Home Decor | Feminine Style

When the hairy boy and I first moved in together we both have varied ideas about home décor styles. I loved modern simplistic designs that have a country cottage edge, the hairy boy just downright out liked antique and dark styles. Clearly, there was a clash of ideas but by talking it out I realised he didn’t understand home décor in the same way I did and couldn’t imaging specific concepts. In his mind, anything light wood, cream, white or light grey was ‘’ modern and unliveable’’ however, over time we found he also likes the country-chic style also.

In our second home, we made changes based on what we'd learnt over the years - cream carpets are nice but unrealistic for the long term and if you have babies or children you're throwing money down the drain; instead, we opted for a rugged wood type flooring and chocolate carpets. Walls we chose light grey and modernised it with some sunshine, white and teal pops of colour. The overall look was very fitting with the two of us.

Over the years, I realised I do love good lived in, but, organised design. Your house is an extension of your personality so rather than doing the ‘trendy thing’ why not opt to showcase your favourite items and your own style but remember to consider those who also live with you. You can do a whole host of things when it comes to creating a home infused with luxury! For the other areas in my home, I wanted to feminise it, after all, I live with men and boys. Nothing feminine about that so there had to be some balance. I've always loved colours, prints and feminine designs - so much so at one point I craved prints, pastels and glitter everything but like my wardrobe, I realise those younger girl decors are gorgeous but not suited to a thirty-something. Taking a step back to reconsider my options I realised there's a fine line between having a grown-up, feminine style and a younger feminine style.

So, younger girls feminine decor typically consists of pink - lots of pink tones, fluffy textures, bold tones, heart and pretty furniture, gold, leopard and chandeliers. The grown-up decor looks take those aspects and dials it down, a lot. So, what's the difference?

Colour

Both styles may feature one very feminine colour - pink. The difference between the younger and the more grown-up room relates to how the colour is used. The younger room design has pink covering more walls space, it's bold, pink and monotone. The more adult styles partner their bold tones with cooler neutral walls or wall prints.

Clean colours always look chic and set a great base for all rooms, the key to keeping it grown up, however, is to take your base and then add layers - a layer in the form of textiles, another layer in the form of lighting and another layer in the form of accessories. Each layer should be in a variation of colours and textures rather than just one or two colours in the paintbox.

Textures

Feminine looks are all about soft textiles typically, in younger rooms, you tend to see fluffy carpets, cute shaped rugs, bright plastic lighting, accessories in sequins, glitter or fluffy boucle pillows, blankets and throws. Prints wise there tends to be less print but when you do it tends to be leopard print, hearts, animals, characters, polka dots or cute quotes. Again, the lack of colour and the huge dose of cute is too young for grown-ups.

The more mature rooms have variations in the tones of colours, flooring tends to be neutral or wood, including wood effects. Cushions are normally in a variation of sizes and materials and it's best to clash your prints to get a personal feel for who you are and what you like. As for bedding you want to work your yin and yang - if you have bold accessories it's best to opt for more neutral-toned bedding, don't be shy about going for textures or prints as long as it's a neutral-toned set; this also works in the opposite way, if you have bold bedding you can opt for more neutral textures or a lighter palette for your textile accessories.

Factor in your flooring, your headboard, any light shades or curtain treatments. Mixing light curtain voile's with heavier cotton curtains, mixing wooden flooring with tightly woven rectangular or circular rugs and soft faux cashmere or boucle blankets draped over a chair or the bed so not to take up too much of the bedroom's overall look. Glass, plastic, brushed textures, raw-looking Hessian's, nude canvas or wrought iron, beaten up metals, silks, satins, faux furs, leather, suede's and vintage woods or wood effects all look great together - yes you really can go all out on the amount of textural materials in your room, just consider the colours.

Setting the Room

Once you have your base down and you've decided what colour palette you're going for it's now time to set the atmosphere of the room. Children tend to set the room with toys, fun gadgets and computers - as an adult you want to steer away from lots of gadgets on show if you can. Photos and pictures in frames are a great way to add personality; vases with flowers (faux or real) like these ones I found on LionsHome or, trays with your favourite bits and pieces, hooks to hang your favourite jewellery and shelving which showcases your favourite books and items.

Tip: If there's a dress, you adore why not make it a focal piece - hang it from a beautiful hanger on a hook so it takes pride of place on your wall. If it's a gorgeous outfit that your baby wore, why not frame it and hang it on the wall?

Scent

The last thing to consider is a home fragrance. The scent of a room can really instil a specific emotion so considering the scent in your bedroom is key to setting the mood. Reed diffusers, candles, drawer liners and even burners are all excellent choices. I know you may be thinking, drawer liners - Is she crazy? I swear I'm not crazy and scented drawer liners are so perfect for adding that little bit of scent to your undies and knitwear (and junk) as well as protecting your drawers, they're even better in junk drawers and makeup drawers as you don't need to deal with scrubbing stains and marks off the base. You can get so many cute liners too these days.

As for candles, there's nothing better than a heavily scented one that releases scent even when it's not lit - Yankee Candles, Hunter London, Diptyque and Jo Malone are all luxurious options which can be reused for storage once burnt, reed diffusers can be refilled and just left to envelop your room and burners can look chic but of course, are also the riskiest.

Tip: If picking more than one scent to try to consider how they'll smell layered up such as baby powder, white floral and amber scents smell amazing together, berries scents go with everything and floral notes tend to smell terrible with food types of scent.

You can find basically everything you need for a décor overhaul over on LionsHome So, who's going to start their room re-plan for Summer?