One of the biggest questions I get asked from soon-to-be-renovators is how do you make your home feel cohesive without being boring? Well, you don’t have to press copy and paste on every room in the house – be creative, be fun and add personality to each space.
But that doesn’t mean your house should be like a box of Smarties though – here are my top five tips for ensuring your renovation is cohesive in every space without losing its character.
1. Choose a style and stick to it
Is your favourite style coastal, Scandi or contemporary? Modern, country or boho? Traditional, eclectic, rustic or shabby-chic? The list goes on…
Can’t decide? Combine two or three maximum! And then stick to this style in each room. I use Pinterest to find reno inspo and it’s amazing how much variety you can have in each interior style! Think of it like telling a story but not having to repeat the same page constantly.
2. Define your colour scheme
Decide if you prefer the tones of beige or greys and then expand to a few options in each palette. Not every room needs to be the same three colours – just try to keep them in the same warm or cool family. This will mean that colour and tonal changes will still be complementary.
3. Coordinate your floors, walls and window furnishings
Use the same floorboards, tile or carpet combination throughout your main spaces of the home for ultimate sophistication and flow. The floor is one of the biggest surface areas in the home so it can be an ideal anchor for the overall tone of the scheme. Then decide on the same curtains or shutters for all or most of your windows to complete the look. Your window furnishing will vary depending on the type of window they are covering and the privacy and insulation needed, but at minimum I always make sure that the front façade window furnishings are consistent.
4. Choose matching wardrobes, hardware and door knobs
Try to install the same style of built-ins for each bedroom. Keep all internal doors similar (except for any feature doors like a barn slider or double doors in the master bedroom).
Use similar tapware especially in the kitchen and laundry if they are near one another. Your home will feel unified and well thought out when you put these smaller elements all together.
5. Add the finishing touch with smart styling
Choose complementary large furniture and pieces in the home. This doesn’t mean you should buy all your furniture in sets – different chairs and tables add so much interest when done correctly! Avoid overwhelming the space with too much of one thing (unless you are going with a very SPECIFIC look and willing to follow it through in all rooms). If you have developed a cohesive canvas with the tips above then at the accessory stage start with your chosen colour palette and then tie in your cushions, artwork and vignettes.
Always remember to follow your gut when it comes to your home, and your heart when it comes to the things you want to see in it.
–Naomi Findlay is Australia’s Rapid Renovation Expert and works with people around the country helping them create wealth and freedom using her Rapid Renovation Formula. She is the founder of the International Institute of Home Staging and author of ‘Ignite Your Property Mojo’ and ‘Selling Your Property for More Money’. In 2018, she created and launched the Rapid Reno Mate smartphone app, the first app that can manage your renovation budgets, timelines and trades all in one hub. She is a featured designer on the upcoming Channel 10 show Changing Rooms.
I would also add, keep your window furnishings fairly consistent between rooms. Within a room, consider keeping the window furnishings the same. If it’s not convenient to use the exact covering, consider keeping the fabric range consistent – such as using a panel blind over a sliding door in the same screen fabric as used in your double roller blinds on the nearby windows. Between rooms consider how it flows – you don’t need your house set up like a display home with a different product in every room! Stick to something consistent in the bedrooms that is placed to give you maximum block out, consider something consistent in the bathrooms that is guaranteed for use in wet areas, and keep it consistent within the rooms itself.