Styling Sanctuary: Unveiling your interior decor persona
By Amy Wright | Mar 11, 2024
Whether you live in a studio apartment or a sprawling house, your home decoration plays a significant role in making the space feel like your own.
Many people have a general idea of the decorative elements they like but don’t know how to classify their unique personal style.
In this guide, you’ll learn about some of the most popular interior design types and trends that you can use to enhance your home. You’ll also get ideas on how you can use Canvaspop to aid in the transformation process through curated wall art selections.
Traditional and Maximalist
The traditional style is characterized by classic details, sumptuous furnishings, and a rich color palette that often includes jewel tones like emerald green, sapphire blue, and ruby red, as well as warm neutrals like cream, beige, and gold.
Traditional rooms are typically symmetrical and balanced, with furniture arranged in a formal and orderly way. Traditional designers also love to layer patterns and textures, using a variety of fabrics, wallpapers, and rugs to create a visually exciting space.
By contrast, maximalism features bold patterns, vibrant colors, and eclectic collections.
Maximalist designers typically gravitate toward saturated colors, bold contrasts, and playful combinations that create a dynamic energy.
They love to mix and match prints, stripes, florals, and geometrics, letting them clash harmoniously. They also tend to layer fabrics like velvet, fur, and knit alongside wood, metallic accents, and raw materials like stone.
Traditional Decorating Ideas and Design Tips
If you’re drawn to the traditional design style, start with a neutral color palette as your base, then add pops of color with accent pieces like unique canvas prints or metal prints. You can also incorporate classic artwork and accessories to add personality and layer different patterns and textures to create visual interest.
Maximalist Decorating Ideas and Design Tips
If you prefer a maximalist design style, the sky is virtually the limit when decorating your home. Display your favorite finds, souvenirs, artwork, and meaningful objects, and let them tell your story. Embrace unique pieces from different eras and styles, creating a vibrant and personal atmosphere.
Don't be afraid to fill the space with meaningful items and eye-catching artwork -- just make sure the overall balance feels curated, not cluttered. Remember that balance is critical. You can maintain order by repeating colors, textures, or shapes.
Minimalist and Boho
Minimalism emphasizes simplicity, functionality, and clean lines. Limited furnishings, open floor plans, and neutral color palettes with small pops of colors and natural materials like wood and stone characterize it.
Conversely, bohemian or boho features a free-spirited and eclectic mix of patterns and textures.
Bohemian interior design emphasizes rich, earthy tones, bold prints, and elements from different cultures, like Turkish rugs and Indian tapestries. It also incorporates natural materials like wood, rattan, and wicker, as well as vintage finds, travel souvenirs, and unique furniture and accents.
Minimalist Decorating Ideas and Design Tips
Decluttering is a common component of minimalist design. Before bringing in new pieces, look for opportunities to purge unnecessary items and keep your home neat and streamlined.
When choosing wall decor, focus on simple artwork that adds personality to the space but doesn’t detract from its sense of openness and cleanliness.
Bohemian Decorating Ideas and Design Tips
Bohemian decor is all about expressing yourself creatively and not being afraid to mix and match. It's about creating a comfortable, inviting space that reflects your unique journey and passions. Let your imagination run wild, and look for artwork that speaks to your soul to set up one-of-a-kind, personalized living spaces!
Eclectic, Retro, and Rustic
Eclectic interior design features a blend of periods and styles. It celebrates individuality and personal expression by seamlessly blending different eras and influences into a single space.
Meanwhile, retro is known for its nostalgic allure. It takes inspiration from past eras, typically from the mid-20th century to the 1980s, but it's not about copying the past. It's a modern interpretation of these styles that incorporates fresh elements and personal touches.
On the other hand, Rustic is known for its natural, rough-hewn beauty. It embraces natural elements and a sense of warmth and comfort and evokes a feeling of being nestled amongst nature. It's a style that values simplicity, authenticity, and timeless appeal.
Eclectic Decorating Ideas and Design Tips
Feel free to mix and match. For example, you could combine a vintage armchair with a modern coffee table or combine different patterns, like florals and stripes, to add visual interest and personality.
