Balancing Beauty and Functionality: How to Style Your Home

Having a stylish yet functional home is important. When we get the balance of beauty and functionality right, here’s what happens.

We have a home that helps us relax, is pleasing to the eye, and is one that we are proud to welcome guests into. We have a home that makes life simpler, that meets the whole family’s needs, and where everyone can feel calm and unhurried. A home like this contributes to our feelings of well-being and contentment.

This article is going to let you in on a few secrets. It’s going to tell you some shortcuts for having a beautiful and functional home. Here’s what you need to know.

Three Design Principles to Remember

Want to know How to Style your Home? Well, there are three key principles you need to apply any time you shop for your home from now on. These words will be your mantra for any kind of decision you make when it comes to collating pieces, designing your décor or reorganizing your rooms. The three principles are simple, useful, and versatile.

Simple

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”- Leonardo Da Vinci

As well as these wise words by the master of the Renaissance, you may also have heard the expression, “There is beauty in simplicity”.

Apply these ideas in your home to ensure both beauty and functionality. Paring things down to being as simple as possible is a great starting point for reinventing your home. Simple means uncluttered, unfussy, and unassuming, so declutter as much as you can.

Remove items you can do without, but try to apply the principle of simplicity to the items you choose to keep, too. Items that are simple in design are more likely to function better and to be aesthetically pleasing.

Therefore, when you look for new items for your home, consider clean lines, simple shapes and colors, and simplicity in function, too.

Useful

“Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose.” – Charles Eames

Our home needs to work hard for us. It needs to be easy to live in. We need spaces and places for our ordinary things: our kitchen utensils, cleaning apparatuses, laundry baskets, and the million other everyday items we need.

How to best organize all these things is a very important consideration. Your home must contain useful storage solutions – from large closets for storing winter clothes and bedding, to small baskets or containers for trinkets. Every last item should have a home so that it is always on hand, but not on show.

Storage solutions can be beautiful as well as functional. Look for items that elevate the essential but ordinary, like elegant free-standing cabinets rather than built-in cupboards in the lounge, lush wooden bowls or boxes for keys in the hallway, and designer waste bins and soap dispensers for the bathroom.

Versatile

“The function of design is letting design function.” — Micha Commeren

Versatile pieces of bespoke furniture for your home can add functionality without compromising on style. Multipurpose pieces maximize the usefulness of an item while minimizing the space taken up. Examples of versatile and stylish furniture for your home can include ottomans and stools with hidden storage, bedside tables with drawers, and nested tables.

Items can also be versatile in terms of how many areas they can be placed in your home. For example, simple glass vases can be matched with the decor of almost every room. Returning to the idea of simplicity, unfussy items are the most versatile in this respect. They allow you to rearrange and refresh your decor without purchasing new items every time.

Incorporating Your Personal Style in the Finishing Touches

“The essence of interior design will always be about people and how they live.” – Albert Hadley

While having a functional home is crucial, it is important that your home reflects your personal style, too. You can make sure your space has plenty of personal touches throughout by adding artwork, mirrors and a few well-placed decorative pieces.

You can also demonstrate your flair in your everyday items. For example, dining accessories and napkins, coffee cups, photo frames and planters are all finishing touches where your personal style can shine through.

Color schemes and fabric choices can also signify your individual style. Do you prefer an indulgent, luxurious look with deep jewel colors and fabrics like velvet? Or do you prefer a cool, fresh look with whites and creams, and fresh linens?

Scent is also a reflection of individuality. You can add an extra layer of beauty to your home with deliciously scented candles, diffusers, incense, and room sprays.

Practical Tips for Keeping a Beautiful and Functional Home

“Design is a matter of discipline, organization, and editing.” – Nancy Braithwaite

Here is some advice for maintaining a stylish yet practical home long-term:

Add some tidy and reorganization time to your daily and weekly routine. For example, once per day, take five minutes to walk around your home and check if everything is in its place. Once per week, take 15 minutes to reorganize a sideboard, drawer or closet, removing redundant or broken items.
Design a cleaning schedule or employ a professional cleaning service to visit regularly. This will ensure cleaning never becomes overdue or overwhelming.
Invest in the perfect cleaning products that will keep all your furniture, surfaces and floors looking and smelling fresh, as well as preserving them for as long as possible.
Keep your home functional and beautiful all year round by investing in a home maintenance package that means you’ll never have to wait long for repairs.
Enjoy rearranging and refreshing your home. Curate your household items and decorative touches to keep pace with current styles, update functionality as new innovations appear, and reflect your evolving personal style.

In conclusion, by prioritizing practicality without compromising on aesthetics, you can create a space that is not only visually appealing but also enhances your daily life. Incorporating smart but stylish storage solutions, versatile pieces and thoughtful finishing touches will transform your home into a haven where beauty and functionality coexist in harmony.