Create continuity!

Ever wonder how those photos in magazines make homes look so clean yet comfortable? Need an way to make your home or apartment feel larger?  When you create continuity between spaces, rooms and functional areas, you get an organized, clean-line with a sense of open space.  These tips will help you get there:

A similar theme, unifying lighting, color and accent pieces ties three functional areas together.

1) Select a theme. When you choose your furniture a decor, keep it in similar styles and themes so every part of your home will be connected. Keep your accent pieces the same color stain yet change the scale and shape. If you love a eclectic style, use color to provide a unifying element. Even if you love mismatched pieces, you can tie a space together with single color fabrics, keeping the scale similar, and using styles that coordinate. 


2)  Unify flooring. Use one style of flooring in adjoining rooms on the same floor. This creates a greater sense of continuity and connectedness, especially if your floor plan is small or open.

Pale silver-green unifies the walls, furniture and window coverings.

3) Make it monochromatic. Paint the areas of the house that flow into one other a single color. Visually connected rooms look best with a monochromatic scheme tying them together and help make those rooms feel larger. Define individual spaces using area rugs, pieces of furniture, art work and even an accent wall color.



4) Lighten up. Create visual interest and tie a room together with light fixtures. Accent lighting in cabinets and bookshelves and behind furniture can create a cohesive look.  Recessed lighting drops pools of light to connect the perimeter of a room to the center. Dropping pendant lights over end tables, connects dark corners to the rest of a room.  Install dimmer switches to keep lighting at the right intensity.


5) Less is more. By displaying fewer collectibles and keeping the furniture to what you need you will attain a clutter-free look that is both pleasing and sophisticated.  Pare down furniture to what you need.  Keeping tables in the same style can help when all of the seating is different. Grouping accessories together rather than spreading them around a room will create more impact.