Defined generally as graceful, attractive, and neat, elegance is difficult to capture. When it comes to a home, with its many different furniture and décor pieces, it’s especially hard to create an atmosphere of elegance. That said, you don’t need to feel like you have to capture elegance in its entirety when decorating—you can take small steps to add elegance. To learn more about how to make your home look elegant, read our tips on the subject.
Add Appliques and Onlays
First, carved appliques and onlays provide an inherent sense of elegance and detail. Appliques and onlays are flat-backed decorative pieces that come in several shapes meant for different purposes. To provide insight into how decorators put appliques and onlays to use, these are great for lending cabinets, fireplaces, and range hoods an extra dose of elegance. Often, decorators couple an ornate, central onlay with accompanying right and left onlays to add balance.
Vary Your Lighting
Though you may not notice, a simple lighting plan flattens out your home and your décor. To remedy this, vary and layer your lighting. Practically, you can add lamp-level and ambient lighting to existing overhead lighting. This highlights details and softens the overall feel of your home, lending it a much more graceful, elegant feel than a poorly lit space.
Dimension Perception Deception
Another way to make your home look elegant is to use curtains to make your ceiling seem higher. Curtains that flow from floor to ceiling trick the eye into perceiving a room to be larger than it truly is, which translates to an open, elegant feel.
Invest in Unique Art Pieces
Art is a classic way to increase the sophistication and elegance of your home. Don’t buy just any department store piece—find a local artist you find inspiring, and invest in their work. Better yet, to further bend your perception of your space, buy oversized artwork. This also makes a room seem larger than it is.
Unify Your Entire Space
Over time, as you perhaps buy art from the same artist or in the same style, or install lighting that works well together, you can fully unify your space. Unity is the true key to elegance, and you get there by ensuring that all your pieces complement one another.
