If you’ve ever watched a home makeover show or looked longingly at listings online, you’ve probably noticed how cohesive they look. Each space has bold colors and textures that complement each other, and the whole home flows seamlessly from room to room. You too can achieve this home transformation. Read on for nine cohesive design tips to connect each space in your home into one unified design.
What is a cohesive design?
A cohesive home is one where each room seamlessly blends and flows together nicely to create one unified look throughout the rest of the house. Each space is carefully designed for the color scheme, decor, and furniture to complement each other, from the living room to the master bedroom. And, of course, that cohesion should happen within each room too. You’ll want to feel like you’re both moving throughout your home and staying put and relaxed.
Why is a cohesive design important?
A cohesive design is how you set up a visually pleasing flow inside your home. A well-thought-out cohesive design shows care for detail and organization while still giving each room its own sense of identity.
For example, your dining room and living room may have similar color schemes, but they aren’t twins. Instead, their different design elements – the unique fixture over the dining room table, the geometric living room rug – blend the two spaces without them appearing identical. Cohesive design can make your home as spacious, unified, and comfortable as it gets.
How do interior designers create flow?
There are multiple different ways interior designers create flow throughout a home – and you can do it too. Here are some design tips for creating a more unified look.
- Install consistent flooring. Your flooring should be the same from room to room. For example, wood flooring should carry through your open spaces, though your mudroom or bathroom can be different.
- Choose a wood stain color. A light wood stain can make a room feel more bright and open, whereas a dark stain can feel more compressed. As with your flooring, your wood stain colors should remain consistent throughout.
- Keep your trim the same. Whether you're upstairs or downstairs, in the bedroom or the laundry room, your home’s trim color and style should be the same throughout. Even these small details contribute to a successful cohesive feeling.
- Determine your color palette. The most important part of a cohesive design is ensuring that you use the same color scheme throughout your home. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to use the same three colors in every room. Instead, you want your colors and patterns to relate to one another in some form. Your goal is to build a bridge across your home so it feels like one serene sanctuary.
9 cohesive design tips for optimal home flow
It can be challenging to establish flow in a home without making each room appear exactly the same. To ensure that each space in your home has its own personality and unique flair as you create a cohesive design, follow the below tips.
1. Identify your desired interior style
Choosing an interior design style is the first step to a home so cohesive it fully immerses you in your surroundings. Choose a design style that fits your personality. You can opt for modern, cozy, rustic, shabby chic, or something else that inspires you and helps you feel at peace.
The consistent colors and decorations that can come from a well-set interior style can build you a world of your own within your home. It can also make your space feel larger and more organized, like a home you want to sink right into.
2. Carefully select a color palette, and keep it consistent
A great cohesive design primarily comes down to your color palette and pattern choice. For the open, consistent concept you desire, choose a color palette that’ll work with every part of your home. Start with a neutral hue to set the tone of your home, then add in three to four bright hues. All this color variation is a great way to bring both vibrancy and consistency into your home.
Colorful, unique lighting can make your color palette pop even more. A rotating galaxy projector like the Sky Lite Evolve casts colorful nebula clouds and blue laser stars all across your home. You can set the nebula clouds’ color with voice control or right from your home screen to instantly bring cohesion to your home. And you can pair your Evolve with other BlissLights to set scenes that fill all your rooms with wonder with just a tap on your phone screen.
Sky Lite Evolve: Smart Galaxy Projector
$49.99$39.99
The latest evolution in smart galaxy lighting.
3. Choose multiple textures
Different textures can add visual weight to your home’s design. Your textures can come in so many forms – paint and tile, rugs, furniture, art. Choosing the right textures for your home means keeping the overall design concept in mind. Your materials should forge a visual landscape that fully immerses you in your home.
4. Define your space with rugs
To make your flooring more unique and individualized in each room, add a few rugs. Choose between a textured, neutral fur for a modern appeal or opt for a boho-chic pop of color. These small changes can instantly elevate any space in your home – and the more rugs you add, the more cohesively you transform your surroundings.
5. Consider a mix of vintage and modern furniture
Use a mix of the old and the new to make your home appear modern yet lived-in. Vintage and modern pieces together can add personality and uniqueness as you walk from one room to another. Your home will look as if it’s evolved throughout the years without a total renovation, bringing soul and unity into your space.
6. Use pieces you love
Fill up your spaces only with things that you love. Whether that’s bright florals, vintage records, or bold patterns, find a way to make it all look aesthetically pleasing throughout your home. That’s how you give your space a personality and set up a house that’s truly a home.
7. Incorporate repetition
Select repetition throughout your home gives you that sought-after flowing effect. It can also give your home stability and make it feel cohesive. This is why it’s important to keep the little things the same – they can make a significant difference in the overall appearance. Trims, stains, door handles, and flooring in an open-concept home should be repetitive so your home flows effortlessly from room to room.
8. Consider contrasts
As important as repetition is, adding contrasts is also crucial. After all, you don’t want each bathroom to have exactly the same vanity, tile, and counters – some separation is necessary.
To make each room more unique, choose different patterns, colors, and tiles that don't look the exact same as the rest of your home. These simple changes can give each room its own personality while remaining within your color palette so you still get that cohesiveness.
9. Pay special attention to the lighting
Light fixtures play a significant role in cohesive designs. Ideally, you should use multiple light sources – with ambient, task, and accent lighting layers – to fully illuminate and elevate your space.
For lighting that’ll highlight your home and showcase it in the best possible way, try the BlissRadia. This compact, orb-like ambient mood fixture glows in soft, gentle hues that seamlessly transition from one color to the next. You can set it to any color in the rainbow or tap into one of the nine color-cycle settings and adjust their speeds. Set it however you’d like to match all your rooms and turn your home into a soothing sanctuary unlike any other.
BlissRadia Smart LED Mood Light
$39.99
From desktop to bedside, light the way to concentration, stimulation, or relaxation.
Illuminate your cohesive layout with BlissLights
The right lighting can help you create a unified, harmonious balance throughout your home. With BlissLights’ ambient mood lighting and galaxy projectors, you can showcase each room’s personality while still maintaining a unified look throughout your home. Browse the BlissLights collection now to see your home – every inch of it – in a whole new light.You may also enjoy these...
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