Your home is an extension of your personality and hence the décor must reflect who you are. But what must you pick to give it a personal touch? Here are five simple ways to make your home quintessentially yours — décor wise.
Adding heirlooms
Heirlooms are a great way to personalise your home décor simply because it is something that adds both a vintage and a nostalgic touch to your space. Look around your home and you are likely to find a pass down that can be used to accentuate your home interiors.
“Heirlooms have a unique history, character and are of prime personal and emotional value. While they help personalise your home décor, they speak volumes of the home owner’s love for art. The more one collects, the more they can preserve the art,” opines Krsnaa Mehta, founder and executive director at India Circus — A Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co.
Personal photographs
One of the easiest and economical ways to personalise a space is to display some of the best photographs from across your life — images of loved ones, pets, accomplishments, travel stories and the like. They help transform any space into an extremely personalised one, showcase your personality and even provide guests with an insight into your life, personality, and aspirations.
“One can easily make a collage of framed photos to hang on a single wall or above the bed. However, some of the issues that people foresee are drilling holes in the wall but that need not be a deterrent. They are many ways to put up photographs without drilling holes in your walls these days and you could even use your favourite photos on your bedside table, make use of floating shelves and even cork boards which are a good alternative for nails. On cork boards, you can even display newspaper cuttings, invitations of events to attend, postcards from near and dear ones and a lot more. In the kid’s bedroom, in addition to photographs, a poster of their favourite musical or comic character displayed on one wall can also suggest a theme to follow,” says Gabriel Gil, senior design mentor at Bonito Designs (a bespoke interior design firm that essentially brings in stories to spaces).
Pin boards
Some of the common uses of a pin board are photographs and notes. The pin board, however, can be used very creatively too. “For example, we worked on a home where the owner would ask her daughters (both loved to paint) to create a drawing and then she would put it up on the pin board and tell them it was their art show for that month. The girls were thrilled that not only was their art sought after but that they could change it month after month for their friends and family to view it. The mom, in turn, used that very board to place different handlooms and she would tell the kids about it. The pin board, thus, became the central creative learning centre in this home. Food photos and recipes can also be displayed on these boards. A fabulous space to pin up a picture of a dish along with details on how to prepare it. One more use could be reminders to self about laundry, bills to pay, upcoming birthdays and so on,” says interior designer Minnie Bhatt.
DIY décor
Do it Yourself (DIY) is arguably one of the best ways to add a personal touch to a space, after all what you make is something that cannot be replicated. And the best part is that you can also recycle and upcycle pieces to give them a brand new look.
“My motto is ‘recycle, reuse, paint and redecorate’ and my obsession to paint has taken me to recycle various objects. Instead of buying new things in every season or festival, I like to paint what I already own and give a different look to it. My philosophy is, why buy new things and accumulate more material goods and add to global trash if we can give a new look to something we already possess. I like to recycle objects with some paint. It is also economical to paint and reuse things. A lot of people break their budget during holidays to decorate; why not save money by being creative. You don’t have to be an artist. Just throw some paint on objects and you will give a new look to anything,” says Mona Pande, an Indian artist settled in Pennsylvania, USA.
Using books
You will be surprised to know that you can decorate your book shelf by placing books in different nooks and add a touch of plants, fresh flowers and accessories to create a compelling personal statement. Sumessh Menon, owner, Sumessh Menon Associates, says, “Books are not only the most impactful accessory in one’s home decor but they also add individuality and personality like no other accessory. You can always stack books as per colour or size to make a striking statement.”
Rajat Mathur, business head, Script by Godrej & Boyce, concludes, “Personalisation helps redefine the space. Breaking away from traditional norms that are rigid and restrictive, personalisation gives you the freedom of living that matches your social style. Design ideas come in large packages, however, take the less is more approach and you will never go wrong.”
