Tips For Creating Cohesive Space

Last week our blog encouraged you to tell stories throughout your home. This week we want to show you how to have a cohesive space. When we moved from our house to a smaller apartment, Rachel encouraged me to find complimentary hues for our home. I thought, really?! Does that mean I can have purple everywhere?! She said YES!! With more of an open concept in our apartment, we needed to be mindful of what we could see from one room to the next. My question when I started was "how do I do this?!" Here are some very helpful tips that Rachel shared:

• It’s all about the color pallet. Cohesive decor begins with a complementary color pallet throughout your home. Pick a scheme you love and use it in every room. Your color doesn’t have to be bland but choose similar hues as a base and then add interest with an accent color. As you can tell, my favorite color is purple. (It's Donny Osmond's too! Coincidence? I think not!)
  
• Bring out the best in your primary color pallet with a fun pop of color. You may choose to use the same accents throughout or change them up in subtle ways in different spaces. Last week we talked about telling stories in your decor, and one way was through color. Let your color choice shine as accents to your cohesive, primary pallet. I recommend sticking with accent colors that coordinate with one another. For instance, if your accent is purple in the kitchen, stick with a matching accent color in the dining room.

• Beyond color, a consistent scale is important in creating a cohesive look. Be mindful of the size and scale of your furnishings as well as accessories from one space to the next. An extreme example to avoid would be having one room sparsely filled with bean bag chairs and the next filled to the brim with oversized, ornate furniture and large accessories.
• Cohesive decor has become even more important in recent years as open floor plans have become the norm. While my space is more open now, I realized I didn't want interruptions in the flow.
  

• When each room flows from one to another, you want to carry your eye seamlessly from one space to the next. You achieve this with your colors and focal points that pull your eye through the space. The goal here is to carry your eye smoothly through the rooms. Walk into the room and let your eyes wander. Do they stop and get stuck anywhere? Is there something in your space that doesn’t quite fit where you have it? Is one area bland and your eye doesn’t even go there? Solving these questions is a big step in the right direction!
• A cohesive space is so important in the story your home tells! Even though I'm a fairly hyper person, I need my home to exude calmness and peace--that's my "story." By having the rooms flow in a cohesive way, I've achieved the "story" I'm looking for. If you missed last week’s blog, head back and take a look. As you move through your home, think about the story you want to tell, the feelings you want to evoke. Are you getting there? Do you feel happy, welcomed, calm, etc in your space? 

Next week we'll talk about carrying that cohesiveness to your outdoors!

Are you close but not quite there? We would love to help you! Send us your pictures so we can help or schedule a time for an in home consultation.

Until next time, here's a little video showing the flow of my home.

See you soon~ Joy