Of all the decorating crimes you could commit, there is probably only one that rivals "too cluttered," and that is "too catalog-y." While we like our homes neat and tidy, we admire homes that look like, well, homes, not stage sets.
As we've seen in countless house tours, "signs of life" are highly praised. But what are those subtle touches that create that pleasing lived-in look? No, I don't mean stylist tricks like leaving your bed chicly disheveled or placing carefully nibbled scones on a plate just within sight. We're talking concrete, long-term touches that are compatible with both tidiness and personality. Here are a few suggestions.
• Plants. Modern, boho, rustic, glam… a plant looks at home surrounded by any style and brings a refreshing visual break from a room dominated by like forms, hard edges, and bulky objects.
• Mix woods. Like wearing white after labor day, this is somewhat of a stylistic departure from the dictates of yore. And it's not the easiest to implement. However, if you've ever walked into a dated hotel room and cringed, it probably had to do with more than just the chintz floral bedspread. When your headboard, dresser, side tables, and arm chair legs are all the same wood and finish, a room will likely feel sterile and lifeless. The key to keeping the mix from looking like the furniture corner of Goodwill is mixing finishes (as in glossy, raw, distressed, etc.) as well as wood type, and having at least two pieces in the same tone.
• Original Artwork. It doesn't have to be expensive, it just can't be from Homegoods. It can be a framed finger-paint portrait by your 3-year-old nephew or a piece from your local high school's studio art show (a great source for original, well-priced art, by the way), but the point is that it was made by an individual and means something to you. One or two generic pieces can work if the image has some sort of significance for your life, but a room full of store-bought, mass-produced art is strangely soul-sucking and is probably the number one culprit in a flat feeling room… aside form no art at all.
The list could go on to include a long list of must haves, but if you use these three as a launching point, it will be hard to go wrong.
(Image: Tommy Smythe's Master Vignettes)
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Hillary & Michael's Refined Roost
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Apartment Therapy Presents 
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Nomade Express Slee...
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
My Staple Summer Cocktail Recipe: Campari & IPA Spritzer
things that aren't new: from a relative's basement, garage sale or thrift store
Artwork and plants are a must fr me, but so are textiles. I think cushions, throws, blankets, rugs, wall hangings, they all deliver different textures, patterns and colours and immediately lift any space.
Shop for local to you artists - we "local" artists really appreciate that!
Where can i find a plant or plants similar to the one in the picture?
Absolutely! I always think something old, odd, tarnished or that shows some age and "love" -- something that isn't perfect, isn't shiny and new is so much more interesting in a room than catalog perfect looking room.
Agree with the rest of the comments however, a home should be and reflect the owner/renter.
I also agree on buying original art. I can't truly afford 'originals but I do purchase prints from artist on Etsy.
Everything covered in dog hair . . . Okay, that may just be my house. I make art concrete so there are always hand made bowls, planters and the like, some sleek, some rougher. Working on a design for a mobile currently. And none of our furniture matches (I hate matchy-matchy) but it all fits together.
I would suggest books that you've actually read as well. And stuff. My husband and I collect things we find when walking the dogs, so lots of bones, fossils, marbles and assorted metal pieces.
@nbn - That appears to be a topiary buxus, which you should be able to find at most garden centers, perhaps even big box stores like Home Depot.
nbn_, where do you buy plants? A local nursery would probably be the best place to start. Take the picture along with you and I am sure they will find something like it. Be prepared to trim it regularly to keep it looking as perfectly round as this one.
I love these ideas... particularly mixing woods!
I really read that as how to keep a room from looking fat. ....seeing way too many new year weight loss ads......
@nbn. Trader Joe's always has topiary too. They are super cool but MAN these can be a bugger to keep alive. I tried for years and finally gave up. I must have killed at least 50.
Good luck!!
Again with the antlers? What is the deal?
If this is a 'trend' now, I think I'll stick with being decidedly untrendy. Oy. Ge. Valt.
Yeah- I never have a problem having my home look too much like a catalog.
I have kids. My problem is figuring out how to vacuum enough, and trying to make my home not smell bad.
