Top Tips for Every Room
With over 100 homes now styled and published in magazines, Julia Green (@juliagreenstylist) is often asked for her top tips on how to make a home beautiful. And therein lies the challenge, as style is always subjective. Julia believes anyone that has made their home a special place that they love spending time in, has achieved interior nirvana in truth. A home should tell the authentic story of those that live there, and be layered with the things they love. But for those that are keen to finesse their space and make it shine, here are some top tips to make the key areas of your home shine bright.
BEDROOMS
Use your bed as the ‘artwork’ of the room. If you are able to create your own mix of linens, the bed will become far more interesting. Try layering it up by mixing textures, patterns and colour for maximum impact. Think carefully about the colour palette for the room. Bedrooms are usually a place of rest, so selecting colours that feel calm can be wise.
KITCHEN
They are the hub of the home, so finding comfortable seating is key. Look for bar stools that are easy to clean, but comfortable to sit on. Try using artwork to inject colour into an otherwise normally high traffic/functional space to give it life and interest. Artwork can be used in every room of the home to layer it with personality. Finding beautiful, artful ceramic pieces that double up as food storage ads style to the bench tops.
KIDS ROOMS
Try to avoid falling into the trap of using a theme. No sooner have you themed it, than they have grown out of it. Instead, opt for timeless pieces that will grow with them. Our kids chose their own wallpaper, and artworks, so that they had ‘ownership’ and pride in their space. Ensure plenty of storage in kids' rooms to hide the clutter, even if it means under the bed. If you wish to create some interesting shelves, look at their own collections, artworks they love, and style to a bell curve for visual interest. When our eye takes a journey over items at different heights and scale, it registers it as interesting in our mind!
DINING
Dining rooms need not be formal. I tend to mix my dining chairs, for more visual interest, and as a mother have always opted for chairs that wipe down rather than fabric ones that stain easily. Lighting is a key factor to consider at mealtime, and whilst it’s lovely to have ambient lighting, it’s also important to still be able to see what you are doing. Oversized pendants make a strong statement over a dining table, and can be the art form of the room.
LOUNGE
It can be wise to begin styling your lounge room with an artwork, that can then inform the palette. In my home, I chose to pull out colours from the artwork above my fireplace and reference them with textiles so that our room felt ‘considered’ and thought through. Remember to consider scale in the lounge. If you have high ceilings like I do, larger works of art may work better spatially. Oversized cushions, rather than small ones, will add to the luxurious feel of a space too. Oh and if you can, always opt for feather inserts, as they are more comfortable to nestle in with.
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