Creating a home that stands out but maintains elegance is a challenge. Here’s 5 Ways to Create a Space With Personality.

Creating a home that both stands out but also maintains elegance is a challenge. It requires careful of thought and curation of unique pieces. It requires an understanding of how to mix colors, textures, and patterns to give a room an inviting personality. Most people hire the expert eye of a designer to craft a space like this, but in my experience, no one who does it better than Jess McCarthy.

I’ve worked with Jess several times as she’s moved from one apartment to another, and each time, I’m astounded by how masterfully she creates beautiful but truly unique spaces. And even better, when I first complimented her design, I was shocked to learn she does it all on a budget.

Here’s how she does it:

• Go for neutral-colored primary furniture
  • This gives you a flexible foundation. Neutral furniture offers an inviting but unintrusive canvas. It’s a backdrop that can support the flair you will layer on top.
• Add personality with accent furniture
  • Accents are pillows, rugs, and art but there also larger items like benches and ottomans. With things like these, don’t be afraid to pick a loud color or unconventional pattern. The key here is balance. If you place a loud item on one side of the room, consider what’s diagonal from it and try to bring in a unique piece there as well.

• Don’t forget about the details
  • Accents can also be smaller items like candlesticks and vases. Items like these give you another opportunity for variation. Incorporating objects of different heights is an often overlooked way to make a room interesting without being overpowering. And don’t forget about patterns and texture. Vases can help you on these fronts.

• Layer it
  • Just like your clothes, layering adds sophistication to any space. This includes pillows of different shapes and sizes but also rugs. When layering rugs, pick two with very different patterns. This might take some trial and error but when it works, you’ll know and it will be an element that garners compliments constantly. 
• Buy what you love and make it work
  • Jess swears she doesn’t preplan her rooms. She follows the above general guidelines and buys the things that she’s drawn to. Because she has built a foundation that can support distinctive pieces, she almost always finds a way to incorporate a new item she likes.