Embrace a variety of materials, from wood and metal to velvet and leather, to create a layered and textured look. Use Art as a statement piece and display it, along with souvenirs and other treasured objects, to tell your personal story.
Retro Decorating Ideas and Design Tips
Remember that no single decade defines the retro style. You can draw inspiration from various periods, from Art Deco to mid-century modern. Integrate vintage furniture and accessories with a few modern elements, such as metal artwork, mixed in. Add other decorative elements like retro lamps or vintage posters as well.
Rustic Decorating Ideas and Design Tips
When it comes to rustic interior design, wood tends to be the star of the show, as well as exposed stone and natural textiles like linen, jute, and wool. Earth tones with small pops of color are typical, along with handmade and vintage pieces and metal accents (including wrought iron, brass, and copper).
Coastal, Modern, Industrial, Farmhouse, and Scandinavian
Coastal design has a laid-back, relaxing vibe. It's characterized by light and airy elements, natural materials, and pops of vibrant colors reminiscent of the ocean and beach.
Modern design is known for its sleek lines and streamlined features. It has a distinct character rooted in the early 20th century and emphasizes simplicity, functionality, and uncluttered, elegant spaces.
Industrial has a distinct raw and unfinished look. It draws inspiration from the rough aesthetics of old factories and warehouses and embraces exposed elements like brick, concrete, and metal pipes.
The farmhouse design is cozy and has a unique country-style charm. It draws inspiration from traditional farmhouses' warm and inviting atmosphere and is known for blending practicality, comfort, and rustic charm to create a welcoming and lived-in feel.
Scandinavian design encompasses countries like Sweden, Denmark, and Norway and is known for its minimalist yet cozy aesthetic. It focuses on simplicity, clean lines, functionality, and a connection with nature to create a calm and inviting atmosphere.
Coastal Decorating Ideas and Design Tips
The coastal design color palette focuses on white, beige, light blues, and greens. Natural light is another critical element, along with open floor plans and natural materials like light wood, wicker, and rattan.
Pops of color, especially turquoise, teal, coral, and green, and beach-inspired artwork make great additions to coastal spaces as well. Keep these wall art trends in mind when choosing pieces to hang.
Modern Decorating Ideas and Design Tips
Open floor plans are common in modern interior design, as are warm neutral shades like beige, white, gray, and black.
Natural materials like leather, wood, metal, and stone frequently appear as well, with bright pops of color (especially primary colors and earth tones) mixed in. As for wall art ideas, look for artwork that features these color palettes to bring some character to your modern home and add some extra personality.
Industrial Decorating Ideas and Design Tips
Brick walls, concrete floors and ceilings, and exposed metal beams and pipes are all popular elements for those who prefer the industrial interior design style. Neutrals (black, white, gray, etc.) with limited accents in colors like red, yellow, and green are also standard.
Farmhouse Decorating Ideas and Design Tips
As is the case with rustic decor, wood is also a staple in farmhouse decor. The same goes for neutral shades, especially cream, white, beige, and gray.
If you want to add character and personality, consider artwork that features bright pops of color -- such as red, blue, green, or yellow. Reclaimed wood, exposed beams, and natural wood furniture add warmth and texture.
Scandinavian Decorating Ideas and Design Tips
Scandinavian design tends to have a light and airy feel. Large windows and open floor plans, along with natural color palettes heavy on whites, beiges, and grays, are essential. Natural materials like wood and stone are common, too.
When choosing artwork for these spaces, consider soft and minimalist styles that enhance and don’t take away from the comfortable, welcoming vibe. Custom wall art featuring your family or loved ones can also fit in well.
Find your persona
The key to perfect interior decor is not just following trends but finding a style that speaks to your soul. Whichever interior decor trend(s) you prefer, remember that the right wall decor plays a critical role in helping you tell your personal story and express your individuality.
Canvaspop offers a wide selection of unique wall art, including customized artwork and personalized art, that you can use to gain design inspiration and level up your interior decor. Get your first piece today and use code CANVASART50 to save 50% on your order.