Essential Home Decor: Style with Everyday Items!

Homemakers are the manager of the home, and one of the most prominent features she manages is the decor. People think of decor as being add-ons, extras, froofy, maybe just optional. Decor is not optional. Decorating is not just a hobby. Decorating is a part of the job. Decor is already happening in your home. Everything that needs to be in the home is a decor item. Can you see it? That’s a part of your decor! Being the manager of the home means assessing these items to make them as beautiful as possible in its function.

The sunrise and sunset could have been dull and the earth would still rotate around the sun. But God designed beauty into the very fiber of functionality. Bees need the nectar, but they are attracted to the flowers because of the color. Beauty is a signal, it is used in the process of making things happen. We can not separate it out and call it frivolous when it is the very mode of operation. We can not dismiss the value of beauty when we experience God’s glory in a sunrise or sunset.

People pay good money to experience the beauty of a luxury hotel. The homemaker is designing this beauty for her home that they pay to use every day.

Your home already has a design. Anything that exists has a design. But is the design intentional to convey good and lovely things or is the design haphazard and neglected? Because a home has to have certain items to function such as towels, dishes, blankets, etc. we have an opportunity to implement beautiful cohesive design in necessary items. If you have struggled to decorate, start with your essential items and make these items pretty! Look at all the decor items that are necessary items:

1) Window treatments to fully block light for sleep. Window treatments also block out heat or cold.

2) Lighting to see the room – can it get any more basic that this? We need lights placed strategically to read as well and lighting that is placed at the correct height for the bulb to not be shining into your eye. This means the height of the lamp for the table it sits on needs to be correct and that the shade size is correct to diffuse the light properly.

3) Beds require bedding to keep us warm but it also serves as a large portion of the look of the room.

4) Bathmats, to towels, to soap dispensers are absolutely necessary. The quality, color, texture, and size of these items can be an element of finery that upscales not just the room but the experience using the items.

5) Dishes, dish towels, and silverware just to name a few, are necessary to eat meals and you can make them a lovely visual aspect of the kitchen and dining room.

All of these items are decor items as much as they are necessary items. We see them hung on the wall, sitting on a shelf, or taking up an entire bed, so they are a part of the look of a house. The homemaker manager must oversee such decor decisions and understand that every item results in the experience and style of a room.

If you have no idea how to decorate or it’s just not your strength….start by making these items your pretty items. These are the things that make a room look good or bad even before anything else is added.

Let’s revisit the list for some solid tips on what to choose to make those items better:

1) Window treatments. Buy large rods rather than flimsy small ones – they give presence and structure to the window. Hang rods 4-6 inches above the window never right on top! Buy curtains that touch or puddle on the floor – longer length looks higher end and elegant. Consider curtain tie backs for a feminine classic window treatment. Consider sheer curtains underneath the outer curtain for added light softening and layers. To add sheer curtains beneath outer curtains buy the double rods!

2) Buy lamps for bedside tables, side tables for sofas and chairs, or even miniature lamps for countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms for special ambiance! Aim to add 2-3 lamps to the living room and master bedroom. When sitting up in bed, the bottom of the nightstand lamp shade should be about shoulder height and give off enough light to read but block the direct bulb light. Placing lamps around the room enables you to turn off bright overhead lights for softer indirect light. Lamps give style, ambiance, and necessary lighting.

3) If you struggle to know how to style a bed buy a bed set that includes it all! Look for bed sets that include sheets, quilt, shams, and maybe even throw pillows. Never underestimate the importance of a bed skirt. They finish the look of a bed and add a timeless look. Full, queen and king size beds should have 4 bed pillows with a few throw pillows in front. It will be more comfortable and what some people require to sleep, but it will also look most proportionate compared to just two sad little bed pillows. Fill it out!

4) Buy the best quality prettiest towels you can afford and buy more than you think you need! Keep them clean and fluffy and have enough to rotate weekly to look good on your towel racks or folded on the counter. The more you have the less quickly they will look worn out. Keep your extra towels folded or rolled in a visible location if you can as added “decor” like on a shelf or in a towel rack on the wall. Having them visible is also helpful to guests who may need a towel without asking.

5) Buy the dishes that make your heart sing. It can be floral, embossed, antique looking, colorful….just love it enough to be excited to use them everyday. Buy a set that will look beautiful for a brunch or a nice dinner. You can even buy different dishes for different seasons if you want or use dishes as a way to seasonally decorate.

We can add in “non-essential” decor items as well but are those items less important? Perhaps by filling out a home with “non-essentials” we are creating a place of serenity and loveliness that comforts the senses of a world battered soul. Lovely things serve a purpose we cannot always calculate based on their use. Perhaps beauty is serving a function by simply being experienced.

Did you ever ask what the point of a vase of flowers is on the table? Or did you just admire it? Did it just uplift the tone of the room? Did it just make you smile? That is purpose in beauty. This is why home decor is essential and why essential items are decor.

Happy Homemaking!

“You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Psalm 16:11