Five Tips for Creating a Cohesive Home

We’ve lived here for two years and only recently have I felt like our home is pretty cohesive and reflective of our personalities. Home definitely takes time. I remember moving in and feeling out of place in my own home. Then we slowly started putting our personal stamp on one room at a time and things still felt off – some rooms felt very much like ourselves while others felt like they were still reflective of the previous owners. I’m sure many of you can relate! As we’ve rounded the corner and have made changes to most every room in our home, it’s starting to feel really, really good.

It can be easy to project hop when you’re first decorating your home and before you know it, you step back and every room in your home has a different vibe, a different feel, and your entire house feels like a disjointed mess. I’ve been there. This time around I was conscious in each design decision I made and I’m always careful to step back and evaluate what was already done to ensure that when all is said and done, the rooms of our home feel like one big happy family versus distant cousins at an awkward family reunion. Here’s how I’ve gone about creating a cohesive home thus far:

KEEP YOUR COLOR PALLETE TIGHT

I talked a little about paint in this post here but when choosing colors for a new project, always consult your house palette first and repeat colors where it makes sense. If you’re introducing an entirely new color, always pull photos of each room together to see how the new color will play with all the other colors you already have in your home. Sometimes all it takes is this simple visual exercise to help you make the right decision.

Whether you carry one color into multiple rooms (we used Timeless from Clare in the entry, living room, and the guest bath too) or use a wall color from one room to do a contrast trim in another room, repeating colors where it makes sense without the whole house ending up the same color, will help each room flow from one space to the next.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Right now Emie’s pink room is a bit of an anomaly, but her room has a healthy dose of black & white just like so many other rooms in our home and once the guest room is complete, you’ll see that shade of blue from her headboard and maybe even a few pops of pink in the décor. Introducing those colors in a new space will make her room less of an oddity amongst all the other rooms in our home.

REFER TO YOUR PINTEREST BOARD

I started a Pinterest board for the house when we moved in nearly two years ago. I pin to it whenever I’m drawn to an image but my pinning is never overly intentional. What’s funny is that over time some commonalities have emerged in my pin board which has made it a great point of reference whenever I’m trying make design decisions for our home. Despite my pinning not being intentional or even purposeful, I see just by the images that I’ve pinned that I’m really drawn to clean lines, millwork, antique furniture pieces, and moments of saturated color.

If you’re having trouble finding your design aesthetic, start with a pin board and see what common themes start to emerge. This is a great visual tool to keep you on track.

TIMELESS DECOR IS WORTH REPEATING

I’m not one to be all matchy-matchy but when you find something you love, it’s worth repeating and this one little trick goes a long way to create cohesion in your home. My favorite curtain rod is in 3 of our 4 rooms (soon to be all 4 rooms) and my favorite curtains are in 2 of our 4 rooms (with the goal to have them in all 4 rooms once budget allows).

The best part about this?! The finishes don’t even have to match so long as the style does. Case in point below – we have the gold version of this rod in both Emie’s room and in ours while we have the black version in the living room and in the guest room:

• 

• 

We have my favorite curtains in Beige White in the living room and in our bedroom but I have the exact same curtains in Burgandy Red for Emie’s room and in Rock Grey for the guest room saved in my Amazon cart for a future purchase.

REPEAT FINISHES

I’m all about mixing metals, but I usually keep finishes consistent throughout the house within categories. For example – all my hardware is brass:

• 

• 

• 

And most of my lighting is matte black:

• 

• 

• 

This doesn’t mean that rules can’t be broken, but if I’m going to mix metals in a space, this is usually how I approach it.

KEEP ARCHITECTURE IN MIND

I think it goes without saying that millwork (trim, baseboard, crown, and door style too) should be consistent throughout your home. The crown in one of our bathrooms is slightly different than the rest of our home (not sure why) and it drives me absolutely batty!

Adding box molding, bead board, and board and batten are all the rage right now but when adding an architectural element to one space, consider how that same element could translate elsewhere to tie the two spaces together.

We added box molding to Emie’s room and have plans to add it elsewhere throughout the house too and we’re about to add bead board to the guest room with plans to add it to one of the bathrooms down the line. Repeating architectural elements helps your home flow from one room to the next.

---

I hope you find these tips helpful if you find yourself stuck on the hamster wheel of designing your home. Just be sure to circle back to your vision boards and take stock of what progress you’ve already made before diving into something new to ensure you stay on track towards a cohesive home and if you have any clarifying questions, leave them below in the comments!