Finding Your Style of Home Décor

Developing a comfortable home environment with touches of your own personal style can be overwhelming, especially since there are so many kinds of décor to choose from. Finding the right style to fit your personality is easier than you think, though and it can transform a home into a comfy sanctuary, whether residents rent or own.

Here’s a primer to help you figure out which type of home décor is the right fit.

Contemporary: This home décor style features clean lines and smooth, round surfaces. The contemporary color palette focuses on neutral tones such as beige, white, and tan, with light woods and metallic accents for a small pop of color. Fabrics in contemporary style homes are generally cottons, silks, and linens, which balance out the austere features with some needed texture. This style emphasizes ease, functionality, simplicity, and no-muss-no-fuss living.

Modern: Modern home décor also emphasizes simplicity, but it’s characterized by geometric shapes, symmetry, and a sleek feeling. Black, silver, gray, and white are popular modern design colors, but are often paired with a dramatic accent color. Surfaces tend to be granite or concrete, and hardware is generally stainless steel. Despite the emphasis on starkness, modern design is notable for the importance it places on eye-catching and vibrant art pieces.

Traditional: If you like luxurious fabrics and ornate patterns, the traditional style of home décor is for you. Generally inspired by homes of the 18^th century, the most popular design movements for traditional home décor are British Colonial revival, 18^th century English, 19^th century neoclassical, and French country. Traditional homes are warm and inviting, with peach, red, tan, and green tones, dark wood paneling, and an emphasis on eye-catching and over-the-top accessories that often feature floral patterns, gold accents, and rich fabric.

Cottage: The cottage home décor style is all about comfort, coziness, and textured accents. The palette typically revolves around colors you’ll see in a garden; shades of greens, pink, and yellows, and white as a neutral furniture accent color. The soft colors are contrasted with rich textural elements like wicker, natural fiber fabrics, and weathered accessories. Cottage furniture is generally large and inviting. If you are drawn to the “shabby chic” aesthetic, cottage home décor is a good fit for you.

Eclectic: Why have just one home décor style when you can choose your favorite elements from all of them? The eclectic home décor style is gaining in popularity because of its flexibility and emphasis on building a décor strategy out of key pieces that you already own. Eclectic home décor mixes and matches colors, time periods, fabrics, shapes, and textures to create a space that is truly unique to the individual. Despite that, eclectic style is still held together by a neutral color scheme and allowing your personal style to shine with creative and bold accessories.