I like watercolor art to fix that problem though, it's very natural and flowing.
I love the mix-and-match look, nothing in my apartment matches but as I go along my true sense of style is slowly emerging. I think mixing old and new, trendy and sentimental, and things that are YOU, are the keys. Photos, plants definitely...and the admittance that nothing is perfect in real life!
@Stormi Agreed. Tacky in the extreme.
I have a better alternative to a high school studio art show: Your local university's art show. Many BFA students (many of them future professional artists) sell their pieces at end-of-semester art sales. Inexpensive AND you have an early piece from someone who could potentially become a well-regarded artist.
can't afford art? the painting in the photo would be very easy. a blank canvas from Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc. a tube of acrylic blue paint, a couple foam brushes.. some painter tape.. measure it out, tape it, paint inside the tape.. remove the paint.. voila
I too would like the topiary.. but how hard it is to take care of?
I like all the ideas, and I am guilty of having several mass-produced prints in my living room. I'm thinking of having my grand kids - 2 and 5 - whip me up an "original" with watercolors or finger paints. I've seen those matted and framed, and they can be quite handsome. I also like stacks of books in a room, and candles. Light a candle or two or five and something magical happens to even the most drab spaces.
Books - ones you've actually read and not organized by color
Piano / musical instruments - assuming someone actually plays (even a little)
Personal photos - I don't understand the debate on AT regarding displaying photos in one's house. It's your home, it's all "private space" . . . go crazy!
I love love love apartmenttherapy! I love knowing that other people think of these things too! And I love that living room. I just purchased a photo called ballons over paris (@ 20% off) it is 30x37 and am painting a thrift store frame (7 dollars) and that will go over my fireplace mantel. And I can hardly wait to get it to the frame store so I can get it up on thecwall! And it will be a bargain.
That picture makes me feel claustrophobic, there's way too much stuff crammed into that space. Also, it looks extremely staged.
I'm beginning to tire of these false "signs of life" metrics that people use to apply their own definitions of what makes a home lively. The signs of life should flow from the way the homeowner chooses to live. If that doesn't include a vintage type writer and a print found off Etsy, it doesn't make the home any less authentic or flat than one that does. These posts often have tone of applying a universal standard of authentic, warm, etc. that I don't think exists.
I also think the photo looks very staged. Tschotkas and half burnt candle tapers. I like to see a place where it looks like people and animals actually sit, for more than a couple of seconds. (Love the comment above about the dog hair, that's a big part of our lived-in look too.)
As to the antlers, that trend jumped the shark at least a year ago along with the fake black and white bus rolls and keep calm and carry on.
I agree with Indy Jeffrey. However, as someone who spends probably too much time thinking about decor/design I'm not sure it's so easy to draw these lines sometimes. I take pleasure in thinking about why some places feel warm to me and in trying to create the same feeling where I live. And I'm interested in what produces the same feeling for other people. Decor, like clothing, doesn't just come from how you live, it shapes it.
@nbh: Ikea also sells topiaries similar to the one on the photo.
I'm definitely not reinventing the wheel here, but a few personal photos in nice frames or even just tucked into the edge of a mirror instantly makes a house feel more like a home to me.
You can also go to yor city's local art/craft guild. They have shows with art in the affordable price range.
It's kind of hard to find these art shows or art guilds. A friend and I recently started looking at art - to learn about it and start buying some things for ourselves. It seemed so logical to start with the local art colleges, because they must have galleries. It's been challenging to find out anything about them (hours, how many works or artists are typically on display, etc).
We have had somewhat better luck with independent framing shops who happen to have some local artists or limited print runs, and with some multi-artist co-ops.
Once we have figured this out for our area I will feel like I've solved the Da Vinci code.
Plants are a good idea, I need to get a few more that can handle low light.
I can completely relate to the kids, dogs and people that read their books!
I do like a room that has furniture in it that looks like you would want to actually sit on it. It doesn't have to be frumpy, but also, not so design-y that it's all uncomfortable.
