5 small interior details which make all the difference

When it comes to interior design there can be very small and subtle differences between an okay room and a really well-thought space. Often when our friends come around I get little compliments on small things I didn’t think were that special or I get asked “how do you do it?”. So because sharing is caring (and I am obsessed with interior) I thought I would list 5 quick wins to elevate the interior of your house. Some are well-known tips and this post will give you a few examples for inspiration, other details may just be me spending waaaayyyyyy too much time thinking about radiator styling (yep I do that. Keep reading, you’ll see…)

Avoid too much symmetry

I touch on that in details in a previous post, but I really think it is the secret to make your interior decor more interesting! It is a great way to transition from magazine-like interior to people-live-in-there ambience. Asymmetry will make an entire room more interesting.

How can you achieve it? I, for instance, always gather an uneven number of small objects when creating a vignette (more on that later). I also always create my gallery walls with 3/5/9/etc items. It is a great way to make your interior more flexible by adding new objects over the years but also to not get annoyed if a bit of mess creeps in.

So don’t be scared of asymmetry! Give it a go without worrying as long as you follow the main interior design principles you will create a balanced room AND you will have a more interesting and liveable interior to exist in.

Mix and match colours, textures and patterns

A pretty obvious advice if you watch any home show on TV or read any ELLE Decoration, but beyond just patterns and colour I would add textures. Don’t be afraid to throw very different fabrics together like velvet, faux-fur and cotton for instance.

Also don’t think of colours, textures and patterns separately, for instance, I have a copper lamp which matches the tone of a tan Moroccan pouffe. In this example, I have very different materials and textures but I have matching colours.

Finally, try to avoid matchy-matchy cushions on your sofas and make sure to display them unevenly, this will avoid the obvious showroom look!

Create vignettes

Is she just dropping French words in her posts now? Nope! The English language probably borrowed this word from mon pays, and it is used as a technical term in Shakespeare mother-tongue when it comes to home decor.  A vignette is a small picture or scene formed by grouping several objects together. I like to think of them as little scenes which say a lot about a home and its owners.

A vignette is most commonly made of very different objects, a book, a candle, a plant, etc. To avoid a ‘collection’ effect. The best way to make a beautiful vignette is to select bits and bobs which are really precious to you, this way you will instinctively arrange them to do them justice without overthinking it.

Thinking out of the box when it comes to art

Art doesn’t have to be expensive but in order to avoid getting the same Ikea frame or Habitat poster than anyone else you sometimes have to think out of the box. A beautiful ceramic tile can look great in a gallery wall! An originally shaped piggy bank can make a great sculpture!

One of our most commented on art objects in our house is a tea towel with cats that we bought in Japan and framed! Let your creative juices flow, if it can get framed and nailed to a wall it can be art!

Books under furniture

This is my little trick to hide mess hidden behind a legged furniture, pile books and slide them under. It is a great way to hide cables pilling behind a TV stand for instance.

I personally like miss-matched colours but you could also colour-coordinate the piles to match in a very subtle way other items in the room.

Leaning art on radiators

This is a great tip for tenants who cannot drill holes into walls or art hoarders like me! I find radiators rather ugly and if it was up to me I would opt for under-floor heating every single time. So to make radiators more aesthetically pleasing I like to lean beautiful things on them.

It gives them a dual function and elevates the look of the space by avoiding the traditional hanging-art-above-things layout. It is a simple idea which won’t damage your walls and you can change the arrangement depending on the seasons, life events, new things you bought or let it evolves with your tastes.

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I hope those little tips make your home feel more like you while keeping it interesting and stimulating! Afterall, there are no better feelings than being home proud!

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