4 Ways to Create a Colorful and Creative Home

eatliveescape

Jan 3

Sick of grey, beige and white? Creating a colorful and creative home is a great way to stamp it with your personality and own unique style. We spoke to Heather Nette King, Carpet Court Style Ambassador, for her interior styling tips.

With roots in the slow movement and natural living philosophies, Carpet Court's latest trend, Local Boho, is all about decorating to reflect your own personal journey rather than following any prescriptive rules or decorating dos and don'ts. Local Boho is a soulful celebration of creativity, nostalgia and unpretentious home style, it's the very antithesis of harsh minimalism.

So that means if you focus on keeping a fairly uniform color palette, and ensure that you use a mix of vintage, antique and contemporary furniture pieces, you'll be able to achieve a stunning, warm and heartfelt space of your own to enjoy. Here are four of my favorite ways to achieve a colorful, creative and nostalgic look in your home.

1. Forget the Rules

So many homeowners fear getting it wrong or believe these trends won't work in their homes. With this look, just about anything goes - it's all about unleashing your inner creative spirit. Remember that 'supposed to' can be one of the most restricting phrases when it comes to interior design. So instead, embrace the whimsy and feel confident in creating an interior that's unique to you.

One of my favorite ways to achieve this is by creating a gorgeous blend of patterns. Where in some decorating styles it's important to keep the scale and type of patterns fairly consistent, Local Boho is more forgiving; you can pair maxi-scale prints with micro-prints, stripes with abstract patterns, and florals with checks or even more florals.

2. Choose four or five key colors

Loosely limiting your color palette will give your room a sense of cohesion; but don't worry if a couple more shades sneak in - anomalies will only add to the magic of achieving this colorful, creative look! Interior color selections are highly subjective, which means there's no right or wrong way to select a color scheme for your space. The most important consideration is finding a palette that feels right for you, using shades that beautifully reflect your personal style.

If you want to tap into current trends though, then look to nature's warm, earthy tones, such as pinky-clays, soft sages and eucalypt greens, faded rust and pale mustard. These are gentle to the eye and will help pull together all of the other textures, patterns and styles in your space. To keep the look contemporary, do this against plain walls and pared back window furnishings, such as Carpet Court's Bali semi sheer S-Wave curtains.

3. Create nostalgia by mixing vintage and contemporary pieces

Combining pieces from different eras adds personality and an eclectic feel. So how do you get the right mix? A room full of antiques may look like a museum, so anchor the space with a modern item such as a sofa, desk or dining table, then add layers of character with curated pieces. Adding photographs from your travels to your walls will only add to this sense of nostalgia, while woven wall hangings and colorful art will be perfect for bringing character and depth to your modern boho scheme. Those empty walls are filled with possibilities. With this style you can really amp them up to bring out your personality and taste.

4. Play with opposing textures

Texture is incredibly important when creating the Local Boho look. Think linen and velvet, rattan, and touches of metallics. Go for fabric that gives interest to both the eye and the fingertips, from luxe velvets through to natural linens, embroidered cushions, chunky rugs and thick loop pile carpets, such as Carpet Court's Beyond collection of carpet.

Texture adds warmth and a tactile connection to objects in your home. Without it, you'll find yourself surrounded by a visually flat room which is why it's a design trick worth getting on board with. Check that your elements play nice together and you'll go far in your efforts to create a more multidimensional look.