@engineerchic - as an art student in a small art school, i can tell you that my school gallery hosts a student show, with work for sale, only once a year, and this is a juried show, with only 1 piece by select students. the student clubs usually hold their own, smaller sales before Christmas, but these are usually advertised "in-house", for other students. not ideal, i agree, and that may just be my school, but you may need to contact the office at the school to find out when these sales are held.
alternatively, there are a ton of small galleries, community art centers, and coffee shops that routinely display student art for sale, and these may be more accessible. many larger towns & cities also now host "first friday" events, or similarly scheduled "open studio" nights, when all the art centers & studios are open for several hours on a friday night, every month.
hope this helps - student artists really need & appreciate your support, so good luck!!
Ha ha. I wish my house could look like a stage set.
@ EngineerChic
I can't imagine where one would live that would make it hard to find out about art shows. First, if there is an art school, or a university with a well-regarded art program in your area: call their office! Some only have annual shows but others have permanent galleries to display student work.
Almost any town, city, or suburb now has its own website. Festivals, street fairs, craft shows, etc., are always prominently featured in their "things to do" suggestions. Many larger cities have "open studio" events where you can visit artists studios and buy direct from them. Or google "art groups + the name of your city." The local organizations like arts and crafts societies will come up. Call or E-mail and ask to be put on their mailing list. My mother is a painter living in a nowhere-you've-ever-heard-of county in Pennsylvania and even they have an association of artists with an annual juried show.
Or spend a weekend in New York City during the spring or fall. I have a lot of original art and my favorite piece I own was purchased on the sidewalk at East Houston Street, near the Broadway/Lafayette subway stop. Both my friend and I bought absurdly low-priced mixed-media works from the artist — who, surprise, surprise, is now rather well-known. She also gave us a tip about an out-of-the-way place to eat since it was Mother's Day, all the restaurants were jam-packed, and we were dying for food.
I took a 16-week course at the Illinois Institued of Art to get a certificate in interior decorating. The instuctor told us to always make sure the legs of all the furniture matched. Oy! She had a background in decorating suburban model homes. Talk about flat.
Institute of Art...not insituted!
@Stormi @Annie-O Agreed. This a someones head chopped off. Beautiful forms but aslo disgusting
To be honest, what helped me was looking at blogs, etc like AT. Before, I was too thrift store chic with ikea throwing up all over it. While I can't afford a lot of what AT suggests i.e. 150 dollar planters, ridiculously overpriced retro furniture, I had to look elsewhere and get rid of my ikea furniture. I started small by getting MCM relics that were $100 and less. I got a 60s buffet for my record cabinet ($75) instead of the gigantic expedit eyesore, and started getting rid of or finding a place for all my kitchy items. I love hairpin legs or the sexy MCM legs on stuff, it helps add space to a small room and easier to take notice and remove dust bunnies. I also traded in crappy bookcases for handmade ones. my friend had built this gorgeous bookcase and was moving to SF (Im in the midwest) and sold it to me for $40 bucks. I started reducing my clutter which is the hardest. EVERYTHING now has a place. Now I get compliments on my house/decor all the time. It looks warm and inviting. The trick is to start small and commit to buying items for <$100 that are second hand. I love my flawless mersman coffee table <$100! Luckily being an artist and having artist friends has helped me get so many unique art pieces that I normally can't afford for a discounted price or as a housewarming gift!
I don't have any art in my living room (and have no interest in getting any) so I guess it is flat. Art is fine in a museum or gallery but I am indifferent to having it in my home so I don't bother. Different strokes and all that.....
Yes, sorry but this room is suffocating from "more is more". What is all that stuff on the table in the foreground? Getting ready for a garage sale? It's kinda like the jewelry rule -- after you're dressed, look in the mirror and take off one piece of jewelry. In this case, let's make it more than one...
My home will never be mistaken for a photo shoot. Except, maybe, as lived in yoga studio as a design meme.
I have antlers. They were shed in the forest and I bright them home.
Antlers are not necessarily akin to taxidermy.
And my rabbi didn't flinch at them.
