Stripes in home decor are extremely popular with people who have a bold outlook on life. However, this does not mean that it is only for them. Whatever your perspective, a dash of stripes in your living room can add that exotic touch you’ve been looking for.
However, when it comes to wearing stripes, there are a few basic rules you need to understand before you enter this uncharted territory.
Why stripes and where?
Stripes in your home decor plans are all about making a style statement. And remember, too many stripes are not formal.
Your living room features many options for adding stripes. You could use stripes on your walls, on your upholstery, on your window shades, on your floor rugs, and even on the many decor pieces that adorn any regular living room.
What kind of stripes for decoration?
Then there is also a wide variety of stripes that you can choose from. One way to classify stripes is direction. There are the verticals, and there are the horizontals. You can even use slanted lines in your stripes.
The next option is the size: there are thin and thick stripes. For smaller rooms, thick stripes look better as they increase the volume of the room and vice versa. Thin vertical stripes tend to make the ceiling look higher than it really is.
Then there are the color options. You can use bright or light colors. Contrasting colors work well in certain places, but for novices it’s best to stick to the same color family as the stripes themselves are less dazzling. So you can have a combination of dark brown, light brown, orange and shades of yellow, to name just one example. In case of contrasts, blue and white stripes are among the most popular.
keep it light
If you’re wearing stripes for the first time, it’s best to keep it light, like you’re only buying one or two items for change. Don’t fill the entire room with stripes at once.
Change upholstery, window curtains, or walls into a striped pattern, one at a time. If you like what you see and still like it after a while, you have a winner on your hands. Now you can go to the next step and add other pieces to your overall striped home decor design.
Vary your options
When looking for a pattern, try to mix and match. Too many stripes can actually become overbearing, so choose a combination of solid and striped décor. For example, you could have plain upholstery against striped walls.
Window shades are a great way to create stripes without spending an extra penny. You can create stripes with plain window shades by using a combination of contrasting plain drapes. Therefore, a beige window shade sandwiched between two dark brown shades would create the impression of stripes. No losses for your pocket, and you continue to have the cards in your hand, since you can also change the combination at will!
OMG! I started writing a small article, but there is so much to share that it doesn’t fit in one article. So see you next week for some more basics on using stripes in your home decorating plans!