Following trends makes it hard to design a truly livable home. Your average growing family can’t maintain white couches, white cabinets, white everything! A slim, leather couch isn’t as comfy as a big, plush sectional sofa. You may like the look of modern furniture, but it’s hard to fall in love with the feel. Plus, the upkeep of making it look picture perfect all the time is stressful!

As beautiful as this kitchen is, it may not be right for you.

TV Spoiler: They’re Staged Photos!!

The many rooms that you swoon over on Pinterest and HGTV are staged. That means a designer will place coordinating decor, fluff pillows, and stratigecally place furniture in the picture. This look does not last! It’s removed and then you start living in them. So don’t stress if you home doesn’t look picture perfect all the time!

The placed linens and glassware in this photo aren’t there 24/7!

Dont shy away from Sentimental Touches

I grew up with school photos and Christmas cards hanging on the fridge. But nowadays, that would completely ruin someone’s aesthetic. Actually, we cringe a little inside when we see magnets.  Add some sentiment back into your house! The old table, centerpiece, and pillows add so much personality to this room! Shelving adds space for personal knick-knacks and picture frames, too.

These blue walls bring in more personality than gray; and the shelving allows for family picture frames!

Pick a Color Scheme that YOU Like

We get that white and grey matches everything, but who cares? You should base your home’s colors off of what you won’t get tired of seeing everyday, something that shows your personality. It keeps it more interesting than if you were to match your neighbor’s color scheme.

Here we see a bubbly personality shown through light blue and coral.

Mix Textures, Colors, and All the Above

We love an eclectic design. You’ll look well-travelled and it makes a room cozy very quickly. This technique defines your space, the way you chose to mix stripes and floral, or glass and leather.

Cowhide, brick ,and cottons; what a mixture!

Walking into a house should be like reading a story; so tell yours as you design! You may live in a cookie-cutter built house, but the interior doesn’t have to be!

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