I'm trying to mix wood tones. I have pale bamboo floors, shiny, some old oak, shiny long ago, but not now and not a candidate for refinishing as the texture and sheen is beguiling as it is. I'm wondering if dark woods, ebony or espresso finishes, will be too much of a contrast?
Oh no you didn't!!! Now it is ON....dissing my HomeGoods! I have spent many happy hours wandering HomeGoods' aisles...just looking. The trick is not to bring everything home with you. BTW, I think the photo for this article looks really fake and staged, very "magazine" not "lived in" at all. I agree with Roselawn about the fake clutter.
Absolutely agree with the "strangely, soul sucking" effect from mass produced art. I kinda feel like I was punched in the gut when I see it. I have a hard time believing that anyone saw something in Home Goods, etc. and thought...Wow, that is fantastically beautiful piece that I would treasure and love to see in my home everyday.
Can we declare a moratorium on animal heads for 2013? Enough already!
Having gotten that one off my chest, I'd like to add that books make a home look lived in more effectively than any other single element.
See if you can find your local arts council. If they are not visible and accessible to the community through a website (or other communications medium), they could probably benefit from your input.
I mix IKEA with thrift store and vintage finds. It really takes the edge off of my making my home look like it's Page 54 from the 2012 catalogue. Accessories are huge in terms of their impact.
I also agree with framing kids art work. You get a unique piece and there's sentimental value.
It's the practical things that also look good. The old duralex tumbler filled with fresh dill or basil in the kitchen, the interesting cloisonne jar found at a garage sale and now used as pen storage, the celadon plate piled with delicious summer peaches, candleholders that contain candles which actually get burnt! When objects of beauty serve a purpose other than just the decorative, that's what I feel is homey and add signs of life.
Funny how some people feel this room looks cluttered or too full. Not to me :) If there's one thing I learnt from AT, it's that tastes can be very, very different. I've seen a number of house tours that I absolutely disliked, and that so many people seemed to love. What can I say? I hope everyone is happy in their own home!
The photo is of the home of a professional stylist/decorator (Tommy Smyth), and was for a magazine. Like many magazine images, it has a plant in a location where a plant would surely die.
But I think the more-is-more aesthetic is actually better for most people's homes. Spare, uncluttered rooms only look good if every single item is superb. If the furniture and textiles are ordinary, the room is sad and drab.
Agree thoroughly with Mister B. A polished wooden bowl filled with grapefruits, say, or beautiful tiles used as coasters, purely because you like them and they work. Maybe a colorful handwoven basket to hold your toilet paper? Anything that's not there JUST to look pretty (but happens to be pretty anyway) will add texture and life. This is what I aim for, though I don't always succeed. Sometimes you have to buy something from Ikea. Oh, well.
I'm also a big believer in fresh flowers, especially in small arrangements dotted throughout the house.
I call B.S. on anyone who says they can't afford original art and have to get reproductions. Can I afford an original Lucien Freud or Cindy Sherman? No. But my room has more integrity if I have a thrift store landscape than I have a mass produced repro, and so will yours.
I feel like the posters who make comments about specific things having "jumped the shark" or being "played out" are missing the point of this site. I think it's more important to feel happy in your home, through the items you own and look at every single day, than it is to worry about what's "in" and what's "out". If you like something, display it, own it. Trying to bash on someone's choices or taste because it might not be the hottest thing right now seems counter intuitive to this sites original purpose.
Just my two cents.
Every year I attend our local university's student art auction-I have bought some great pieces for a song and they all mean a lot to me. I absolutely detest those wall canvases you can buy in furniture/department stores. Horrid and yes, soul sucking!! I detest art snobbery, but one has to draw the line at generic prints. Photos of loved ones are a far better option than screen printed, mass produced rubbish.
@HeatherAck - I would agree if this was someone's personal house tour. However, this is a staged photo by a decorator. Not only that but the text with the photo purports to teach readers how to keep a room from feeling flat. As such I think it is perfectly reasonable to call bullshit on the antlers.
I'm going to start a new trend. I'm literally going to create an Ikea Marketplace in my condo. 30 of the same item on each shelf, price tags & all.
Those are not antlers in the picture; those are horns.