Infuse your home with personality

As winter marches on in Australia, our homes become our sanctuary – a place to hunker down with the heater on high and a cosy throw at hand as the mercury plummets. Whether your home is tiny or sprawling, rented or owned, it’s yours to make your own. But how do you infuse your home with personality? How do you stamp it with your unique personal taste and make it fit in with your family’s needs? It’s easier than you think. As they say, it’s all in the detail – a couple of statement furniture pieces that you love, a colourful artwork to brighten up a drab corner and some personal mementos go a long way in letting your personality shine through. The folks at Icon By Design show you how it’s done, room by room.

Your Hallway

The entrance of your home needs to welcome you and your guests and draw you inside. Perk up your hallway with a colourful welcome mat (great for muddy shoes on a rainy day!). Add a console table like the Jolanda to keep your everyday items like keys and coins handy. Dress it up with a pot plant, a colourful bowl for your keys and decorative coat pegs for everyday items like jackets, umbrellas and school bags. Oh yes, a mirror that bounces off light is also great for a quick check before you leave the house. The Franz footrest is a welcome perch to put on and take off your footwear at the entrance.

Your Living Room

Your living room is the centre of your home where family and friends gather. That’s why it’s so important to find your forever furniture that’s a reflection of your individual taste and fits in with your lifestyle. A statement armchair like the Plank paired with the Magnus Round Side Table creates a cosy spot to unwind after a long day.  Or how about family movie night snuggling on the Sixties Sofa with the TV above the Svend Entertainment Unit? Invest in a beautiful rug; it not only defines a space, especially in an open-plan living room, but also pulls together all the elements of that zone together.

Don’t be afraid to put your life on display. Include your hobbies and interests by creating interesting vignettes. If, for instance, you’re a bookworm, have a reading nook or a well-stocked Jonas Bookshelf. If you do pottery, display some of your prized pieces. A large wall is the perfect blank canvas to create a gallery of family photos or artworks. Experiment with layouts, frames and sizes. Add texture, layers and pops of colour with scatter cushions, a fresh lick of paint, and mementos that tell your story. Showcase gifts that the kids have made you for birthdays, memorabilia from the yesteryears or perhaps an old heirloom handed down to you by a great-grand-aunt – these are sentimental pieces that connect to your roots, so make sure you hero them.

Your Dining Room

First decide on what sort of dining table and chairs suit your family and your space – something large like the Magnus Extension Dining Table that’s perfect for parties or something more compact like the Oscar Round Dining Table for an intimate dinner? Next, add comfy chairs or benches and dress up your dining table with a table runner, fresh flowers and a rug underneath. Don’t be afraid to play with colour via your placemats, dishes, flatware or tablecloth. Find a piece of wall art that speaks to you and display it above a mid-century modern style sideboard like the Maximus, which can be another focal point and a great storage solution for “special occasion” crockery and cutlery or even other bits and bobs that need to be kept out of sight.  

Your Bedroom

Your bedroom is a sanctuary for rest and relaxation, so choose your bed wisely. Perhaps something like the Bruno for a minimalist Scandi look? Your bedroom should also be clutter-free, so storage like the Arne Tallboy is essential to keep everything from sweaters and socks to sheet sets neatly stowed away. Plenty of pillows in prints and fabrics that you adore, opulent soy wax candles that smell divine and heavy curtains that not only look good but block out the sunlight are a good starting point. Inject a personal touch by adding a photo frame of your kids on your Anya bedside table or make a family photo collage on a bedroom wall. And yes, keep your devices out of the bedroom – invest in an old-fashioned alarm clock instead!

Your Home Office

Isn’t it great that so many of us have the option to work from home nowadays? Whether you have an entire study or a tiny nook, your home office needs to strike the right balance between comfort and efficiency. First make sure you invest in the essentials: a sturdy work desk (have you seen the Jolanda?), an ergonomically-designed chair, a laptop and a fast internet connection are a must. Plenty of light (natural is best), stationery and storage solutions like the Bastian that can multitask are very handy. Then add your personal touches: some greenery, personalised stationery, a diffuser with your favourite essential oils, and your credentials on display all go towards making your home office a productive place to work. 

So, what’s your style going to be…?