The Secret To An Effortlessly Stylish Home
Whether it is styling a home, pulling a fashion look together or doing our hair and makeup - most of us would love to give the illusion that our efforts are somewhat minimal and that our ‘look’ just kind of fell together in a nonchalant highly creative “oh, this? oh I just threw it together - honestly, I barely gave it any thought” impressiveness. Rarely is this the case. Granted, some people are just extraordinarily talented at throwing things together, but the rest of us…? Well, we benefit from some guidance for how to achieve the look and that’s going to need some level of effort.
On that basis, let’s re-think the word ‘effortless’ to mean ‘stylish - but casually so’. As an interior stylist, this is usually my number one aim. Each client might have a different requirement for their home, but in general, most people (well, most people that work with me), want their homes to feel stylish but welcoming and comfortable. Not too forced. Not too precise. So how do we achieve that? Well, for me there’s some simple steps:
Figure Out Your Interior Style
It seems like such an obvious first step, but it is one that most people have not attempted. Knowing your interior style - the style of home that resonates with you - is such an important starting point. Once we have this nailed, the rest can follow. To figure out your interior style consider what you are drawn to in your wardrobe. What we like to wear everyday - the style that makes us feel personally comfortable, is often an indicator of our interior style too. If you love pared back dressing - white t-shirts, denim, classics without much fuss, you’re unlikely to desire a home that is full of competing colour and pattern with lots of quirky layers. It’s not foolproof, but it’s a start. Also, take note of what you love on Instagram or Pinterest and see if a pattern of commonality emerges to point you in the right direction.
2. Don’t Buy Everything At Once
If you’re in the market for buying new soft furnishings or furniture, go slowly. Don’t buy everything from one store and don’t buy it all in one week. Pace yourself. The secret to your home looking ‘effortless’ is to add to it over time. Far better to have a slightly unfinished room that you add to, bit by bit over time, than one that looks like a showroom.
3. Little, to no, matching
Depending on your interior style, some people will have more matching items than others. If, for instance, you love a classic American look, chances are you are going to have pairs of everything (think a matching pair of lamps sitting evenly on a console table, a matching pair of armchairs etc). For some styles, this is appropriate and works. But, if you are aiming for “I just used my stylish intuition to throw this fabulous room together” look - then steer clear of matching. Think instead about balancing out the items in the room. That means different textures and materials and not sticking rigidly to one colour. Just because your artwork has a little teal green in it, it doesn’t mean you need teal green scatter cushions on your sofa - in fact, I’d argue the reverse. Having items match can look like you weren’t sure what to do so just had everything match so as not to get it ‘wrong’.
A good example of a room where nothing is matching. Two different sofa styles, different fabrics, different armchair style - but a common thread of blue that runs throughout holding the room visually together.
4. 80/20 Rule
That being said, you don’t want your spaces to feel chaotic and random. So, by all means don’t go down the matching route - but do make sure that enough items in the room loosely tie together. This is where we apply the 80/20 rule - 80% of your items have a common thread (most likely this will be your inherent interior style - see point 1) and then 20% can be a little of something else. Perhaps you love a coastal look - 80% of your furniture and soft furnishings in this instance would be light timbers, perhaps a little marble, linens and a soft colour palette - then to stop this from all getting too formulaic, you would add an interesting antique Asian console table, a graphic artwork, an interesting lamp with a pop of colour or pattern. That’s your 20%.
5. Balance vs. Symmetry
In general, the most effortlessly stylish rooms have less symmetry and more balance. A room that uses symmetry can often feel quite formal. Think back to the example in point 3 of two matching lamps at either end of a console table - the symmetry of these items feels purposeful and formal - if you arrange your items symmetrically, then it doesn’t look like you just decided to place them there - they are placed with intention, which is the opposite of giving off the ‘effortless’ vibe. If you are aiming for ‘effortless’ then we would go for one lamp, a piece of artwork leaning on the top of the console, with a stack of books and a vase to balance out the height of the lamp. This kind of placing of objects gives far more freedom to express your style and in turn looks ‘effortless’ - even though, truthfully, it will take far more effort than just placing two exact lamps at either end. Such is life.
A good example of balance rather than symmetry. The height of the lamp is balanced by the height of the greenery and in between a cluster of the same object of different heights and placed on different plains are used to bridge the two.