Have You Heard Of The Layer Approach To Home Decor?

If you’ve been looking at one of the rooms in your home and wondering how you can bring it to life, it could be time for an interior design project, but how can you be sure everything you select will work not only within the space, but with everything else too?

And is there a way to future-proof (to a certain extent) your interior project? Well, we think that taking the layer approach to home decoration could be the solution.

Earlier this month, interior designer Caitlin McBride told the Huffington Post about a host of her top tips, all based on this concept of layering your room.

In essence it’s very simple – you begin with the bottom ‘layer’ of your interior, such as your walls and big pieces of furniture, and work your way up from there.

Her advice is to buy the likes of sofas and carpets in neutral tones that could fit with a variety of decor schemes.

Once you’ve got that first ‘layer’ sorted, you can start to have a bit of fun. Using small items of furniture – so in a living room the likes of arm chairs and coffee tables – you can bring a bit more colour and personality to your space.

You could invest in a statement chair of a design style that you love – not necessarily one that’s carried throughout the whole room – or pick a seat in a really vibrant colour to make it truly stand out.

Ms McBride also advises thinking carefully about the shape of your furniture as you go, making sure that you mix up angular pieces with those that have rounded edges. So, if you have a very angular coffee table, choose an armchair with a more rounded shape to balance the space.

Lighting should be the next layer you think about – so look at a room’s natural light and see how much you need to supplement this. Are there any dark corners that could benefit from a standing lamp? Do you want to provide extra light for reading by with a table lamp?

And then you’re ready for the final layer – accessories. Because these tend to be much cheaper purchases than the furniture itself, you can go to town with a particular theme. Buy bright cushions, quirky ornaments or stunning artwork for the walls – anything that will bring your whole design together.

If you want to have a bit of fun with your accessories – and maybe even make some yourself – take a look at our blog about upcycling projects that you could try at home.

We picked out some of the most fun and quirky examples we could find, including everything from a coffee table made from an old window – and that handily doubles as storage – to a wall-mounted bookcase made from a piano.

It’s incredible what you can achieve with a bit of imagination, and once you’ve got those base pieces of furniture in neutral shades, you could change up your living space every year without too much difficulty, simply by completing new upcycling projects.

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