggest compliment I’m paid is when homeowners tell me it feels exactly like them.
Start by thinking about what you love. It could be your annual family vacation to the beach, music or even your dog. Now that you’ve prioritized it you can find a way to incorporate it into your design in a tasteful way. Don’t go overboard because you don’t want to overwhelm your space. Just add it in small doses in areas where it feels tasteful. This will allow your true personality to shine through in your home and it will differentiate your home from anybody else’s.
4/ The Little Details Provide Unity to Your Home
If you were to look at the little details in isolation they may not seem impressive or important. It’s when you combine them together that you see the impact they’ll have on your home. When they’re done right they pull all the spaces together and give your home a polished and complete look.
It’s because they don’t look significant on their own that people overlook them. If you take a trip to your local decor store you may pick up one or two pieces and feel they couldn’t possibly make much difference. It does take quite a lot of decor to give your home that finished look. Even as a designer I’m always amazed at how much decor I have to purchase. Buy more than you think you’ll need. You can always return pieces if you were to purchase too much.
How To Add These Details To Your Home
1/ Decor
This is your opportunity to fill all those little spaces that feel empty and cold. Books, baskets, photos and small objects work hard to personalize your home and make it your own.
You want to keep in mind the colour palette you’ve created when shopping for decor items. Sticking with a mix of two or three colours and finishes (nickel, chrome, gold or black) looks tasteful whereas combining all the colours of the rainbow will look disorganized and will feel overwhelming.
2/ Wallpaper
This has been popular for quite some time but if you’re not ready to paper your entire home you can add a lot of personality by using just small amounts. You can decide to create a focal point by doing just one wall in a room or paper the entirety of a small room like an office or powder room.
Powder rooms are a popular and easy way to dip your toes into the wallpaper world. It’s such a delight to open the door to this small space and find a beautifully wallpapered area. It adds interest to an often boring and overlooked little room.
3/ Fabric
This is one of the most important things to include because it provides softness and texture to every room in your home. It can be added through curtains, pillows, throws and rugs. Not only does this look great but it also stops the room from feeling like there are echoes bouncing around. The fabrics will help to absorb the sound.
4/ Artwork
Artwork is an area of decorating that a lot of homeowners feel is overwhelming. It can be hard to understand the different art styles and then to determine which you like the most. It can also feel daunting to know what size will work best for the room. Lastly, there’s the price tag. It can be expensive if you’re purchasing original artwork from a gallery but there are lots of great brick and mortar or online resources that are more affordable.
The effect art has in your home can’t be overlooked so it’s worth taking the time to learn what you like and what style will work for you. It adds so much to your space and can help create the ambience that is most nurturing for you. It can be dramatic or calming so take time to determine what you need at the end of a day or week. It can be a group of small pieces or one oversized eye catcher. The only rule is you need to love it.
6/ Greenery
Even if you’re not a green thumb it’s always a good idea to incorporate a couple of small plants. They provide a natural element to your space. If you tend to forget about them, look for plants that don’t require much care.
There was a time when “fake” plants were considered a faux pas but that’s not always the case now. There are some beautiful silk plants that you’d have to be very close to in order to tell they’re not real. The ones you want to avoid are the shiny, plastic fakes that you see in the big box stores. Instead, visit your garden centres or check out online sites like Etsy.
I hope that gives you some confidence to start your own decorating journey. If you still aren’t convinced that you could tackle it on your own, reach out to me. I’m always happy to discuss decorating ideas.
Happy decorating, Kristina
