How to Make Your Home Light and Airy With Interior Design

Showroom in a sun room with a light and airy feel

Winter is an easy time to let clutter and dust build up in your home. You may not even realize it until those first few bright rays of sunshine peek through the windows and illuminate all you’ve collected in the last few months like a chipmunk and his nuts. 

A cluttered and dark room can dampen moods and add to anxiety and depression. In today’s blog from Ellecor, our team of interior design professionals provides easy ways to create an open and bright space that offers light and relaxation. 

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Deep Clean & DeClutter

Clutter can be an issue for anyone, especially when we are all staying home more. Before you grab the dust cloth, start to declutter. Rule of thumb: If you don’t love it, if it doesn’t bring you joy, throw it out or donate. 

As you look around the room, ask yourself these questions. 

Books: “Am I going to read this book again?” If it’s not part of a collection of value, donate it. 

Accessories:: “Am I tired of looking at that?” 

If your home accents no longer fit your style, offer the right feeling or look old and worn, discard and donate. If you have too many things in a room, pare them down to one or two. Creating open space on shelvings, mantles, and tables allows air to move freely and the human eye to wander. This interior design style signals to the brain that there is open space to breathe. 

Once your home is decluttered, clean it. This includes windows, window sills, mantles, and baseboards. Take down window treatments and wash. Consider buying new to create a fresh look for a light and airy feel with interior design.

Window Treatments 

If your curtains are dark and heavy, the room will take on that feel. Curtains with large, bold prints can do the same. 

Consider changing out your current window treatments for a new, fresh look using linen or a cotton blend. Try lighter colors with small prints or textures. Consider hanging the windows closer to the crown molding to give low-ceiling rooms a feeling of height and space. 

If changing out curtains doesn’t feel like enough of a change for the look you want, paint color might be your answer for interior design.

Paint

When picking out a new paint color, people tend to get overwhelmed quickly. Staring at the vast number of swatches on the paint aisle can make the bravest DIY decorator start to sweat. In this moment of panic, we tend to grab the nearest white and be on our way. White can be a safe choice, but it’s not always the right one for interior design. 

The way to combat this is to identify the color palette you want for your room or home. Light and airy color palettes tend to be made up of monochromatic or harmonizing color schemes, meaning schemes that are composed of a single or double tint, hue, and shade. For instance, consider a warm white wall color complemented with creams, wheats, and golds. 

If you’re a lover of color, a pale green or light blue accent wall complemented with cooler whites, silvers, and darker greens can offer the same bright feel with a touch of color. 

If creating a light and airy space is indeed your intention, avoid dark wall colors like black or dark hues in reds, browns, or blues. 

Related Post: Bring the Outside Inside With Design Ideas for Natural Elements in Home Decor 

Adding Detail and Final Touches 

As with any successful project, creating a finished look can happen in the details. As mentioned earlier, when decluttering, keep only accents that will blend well with your new color palette and offer positive feelings.

When looking for new accessories, consider the following.

Scale. Purchasing vases, pictures, candlesticks, and other accessories that are too big for the space that you’re placing them in can make the room suddenly feel small and burdened. In the same manner, choosing things too small can make them get lost in the room. 

Texture. Limit your textures to three to four in a room. This limits the visual feel of ‘busyness” and offers a relaxing feel. 

Color. Make sure your colors complement one another. Having too many “pops of color” can be overwhelming. 

Patterns. The same rule applies to patterns. Often less is more when creating an open and airy space. If you want to mix florals with stripes, consider muted variations of the colors to soften the room.

When you have finished the room, set some rules for yourself. Resist the temptation to bring in more accents once the room is complete. Let the space sit for a while and see how you feel in it weeks later. If you’re still not feeling comfortable, then consider switching out accessories until you achieve the look you want for interior design.

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Ellecor & Home Interior Design

Are you in need of a new look? We would love to talk interior design with you. Contact us online or call (417) 720-2602 for more tips from our award-winning team!

How to Incorporate Natural Light Into Your Home Decor

Ellecor Interior Design Natural Light

Natural light does wonders for your home. Not only does it make your home more cheerful, but it can also save on your utility bills by reducing your electrical use for lights and even your furnace during the winter months. Today’s blog from Ellecor Interior Design showcases how to incorporate natural light into your home decor.

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Make the Most of Your Windows

When it comes to windows, you have to make the best use of your existing home design. Whether you have ordinary windows, huge bay windows, or a wall of windows, make the most of them in your home decor. If you want a small window to provide extra natural light, consider lightly-colored sheer drapes that gather sunlight and create a warm glow around the window.

Bright or Dark Colors

Bright colors reflect more light and keep a room cooler. Dark colors absorb more light and generate more heat. As such, bright colors will enhance the natural light from your windows and make the interior space look brighter. Darker colors have the opposite effect for home decor. You can achieve either result with paint on the walls, carpeting, or furniture.

Mirrors

Mirrors offer a great way to increase the natural light in your room. Mirrors also create the illusion of more space. The more mirrors you have, the more you can play with the natural light. Wall mirrors work great for this, but you don’t necessarily need a huge mirror to make an impact. A small mirror opposite of your windows can make a difference in your home decor using natural light.

Brighten the Most Occupied Rooms

During the day, the most occupied rooms in a family home are the living room, kitchen, and dining areas. Think about maximizing the use of natural light in these places for home decor. Think bright or sheer curtains, minimal window treatments, and mirrors. South-facing walls are particularly good if you love natural light.

Related Post: Interior Design Tips for Small Rooms

Home Decor & Interior Design by Ellecor

Want to maximize the use of natural light in your home? We have some suggestions! Contact Ellecor Interior Design today or call (417) 720-2602 for more details on what we can do for you!