What is elegance when it comes to a home? It does not have to mean luxurious, although it can be that. By its very nature, it is understated rather than opulent. There is a quiet confidence to elegance in a home, a lack of showiness. It is timeless rather than trendy. You can do it on a budget if you need to. The ideas below can help boost the elegance quotient of your space.
Your Entrance
As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and what visitors see when they step through your front door sets the stage for how they experience your whole house. There’s no one way to design the entranceway, and your approach will vary based on whether the door opens into a foyer or directly into a room. But think about what you want people to feel when they come inside, and what you would like to feel as well when you enter your sanctuary from the outside world. That’s what you want to convey with your design choices for this part of the house.
Home Lift
It sounds extravagant, but relatively speaking, it really isn’t. There are super fast home lifts that can be installed in most homes that have two or more floors, and they can be great for entertaining if you need to carry food, drinks, or people from one to the next. Tasteful and useful, they can also make visitors who have problems with mobility feel more welcome and comfortable.
Think Detail
Elegance does not have to be about splashing out on a new sofa or rug. It can be about the small details that pull a room together, a small piece of original art, a nice pillow, or even a beautiful vase of carefully arranged fresh flowers. Try to work with the existing layout and furniture in each room in your house and think about what would harmonize the different elements.
Window Treatments
It can be challenging selecting the right window style and there’s no single choice of window treatment that says elegant, but paying careful attention to this aspect of a room rather than putting up whatever blinds or curtains are handy can completely change the way it feels. Think window seats, high-quality materials and subdued patterns or rich colors. Different textures are another great way to add interest and elegance to this area, such as woven shades from natural materials combined with curtains. Valances are often considered old-fashioned, but a simple, elegant design can work in some rooms.
Walls
There are many ways to use the walls to give your rooms that understated feel. A great way to do this is with a boldly colored accent wall. You can do this with paint or with wallpaper. Don’t discount walls in cream or other neutral colors. If you are going for a minimalist look or if the rest of the room is somewhat busy, this can be a great way to subdue things. Even a fresh coat on your existing color can go a long way toward improving the overall look.