It’s all too matchy
Helloooooo and welcome to some advice:) My first tip for furnishing and decorating your space is: DO NOT buy that matching furniture set. Yes, it might be easy, but it looks flat and lacks personal taste. It will make your home look like a hotel.
Take a look at both of these small space dining rooms. They both feature the same dining table, but the one on the left is “matchy,” while the one on the right mixes materials and tones to give the space character and energy.
Both have a dark wood table, but the image on the right includes metal chairs with fabric seats. Instead of using only wood, which creates a flat dimension, buying pieces from different eras creates numerous levels and layers of contrast.
The bedroom is where I most often see mistakes in matching furniture sets. I think it's easy to walk into an Ikea or, if you even have cash to spend, walk into an Arhaus and buy the matching nightstand, bed frame, dresser trio because it looks sleek and clean in the store. But when you move all this into your home, your home looks like a store room, too…
The difference between the left and right images, to some, might not be a lot. Both are beds with white walls, white sheets, wood furniture, and a picture frame over the bed. But the image on the left feels lived in, homey; it has a sense of comfort and taste. This is because the image on the right has curated pieces. A vintage armoire paired with a newer metal side table and a thrifted wood side table. These contrasts show that the client took time to piece things together instead of buying the first piece they found.
The last concept is one that you can change today, decor. Take a look at the image on the left. Now, maybe since the mating is all using different colors, it's no longer “matchy”, but it is all the same frame, same-sized photo, same spacing. But the image on the right takes the same idea of colored matting and extends it into multiple dimensions. Frames are made of different materials, one being a different size, too! Now, the one on the left appears to be from a target catalog, while the one on the right looks curated and perfectly imperfect. These small changes allow your space to appear uniquely you. A space should not be perfect. It should reflect you as a person, and chances are, you were not constantly purchasing the same piece of art over and over again to fit into a single aesthetic box. Our styles evolve, and what we place in our home should reflect that.
