How to Make Your Home Timeless

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on email

A livable home is one with décor that doesn’t go out of style. Trends can become tiresome. Certain styles and colors have a classic appeal that won’t look dowdy or dated as you and your home mature together. Interior designers and home décor magazines offer tips like these for how to make your home timeless.

Work With the Home You Have

Sometimes, the home itself presents an obstacle to creating timeless appeal. A post-war ranch is always going to be identifiably mid-century. A Cape Cod abode already has a cottage-y look. Work with the home you have, but don’t create a museum or a time-capsule. A mix of contemporary pieces, era-specific items, and antiques unified with a subdued, neutral color palette can provide comfort.

Make it Symmetrical

Symmetry is a classic design tool—keeping things balanced and maintaining clean lines. It isn’t necessary to have every piece of furniture match every other piece exactly. Use classic fabrics and a gentle mix of solid colors with print accents like a pillow or an armchair. Just keep the volume of furnishings balanced and minimize clutter to emphasize clean lines.

Stick With the Classics

Oriental rugs, antique hall tables, and patterns like paisley, florals, and stripes used in tasteful moderation have a timeless look. Make sure you extend your use of classic elements to window treatments and include some natural elements like hearthstones in front of the fireplace, wood floors, and woven baskets. Having a neat bookshelf stocked with books that matter to you is another way to make your home timeless.

Hide the Technology

Nothing burst a bubble of timelessness more than a widescreen TV blaring on the wall or a modem blinking on a bookshelf. Hide the TV in a cabinet or behind sliding panels. Conceal speakers in the wall or encase them in the same wood as your bookshelves.

Focus on Functionality

A kitchen will always be the place for cooking, and a bathroom is for the tub and shower. Other rooms, however, will have to be more flexible as families grow and children grow up. No teenager wants to be stuck in a bedroom that looks like a toddler’s treehouse or a baby ballerina’s tutu closet. Even if you create a theme for a nursery, remember that the room will likely morph into a high school student’s room, a guest room, or an office down the line. Choose elements that are easy to switch out or cover over with a new coat of paint.

Sticking to the classics, using a neutral color palette, and mixing in a few antiques and personal pieces are all simple ways to make your home timeless, comfortable, and elegant.

Related Posts