All of us have been to someone’s home and marveled at how well executed their decor is – be it the right kind of cushions or making inexpensive things looks posh and sophisticated. It’s safe to say that the home owners’ personalities are reflected by the way they have chosen to decorate their homes, ranging from the warmth of wooden settings to the boldness of stones and marbles.

And, nowadays, your home is considered not only a shelter but a haven of sorts. It’s your own personal museum where you can display memories and style it according to one’s preferences. With a little bit of planning and research, it’s possible to make our own rooms quirky and aesthetically pleasing, that too without spending too much.

Here The Week tells you how to do just that. 

Be eclectic
When it comes to spicing up home decor, it’s important to be open-minded. It’s perfectly okay to pair your plain sofa with a potpourri of cushions, all in different colors and patterns. The main thing is to not be bound by the standards of the past and go with the flow, considering what you think is best. The play with colors is very important when it comes to giving a room a nice tone – from a painting to a lamp, the more unique the better. If one is feeling particularly brave, one can also give each door a different color so as to give it a part-childish, part-artistic vibe.

Be generous with floral
Many of us have forgotten what flowers can do to a home. Rarely do we buy fresh flowers and set it up in an elaborate vase for show. Looking back at our history and culture, we are very much connected to flora (in festivals or pujas) and we know for a fact that flowers and other plants can give out wonderful smells and keep the area fresh as well. Keeping small vases with fresh flowers can give a room quite the charm. Flowers in a vase is as vintage as it can get. Why not take them out, cut the stems off, and pop the blooming buds in a shallow vintage glass or something similar? If one manages to find some time to clean the vase and replace the flowers (which honestly is not a herculean task), then this is the most quick and effective way to making your home a place worth living in. You can also incorporate floral patterns in your curtains and cushions and liven up your space. 

Have a feature wall
The culture of showcasing artwork in our homes is slowly increasing in our country. Whether we make it ourselves or buy it, framing and hanging paintings or artwork can give a home sophistication and class. Instead of having them spread throughout the house, one can rock them in a giant feature wall, preferably somewhere near the entrance. This style of decorating isn’t popular yet but we guarantee it’s able to make quite an impact. You can have posters of your favorite films, TV shows, a copy of Van Gogh etc. to name a few, and frame them up using the same frame patterns and hang them on the wall, clustered together to give it an aesthetic feel. Along with all the artwork, if you’re feeling especially brave, you can also give wallpapers a go too. The important thing is to pick up ideas from a movie you liked or a place you visited and incorporate what you liked onto your own home design.

Display your memories
A house is made a home by the people living there and the memories made together. So the best way you can give your home a personal touch is by reliving all the moments with the help of photographs or mementos. A picture or stencil collection hung on fairy lights with the help of wooden pegs in your room can give it a warm and comfortable vibe. Far too many homes these days hide all the memories and keepsakes that make them so interesting, be it a drawing made by your two-year-old, an inside joke reference written by someone in the family, a nasty Dashain group photograph etc. It’s always important to be able to walk into a home and have a sense of who lives there. So it’s essential to take the necessary measure to find ways of showcasing your photos, notes and other quirky memorabilia. 

Go local
Nepal is no short of magnificent painters, sculptors, and crafters. Everyday decorative materials like statues, furniture items from wood to cornhusks are being built locally and these are not only sustainable but eco-friendly as well. Similarly, art like Thangka and Mithila paintings are wonderful examples of our rich and artistic culture. Having these up at home will not only give your home a true art enthusiast’s touch but will also make it a place where culture and tradition is preserved and respected. Also being surrounded by art is not only pleasing to the eye, it can instantly relax and rejuvenate you when you get home after a long day at work. Not to mention that a good piece can liven up any boring space. 
 

 
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