5 Modern Design Ideas to Spice Up Your Home

8 Min Read

Whether you spend your time at home relaxing, entertaining guests, or simply sharing meals with your family, the interior design you choose can dramatically improve your living experience. And an intentional modern house decor, like audio furniture, can be what creates that welcoming, comfortable environment.

Combining modern technology with classical décor philosophy can make the most out of your living space and impress your guests along the way. If this sounds enticing, here are five modern design ideas to help spice up your home.

1. Rethink Lighting

Anyone who has walked into a bathroom featuring harsh, fluorescent lighting knows that light fixture choices can have a major effect on a room. No one enjoys looking in the mirror and seeing every spot, mark, and wrinkle glowing right back in their face.

That’s why when trying to revamp any room in your home (not just the bathroom), it's essential to rethink lighting. Every room can and should have its own lighting style, unique to its situation. As a rule of thumb, start by maximizing the amount of natural light exposure. From there, ambient lighting can be used where natural lighting is lacking. Of course form, function, and modern aesthetic will come into play. But starting with cozy and natural is always a worthwhile default.

For some considerations about your home’s lighting situation:

Every room is different, so every room should have its own lighting style. If you are lucky enough to have large windows providing natural light, capitalize on that.

A kitchen should feature several different lighting tones. Mix ambient light to brighten the entire room with task lighting under cabinets to enhance visibility.

A room with no direct sun exposure requires extra lighting. Try decorating it with a few shaded lamps to start, and work up in intensity. What you want to avoid is overpowering the room with excessive lighting.

Three unique light sources in each room can create a lighting yin and yang feel. Mix and match between brightness levels to achieve that balanced, welcoming atmosphere you’re searching for.

Form follows function, as they say. If this room is a home office, more task lighting will decrease the strain for the eyes. If this room is meant for entertainment and movie nights, perhaps low ambient light is best.

Many people are surprised by the effect lighting choices can have on a home. If you are trying to minimize the price of relighting your space, remember: natural light is free (and welcoming)!

2. Add Some Audio Furniture

It’s 2020, so when sprucing up your home, technology will be part of the plan. And nothing speaks volumes like upgrading to the perfect audio system. However, you don’t want to sacrifice style when selecting the best sound.

With audio furniture, you can blend technology with the newest in shabby chic interior design. Say goodbye to bulky stereo equipment that catches the eye of every person that enters your living room, and say hello to minimalism. Choose a beautiful credenza that incorporates a state-of-the-art speaker and sound system into its wooden finish.

Victrola offers a wide selection of audio furniture that will transform your home into a technology-enabled living space. Bluetooth audio furniture brings you all the convenience of a traditional stereo with the added décor benefits of tasteful furniture pieces. Say goodbye to your old speakers and choose amongst speaker furniture, speaker credenzas, speaker side tables, record storage, and more.

Impress every guest that enters your home with premier audio seamlessly integrated into your furniture.

3. Choose Art Wisely

Art has the potential to completely revolutionize a wall or space. And don’t worry; you don’t need to be able to afford a Picasso to bring artistic integrity into your living room.

Of course, selecting the right pieces for you will be a subjective undertaking. What’s not subjective is that you should be the one doing the picking! Choose pieces that reflect both your tastes and interests, and invite guests both into your home and into your mind.

When beginning the process of choosing artwork for your home, there are a few key considerations to note.

Color is crucial – When determining where you want to display artwork within the home, it is necessary to consider pops of color. Whether you are hanging a painting on the wall or placing a ceramic dish on your new speaker credenza, considering how it affects the room’s color scheme should be a top priority. There are typically two ways to go here: matching or contrast. Select color schemes that either complement or contrast with your furniture and walls. Both options will have a beneficial effect on presentation by either blending in or standing out with the rest of the room.

Think about size – A tiny piece of art on an empty wall will stand out in the wrong way. For this reason, think about both size and scale when selecting art for your room. Generally speaking, paintings that hang above a piece of furniture (sofa, bed, table, etc.) should be no smaller than 2/3 the size of the furniture. If you have small pieces that you love, hang them in the hall or combine them into a collection.

Mix classic and modern – There’s no shame in mixing things up when you are trying to achieve a refined look. Contrasting artworks can have a major effect on the overall presentation of your home and help yours stand out. So, when choosing artwork, buy what you like and don’t worry about having a consistent feel. If two pieces are overly different, place them in different rooms. This can also help you accomplish a unique style for each room in the house.

Don’t worry too much – When it comes to art, it’s essential above all else that you like what you buy. Don’t worry about impressing people or “choosing the wrong artwork.” The best home is one that reflects the personality and essence of the people that live in it. To that end, whichever art you choose is the right art.

Among all the modern design ideas for living rooms, buying art is one where there’s really no wrong answer.

4. Be Smart

The modern home is a smart home.

There is little doubt that technology is transforming the way each person approaches day-to-day life. If you want to make the most out of your home, do so with smart technology.

There are a host of available smart options for your home. From smart appliances and lighting to smart security systems and temperature control—there are new and exciting technologies that will make your experience at home increasingly convenient.

When trying to integrate smart technology into your living space, think about your options carefully. It would be a good idea to select products that fit in with the overall style of your home. Of course, functionality will be your main concern, but it is possible to blend style as well.

Some of the most important things to consider when you are trying to incorporate technology into a stylish home are:

Consider mixing in your smart technologies with traditional household objects to minimize the effect they have on a room’s presentation and style.

Don’t compromise your new gadgets’ functionality. If a smart product requires Wi-Fi to work correctly, then make sure you don’t tuck it away in the furthest corner of your home.

Organize your cables, so they’re not visible. Otherwise, you’ll always have a section of your room that looks like an electronic jungle.

Buy products that match the color of your home so as to blend into the surrounding modern decor.

Be sure to carefully consider balancing functionality with presentation, and you will be on your way to living smart.

5. Go Green

Adding some greenery to your home will go a long way in cultivating both a welcoming and comfortable atmosphere. Indoor plants can be as effective as artwork in transforming the style and presentation of a living space.

However, selecting the right plants for your home is dependent on the space and requires some careful considerations:

Think about size. If you are dealing with a low ceiling, it may be a good idea to select plants that make the room feel bigger. Aka, avoid the palm tree that scratches at the ceiling.

Lighting is essential. If a plant requires a lot of sunlight to survive, place it by the window where it can flourish. There are plants that can survive in low light that are better suited for other parts of the house.

Color is (yet again) a major consideration. Just like artwork, color matters. Not all plants are green!

Choose the right container. A flower is only as good as its vase and the same can be said with other household plants. Make sure that you are purchasing vases and pots that work well with both the style of the room and corresponding plant.

Indoor plants have the potential to transform the style of a room, bringing warmth and comfort into the home.

Modernize Your Home

Transforming your living space into a modern yet tasteful dwelling can be a challenge. But, with these five innovative design and decorating ideas, you will be on your way to achieving the most stylish living experience the modern world has to offer. By blending classic decorating ideas with modern technology, you can get the most out of your home while building a welcoming, cozy atmosphere for guests.

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