Liven Up Your Home With Rustic Interior Design

So, you’re all moved in to your new, chic, oh-so-urban apartment. It even has that “new apartment smell”, and you couldn’t be happier. There’s just one problem: It’s so… Un-lived in! You want to turn your apartment into a home, but how? The good news is that a new apartment is supposed to look new and uninhabited. However, now that you’re living there, that needs to change, and practicing wise interior design can turn the blank canvas you see before you into a home that you will not only be proud and happy to live in, but one that other people will want to emulate. Here’s how…

FURNITURE

The simple fact is that the furnishings you choose to put in your home go a long way towards setting the perception (or the “vibe”, if you will) that people have or get when they enter your home. If you stop and think about it for a minute or two, you’ll see that it only makes sense; Ikea furniture, for example, says “bachelor”, or “recent college grad”. There’s nothing inherently wrong or right about that, it just is. If you want your home to give off a cozy, homey, lived-in vibe that your visitors won’t be able to resist, then the order of the day is to get your hands on some cozy furnishings! Perhaps the best choice here is to buy (or get as a gift, if you’re lucky) some rustic or homely-feeling pieces. Think designer-built yet not overly artistic. Sure, it might cost more, but it will also last a long time, particularly in the case of simple designs that never go out of style. Another advantage to the rustic style is that when you work with it, you get warm, inviting, comfortable furnishings without the overstuffed smoking room look. Finally, it is important to realize that you don’t have to break the bank to furnish your home in this manner.

A SENSE OF LIFE

Another opportunity most overlook when it comes time to furnish their new urban apartment is that, quite frankly, an empty building is only so much dead rock and plaster and wiring. It’s the people and – as you’ll see in a minute – other living things that inhabit the space that make it a living, breathing home. With that in mind, consider adding plants to your decor scheme. There are a lot of options here, but if you don’t know a lot about plants – or just don’t want to take up the task of keeping high-maintenance plants alive – a few simple, hardy, green things interspersed throughout your abode will do the trick. Plants live and breathe just like people do, and will give a wonderful sense of life even when you have to be elsewhere. Perhaps best of all, plants help clean the air inside your home. Of course, the presence of plants also necessitates plenty of natural light, which will help your urban apartment (which otherwise might look either harshly or dimly-lit) feel natural and open, which leads to your next tip…

EFFECTIVE USE OF SPACE & VISUAL CUES

The manner in which you undertake this particular facet of your apartment’s transformation will largely depend upon its size and layout. As such, the practicalities of this particular step in the process will be different for every person. Even so, there are some commonalities that everyone can embrace, which should make their individual execution of this step go more smoothly. If you took the advice of the prior step and put in some plants, then provided you’re generous with the natural sunlight you let in during the day, you can concentrate on sparse, strategically placed electric lights. Not only will this save energy and money, but in the reverse of the daylight effect of bright, open spaces, you’ll be able to use dimmed lights or candles to make the room or rooms you apply this particular technique to seem closer and more intimate. Additionally, you can use certain areas or pieces of furniture to draw the gaze of your guests. Here’s an example: suppose you love to cook (or maybe just to eat) good food. You can make the kitchen and/or dining room a central focus of your home through the judicious use of spotlights. On the other hand, if you’re more of a “movie night with friends and family” kind of person, then your home theater area will likely be the main focus of your decorative efforts. If this is true for you, then simply tricking out your home theater system will draw every eye in the house; nothing says “Hey, pay attention!” quite like 360-degree surround sound and comfortable modern sofas! But what if you fall somewhere in the middle, or don’t entertain often, or simply want your home – and the gatherings that take place within its walls – to have a smaller, more personal feeling? If that sounds like you, then you need a fireplace. Obviously, real fire is best if you’re going for the rustic style of furnishing, but electric will work too, as long as it comes in the form of a “fake” fireplace. The point is that humans have been drawn to fire since the dawn of time, and today is no different, so with the lights dimmed a bit for atmosphere, visitors will have almost no other choice than to congregate around your happily-crackling fire for a cup of coffee (or something stiffer, if that’s your thing). Hint: This works especially well in the winter!

KNICK-NACKS & OTHER PERSONAL TOUCHES

After all of the preceding steps, you may be wondering what else you can do to turn your urban apartment into a cozy, rustic-style, lived-in home. Well, the short answer is that, at this point, you can do whatever you’d do to any other new home you plan to occupy for any length of time. Perception is great, but no amount of plants or light manipulation will fool someone after they notice that there isn’t a picture of your family or a kitschy vacation souvenir to be found. Ultimately, these things are what give a place its distinct personality; it’s like embedding your fingerprint in your new home, so make sure you don’t neglect it! Plus, if you live far away from familiar faces and places, it will help remind you of the friends and family you don’t get to see every day.

And that’s that. Now you know all you need to in order to turn your new urban apartment into your own cozy, personal, rustically-furnished home. Have fun!