NWR: Home Decor / Decorating trends

kahluakoala

Hey Knotties - 

I'm in the middle of decorating our first condo - SO and I are upgrading from the furniture / items we've been toting around through various dorms and apartments and trying to put things together into one cohesive look. It's been fun! We have everything we "need" so we can just upgrade / replace pieces one by one. But we're on a budget and certainly not decor experts so I've been asking the pinterest gods / design blogs for help, also DIYing where I can (which I also think is fun!)

The problem - I don't want my house to look like a farmhouse, and I don't want a gallery wall. Why do those seem to be the only two trendy options? It's just like wedding trends! and SO not my aesthetic. I don't know where to look for inspiration! Any ideas here?

What did you do with your home? How did you come ideas? Any advice for a first time homeowner?

cgss11

I find it's helpful to narrow down your search, because if you're just browsing you're right..it's straight off an episode of Fixer Upper or gallery walls. 

So if you lean more modern, or simple just add that in your search. I had a large clock I wanted to use but wasn't quite sure how, so I just searched large clock living room and got a lot of ideas. I know it sounds like a simple/obvious thing, but it will help! 

If you're not sure of your style, try just browsing modern, Art Deco, traditional, etc and see what you're drawn to the most. That will at least weed out the farm house style. 

lyndausvi

We don't have a style per se.      We buy furniture and stuff based solely on what we like.  

For example,  one day we were walking through Pottery Barn and found a entertainment cart we liked.  So we bought it.    When we decided to buy a new sofa we just went from store to store and ended up with a Pottery Barn sectional.     

The club members who have houses on the course love to redecorate often.  When they do that they will give away amazing furniture to the staff.  So we have picked up some nice stuff for our spare room.  Yes it's free, but it's not crappy free stuff.  This is quality stuff.  

With time we figure out we gravitate towards darker wood and metal together.  It wasn't something we found from Pinterest.  It developed over time as pieces came our way.

Some people feel the need to redecorate everything at once, so everything looks it came from a magazine or out of HGTV or something.  And that is cool.  We are not that way at all.   Our style developed over time and continues to develop.    Personally, I like things not all matchy, matchy in style.  I like seeing an antique pieces along side a  something newer.

My advice is to just shop around, look at magazines, etc.   Buy pieces you like slowly and you will then find your style. 
 

ShesSoCold

I called my friend Erin. Want her number?

climbingsingle

Figure out your style (modern, contemporary, traditional) and search for inspirations within those design styles. Check out Houzz too. 

peachy13

I've been in my house for three years now and there are still little things I plan to upgrade and/or decorate. Being a new homeowner means always having something you want to do at some point. When we first moved in, everything was pretty bare but was filled up pretty quickly after a few trips to Home Goods and Pier 1. Over the last few years, decor around my house has changed when I see new things in a store or in someone else's home. Sometimes too, you start to really dislike something that you started out with. My husband and I painted the bathroom one color three years ago and decorated it with certain things, and then it was about a year later that we both discovered we hated the color and the decor, and set off to redecorate. I think that probably happens to a lot of people.

charlotte989875

We just bought a house and it's a 100 year old craftsman style so we just found things that fit that era. Is there anything in your condo that lends itself to a particular style or era? It helped us narrow down how to decorate. 

charlottesmom0626

I think you need to figure out your interest or themes- if you really like modern styles and your couches are navy try searching "modern living room blue" or other search terms that contain everything you're looking for.

Also considering searching for inspiration in smaller bits. If you want ideas for throw pillows, look at that specifically and not for living rooms. 

To be honest, I'm one of those farmhouse people, but I find if I'm looking for a specific thing, I'll try longer searches like "oval mirror fireplace" to get ideas to incorporate into my decor.

lnixon8

Homegoods is my Mecca. I like pinterest for somethings but I like getting paper magazines that always tell you the brand, how much etc. My favorites are southern living and coastal living. While I don't live at the beach Annapolis, MD is "coastal" but its very easy to go overbaord with crab/anchor/mermaid shit all over the place. 
Homegoods, tuesday morning, model homes clearance centers, criagslist are good for trendy things or something that you're not going to be sitting/laying on for hours at a time. The only real piece of new furniture I bought was a couch and ottoman from Ashley, that I really like and spent about 1200 on including an ottoman.
My other splurge was a print from a local artist I really love. I emailed her directly and told her I saw her prints sold around town but wondering if she had anything larger... I picked which painting from her gallery I wanted, what size, got it printed and then went to a framing shop and picked out very specifically how eactly I wanted it. All in all it is the focal point of the living room, I spent $600 total but it's not something anyone else has and its my favorite inanimate thing in my house.

ericasm0703

We have a rancher that sits on 3 acres and decorated it with the farmhouse look. However, I was raised on a farm,  and it's just what we're comfortable with and what makes us feel at home. We have a lot of furniture and decor pieces from my great-grandparents' farm in Missouri that was willed to us, but we have some Ashley couches, coffee table and end tables that I bought when I was moving into my own apartment.

ernursej

I think you are smart to buy pieces over a period of time. Sometimes, it might be best to start with smaller/less expensive pieces to start figuring out what style(s) you like and look good in yoru home.

Once you nail down style(s) then you can get bigger pieces like couches.

I did see a lovely idea for a photo display that was actually a few chair rails spaced out on a larger wall. Then you can just rest the pictures on the chair rail and switch them out when you want.

kahluakoala

ernursej said:

I think you are smart to buy pieces over a period of time. Sometimes, it might be best to start with smaller/less expensive pieces to start figuring out what style(s) you like and look good in yoru home.

Once you nail down style(s) then you can get bigger pieces like couches.

I did see a lovely idea for a photo display that was actually a few chair rails spaced out on a larger wall. Then you can just rest the pictures on the chair rail and switch them out when you want.

@ernursej

Do you have a link? that sounds great!

To those who are doing a farmhouse look, that sounds lovely, but is SO not me. i've never even been to a farm!

MissKittyDanger

I'm having similar issue. Try to find some common ground - like colours - and that'll help give more idea on larger picture. Find base pieces first, if you're getting a couch do that first. Key/base items will help the rest!

ernursej

KahluaKoala said:

ernursej said:

I think you are smart to buy pieces over a period of time. Sometimes, it might be best to start with smaller/less expensive pieces to start figuring out what style(s) you like and look good in yoru home.

Once you nail down style(s) then you can get bigger pieces like couches.

I did see a lovely idea for a photo display that was actually a few chair rails spaced out on a larger wall. Then you can just rest the pictures on the chair rail and switch them out when you want.

@ernursej

Do you have a link? that sounds great!

To those who are doing a farmhouse look, that sounds lovely, but is SO not me. i've never even been to a farm!

Look on pinterest or google for "chair rail picture ledge"