Personal Touches Make a House a Home

This doesn’t mean plastering your initials all over the walls of your living room -- it’s simply a matter of decorating the rooms in your home to reflect your personality. Do you prefer casual or formal? Calming colors or intense hues? Cozy or cool?

To make a room your own, start with your color palette. You’ll want a main color for the walls, as well as accents for trim in the room. If you’re using furniture you already own to decorate the room, you’ll obviously want to choose colors that work with what you have. If you’re lucky enough to be starting from scratch, consider going neutral with your furniture (which can be expensive to replace) and add color with paint, which is relatively inexpensive and easy to change.

One way to put your stamp on a room is with a wall mural. Murals are also an easy way to carry out a theme in a room. For example, if you’re going for an outdoorsy, woodsy feel in your family room, a wall mural depicting wildlife in the forest is the perfect backdrop for rustic furniture and cabin accessories. “Our customers can find a mural to fit any theme, any taste,” says Todd Imholte, president of Environmental Graphics, a Minnesota company that specializes in easy-to-install wall murals. “From an English garden scene to a lighthouse in a bay to relaxing clouds floating in a beautiful blue sky, murals from our “standard” collection fit many moods,” says Imholte. The company also creates custom murals for clients who want to take personalization to a whole new level. “We can make a mural out of the photo of the sunset you took on your honeymoon, or the picture of your kids you took on your last vacation,” Imholte notes.

Once you’ve taken care of the walls, move on to the furniture. Arrange it in groupings so that people can sit and talk comfortably. If the room has a specific focal point, like a mural, a fireplace, a picture window, or a television, make sure to take this into account when placing the furniture as well. Depending on the size of the room, consider having more than one conversation area; or devote a corner of the room to a desk where you can take care of paying bills and planning dinner menus while still being part of family activities.

After you have the furniture in a comfortable configuration, it’s time for the final layers -- the accessories that can add those special touches to a room. Displaying treasured items in a room instantly makes it more personal and homey. Photographs that remind you of special times or people in your life can be displayed on the wall in matching frames. Favorite paintings and mementos help set the mood. If you have family heirlooms such as an antique clock or your grandmother’s lamp, be sure to include them in your room as well.

Colorful accents such as a cozy throw to curl up in on chilly nights, or curtains that complement the colors on your walls and your furniture, further help to tie the room together.