Creating a home that reflects your personality can be challenging. Whether you live in a house or condo, creating an interior design that’s uniquely you will make your home much more enjoyable to live in.

Instead of designing a space one room at a time, think about how all the rooms in your house fit together, and what kind of design will bring out the best in each one. A home is more than just the sum of its parts – it’s a statement about who lives there, and what they care about most. 

When you develop an interior design scheme for your home, you’re not just decorating — you’re creating an environment that speaks to who you are as a person and where you want to spend your time. 

Creating a consistent look and feel throughout your home is essential for inspiring you daily. The good news is that designing your interiors doesn’t have to be complicated. It just takes the right approach and some time dedicated to creating a look that’s exactly what you want. 

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some tips on designing your interiors and making them an expression of who you are.

1. Make a mood board to find your decorating style

While you can certainly hire an interior designer, many people choose to design their own spaces because they like the process and feel they can save money by doing it themselves. If that’s you, start with a mood board. 

This can be a large visual collage, poster board, or even a Pinterest board that brings together images that inspire you and reflect the style you’d like to achieve. 

You can start with a general idea of what you like — maybe you like a minimalist aesthetic or a vintage look. From there, look for images that exemplify the kinds of things you’d like to incorporate into your home and design. For example, if you like a rustic, distressed aesthetic, you’ll want to find furniture, artwork, and decorative items that reflect that style. 

If you’re committed to designing your own home from scratch, it might be helpful to take a class on architectural drafting or home design as a refresher on fundamental architectural concepts.

2. Decide on a theme

Another important aspect of designing your home is deciding on a theme. The best way to do this is to figure out what your interests are and what you enjoy doing in your free time. From there, you can create a design theme that incorporates your interests and hobbies. This will help you to create a home that’s more personalised and unique to you. 

For example, if you love to read, you could incorporate bookshelves or book-themed décor items into your living room or bedroom. By combining your interests with your design themes, you can create a home that’s truly one-of-a-kind. This will help you to make your home an extension of who you are.

3. Decide on a colour palette

Once you’ve decided on the general aesthetic you’d like to achieve, you’ll want to choose a colour palette that works with your overall design. Think about the colours that tend to make people feel most at home. These may vary depending on the person, but shades like creamy yellows, greens, and blues are often associated with a sense of calm, security, and relaxation. 

When designing a space, you’ll want to choose colours that complement each other and reflect the mood you’re trying to create in the room. For example, if you’re designing a playroom for your kids, you might want to incorporate brighter, more stimulating colours like reds, oranges, and yellows. If you’re designing a living room or dining room, you’ll want to stick to colours that are less stimulating and more relaxing.

4. Go for quality over quantity

While you may be tempted to fill your home with decorative items, keep in mind that less is usually more when decorating your home. Quality pieces are what bring a room or house together – not a jumble of uncoordinated furniture and pieces with no apparent theme. 

When choosing items for your home, remember that less is more. Instead of filling every inch of your house with a mishmash of decorative items, choose items that have meaning to you and that fit with the overall aesthetic of the room. When selecting furniture, opt for high-quality pieces that will last for years. Instead of buying a cheaper sofa that may fall apart in a few years, save up for a higher-quality piece that will be more durable.

5. Utilize the space you have

Once you’ve chosen a colour palette and decided on a general design aesthetic, you’ll want to determine which rooms in your home will correspond to each colour. 

Certain rooms are naturally associated with certain activities. For example, the kitchen and dining room are probably where you’ll want to stick with a bolder colour palette. In the living room, you may want to keep the colour palette more neutral so that you can easily decorate for different occasions. 

If you’re planning on hosting friends over for a football game, you may want to opt for a game-day-themed decor that includes red, yellow, and blue. You can also utilize the space you have in a room to keep it uncluttered. 

If you have a large room, try mixing different styles and eras to keep it from looking cluttered. A room with multiple different eras or styles is less overwhelming than a room filled with one type of furniture and decoration.

6. Don’t be afraid to mix styles

If you want to create a truly unique home, be fearless when it comes to mixing periods and styles. You don’t want every room in your house to look the same, and you don’t want to be limited by a single design. If you want to incorporate some ideas from Asian décor, but you also really like Victorian design, you can do that. 

If you love mid-century modern furniture and also have a passion for traditional design, there’s no reason why you can’t mix the two. And if you care about aesthetics more than following the latest trends, you can create a truly unique home and “you.” 

When you decide what style you want to create in a room, keep in mind that, generally speaking, you want to keep the design elements consistent throughout your home to create a more cohesive look. However, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to mixing and matching styles. If you truly love a piece of furniture or artwork, don’t let its vintage or retro style keep you from using it in a room that features more contemporary decor.

7. Utilize lighting

Lighting is a big part of creating a warm and welcoming environment in your home. If you’re designing a living room, dining room, kitchen, or other space that will be used primarily at night, you’ll want to make sure there is plenty of light. 

There are several ways to incorporate lighting into your home’s design. You can use lamps, wall sconces, or chandeliers to illuminate focal points in a room and create a warm, inviting atmosphere. If you want your home to reflect who you are, you’ll want to incorporate lighting that matches your design aesthetic. 

If you want a warm, cosy environment in your home, consider installing dimmer switches in the rooms you spend most of your time in. These can be used to create a variety of lighting moods and make your house feel more like home.

8. Bringing natural light and ventilation into your home

When designing your home, think about ways you can bring natural light and ventilation into each room. Natural light has been shown to reduce anxiety and improve mood, so bringing more of it into your home can create a more positive environment and help you and your family feel happier and more relaxed. 

While you can’t control the weather, there are things you can do inside your home to bring more light and ventilation into your living and sleeping spaces. For example, you can use large windows, skylights, or French doors to get as much light into a room as possible. You can also add features like clerestories, operable windows, and roof vents to increase air circulation and promote airflow in your home. 

9. Bringing natural elements into your home

You can also bring natural elements into your home to create a more open, airy environment. Instead of using artificial plants or decorative items, consider using real plants to bring life, light, and oxygen into your space. Consider the amount of light each type of plant requires before putting them in specific rooms in your home.

You can also use natural materials in your home, like wooden furniture and stone or brick walls. These elements bring natural materials into space and help you create a more open environment.

10. Balancing functionality with design

When designing your home, you’ll want to consider both functionality and design. You can achieve a beautiful space that also works well. 

Functionality is important, but it’s also important to design your space with aesthetics in mind. Keep in mind that you need to find a balance between the two so that your home isn’t cluttered and confusing. 

A good rule of thumb is that if your space is so crammed with items that you can’t walk through it comfortably, you probably need to prune some things back. A few strategically placed and carefully chosen decorative items will go a long way towards creating a beautiful home.

11. Hire professionals to help

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of designing your home, you could consider hiring professionals to help. This can be a great option if you’re short on time or don’t have the budget to invest in new furniture, appliances, or accessories. 

It’s important to remember that hiring professionals don’t mean you have to settle for a design that isn’t your own. You can still have as much input as you’d like and design your home in a way that’s truly unique to you. This can be an especially good option if you’re in the process of buying a new house and have a hard time finding a design that fits your taste.

Summing up

Home is where the heart is, and it’s also where we spend a large chunk of our time. It’s important to create a space that reflects who you are and makes you feel comfortable and happy. That’s why interior design is such a powerful tool. 

Designing your home is like creating a piece of art — you get to choose everything that goes into it and how it’s put together, and that allows you to create something truly special.