How to Make Your Home Feel Truly You: 10 Personalization Tips

If you go looking for home design advice, whether online or in design magazines, the chances are you'll come across some recommendations for buying personalised decor. But even though personalization has become more central to home design than ever before, for many of us it's still pretty new territory. That's why we've put together a list of ten tried-and-tested personalised design tips to help you put your own unique stamp on your living space.

#1. Display a Personal Photo Collection

There could hardly be a better showcase for your unique identity than a wall art display of printed personal photos. But choosing the right photo format for displaying your images can be challenging. A framed photo is always a safe choice. Framed prints have that timeless aesthetic that means they look great in just about any living space – and they also work very well in combination with other print formats.

#2. Hang Art on the Walls

If you're not sure about using photos as wall decor, why not display some art instead? Making original choices is key here though, because hanging mass-produced posters can make your home look like a run-of-the-mill coworking space or coffee shop. But if you can find some unique designs that have a deeper significance to you, your home will start to feel like a real reflection of your personality. If you're an avid traveller, for example, you might want to display a picture with a creative design based on a map of the world.

#3. Showcase Your Passions

If you're an artist yourself and you want to showcase your love of art in your home design scheme, there's a pretty straightforward way to do this – you can display your own work. But what if you love sport, or reading, or another activity that doesn't really lend itself to being hung up on walls? Well, why not take some photos capturing you doing what you love, and get them printed as wall decor? Or you can look for themed designs online – there are plenty of artists who'll be happy to create a decor feature to suit your wishes.

#4. Create Multiple Sets of Custom Throws

One of the key elements of a well-balanced living space is layering. You can bring some appealing complexity to your room design by combining different colours, textures, and decor features. Ideally, at least some of the layers that you choose should be loose items – so that you can switch them up once in a while when you want to give the room a fresh vibe. If you create multiple sets of custom throw blankets and pillows, printed with designs that complement the different seasons, you'll have ready-made style statements ready to bring out as you move through each year.

#5. Display Flowers and Plants

Displaying cut flowers in your home can lift the spirits like little else – if you can afford them. But if you're looking for a cheaper alternative that won't need to be replaced on a weekly basis, then houseplants can have just as great an impact. Small pots with succulents and ferns will look great on open shelves in the bedroom, living room, and even kitchen.

#6. Turn Family Heirlooms into Decor Features

Perhaps you have an old wedding photo of your great-grandmother hidden in a photo album, a handmade blanket that's passed down from generation to generation, or some other family heirloom that usually stays out of sight? Antique items tend to be fragile, which is why they often end up being kept in storage. But with just a little care, those old precious items can be integrated into a modern home design scheme – for example, photo restoration specialists can do wonders with damaged old prints!

#7. Be Bold with Colours and Fabrics

Minimalist interiors styled in light, neutral tones are still trending – but vibrant colours and more traditional fabrics never really went out of fashion. If you love designs in black, white, and grey, then your tastes are exactly in line with the zeitgeist, so enjoy it while it lasts. But if deep down you feel that nothing would cheer you up more than a bright yellow sofa or some vintage-inspired curtains – go with what you love the most!

#8. Design a Statement Wall

Painting a single wall in a contrasting colour can transform the feel of an entire room. Statement walls are painted a bolder – and usually darker – shade than the general colour scheme of the room: you can choose vivid colours like purple, turquoise, sunflower yellow, whatever suits your taste. Statement walls are often left bare to let the contrasting paint shade produce the maximum effect, but you can of course hang some pictures if you want – just make sure they don't get lost against such a strong background.

#9. Customise Your Storage Space

Most of us have a few boxes stuffed with shoes, clothes, children's toys, and other stuff we might use someday. Needless to say, the boxes themselves don't usually offer much in terms of design and aesthetics, and they're kept hidden away under beds and in built-in storage. But it doesn't have to be this way – because today it's not hard to find genuinely interesting and attractive storage containers that are fit to be real decor features.

#10. Find the Perfect Scent for Your Home

Some say smell is the most powerful of the senses – strong enough to change our mood and bring back even the most distant memories. And using fragrances in your home is a wonderfully effective way of creating an evocative mood. Aromatic candles and scented oils are two classic (and affordable) ways to get your home smelling irresistible.

Decor Personalisation is More Affordable Than You Might Think

You know the best thing about home personalisation? You don't need to spend a fortune to enhance your home design scheme. Even small personalised decor updates can make a real difference to your living space – things like displaying some photo prints, for example.

Female.com.au has teamed up with MYPICTURE.com.au, a discount printing company that offers personalised photo prints at factory prices, and we've bagged an exclusive discount for our readers. Use code FEMALE10 at checkout to get 10% off all MYPICTURE products. You can choose from wall decor, printed home accessories and cute photo gifts.

The offer's valid until December 31^st 2022, and the code can be used unlimited times until then.

Image Credits: MYPICTURE