Advertisement

Let’s talk about cool houses. Everyone has ideas about their dream house. This amazing house takes many forms for different people.

It might have a pool, or be sleekly modern, or be designed all around environmental sustainability, or look like a part of the natural landscape.

A quick look through Pinterest or home design magazines reveal some very cool house designs that can spark your imagination. Here are some great new home ideas that can help you build the cool house of your dreams.

Make a Great First Impression at the Front Door

Alicia-Way-by-Elevation-Architects Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: Elevation Architects

You can never make a second first impression, so use the first impression well. Try painting your door a fun and glossy color.

Historically, a red door was a sign of welcome to travelers in early America and it is still a sign of safe haven on churches. Orange and yellow are becoming increasingly popular. Both of these colors bring to mind warmth and joy.

You should also get rid of your screen doors. Screen doors are outdated and ugly. Replace your screen door with a storm door that has full-length glass, which can easily be switched out for a screened panel when the weather is nice.

Use Light and Natural Colors for Your Walls

Seeley-Living-Room-A-by-Michael-Abrams-Interiors Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: Michael Abrams Interiors

One of the more recent cool room ideas out there is the use of neutral colors on walls. Try to stick to neutral colors to help your cool home have a better sense of flow. This is especially true for the first floor.

Try shades of beige or gray. These neutral tones offer you more flexibility with cool home décor. You’ll be able to more easily switch up the theme and atmosphere.

If you have two large rooms next to each other, painting them in the same neutral shade will help them feel bigger.  If you want a more subtle variation between rooms, move up and down a shade or two. This will maintain the same flow throughout the rooms but offer a nice bit of visual diversity.

Arrange Seating in Conversational Groups

Classical-Kitchen-by-Pickell-Architecture Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: Pickell Architecture

Furniture should be arranged in groups that invite conversation. You’ll notice this trend in the many of the most amazing homes and even in hotel lobbies. This creates a sense of balance and intimacy. You shouldn’t be pushing all your furniture against walls, but instead grouping it together organically.

Make the Best of Sunlight

Parkwood-Road-Residence-Living-Room-2-by- Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: Martha O’Hara Interiors

You’ll notice that a lot of cool homes make great use of the natural light they receive. Sunlight in a room is soothing and atmospheric. Your window dressings should be both elegant and functional.

A good example is sheer fabric working with full-length panels. Cotton, linen, and silk blends all hang well as panel curtains. If the room gets a whole lot of sun, decorate it with light colors that won’t fade.

Use Mirrors Frequently

BLUE-CYPRESS-by-Pegasus-Builders-Inc. Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: Pegasus Builders, Inc.

A flip through home décor magazines will show you that many cool houses use mirrors in every room. When placed in the right spot, they bounce light intriguingly around the room and help make the space seem larger.

Make sure you don’t place a mirror in the wrong spot since that will disrupt the look rather than add to it. Don’t hang a mirror directly opposite from a window, for instance, since that will simply bounce light right back out the window.

Choose the Correct Size of Art for the Wall

Trump-Hollywood-by-Britto-Charette-Interior-Designers-Miami-FL Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: Britto Charette – Interior Designers Miami , FL

One of the smartest things done in amazing houses is the scaling of artwork to the wall. A tiny picture hanging high on a wall just looks wrong. A picture should fit correctly on the wall.

The middle of it should be at eye level. If you have a large wall, get an oversize piece or group several pieces together like a gallery display. Make sure you don’t space the pictures much farther apart than 2 to 4 inches, otherwise they will look like they aren’t part of the same display.

Use Layered Lighting in cool houses

Cortona-Kitchen-by-Cornerstone-Architects Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: Cornerstone Architects

You should use three kinds of lighting in every room. Ambient light is a kind of lighting that provides the overall illumination of the space. Task lighting is the lighting found over a kitchen island or in a reading nook that is meant to provide good lighting for a particular task.

Accent lighting is the decorative lighting that you see highlight art. Living rooms and other areas that need pleasant but ample ambient light should have at least 3 watts per square foot or 42 lumens per square foot.

Anchor Your Rugs Under the Furniture Feet

Living-Room-by-Bruce-Johnson-Associates-Interior-Design Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: Bruce Johnson & Associates Interior Design

If you have a rug in your living room, all four legs of your sofa and chairs should fit on it. The rug will help define the seating area. This is true for smaller living rooms as well as larger ones. If the rug is too small it will make the entire room look out of scale.

Avoid Being Too Caught Up in Your Theme

By-J-Design-Group-Bathrooms-Miami-Interior-Design-by-J-Design-Group-Interior-Designers-Miami-Modern Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: J Design Group – Interior Designers Miami – Modern

Try to be subtle with your theme. A heavy western theme will not age well. Eventually, it will seem too kitschy and it lacks individuality. Try to be subtle. You want to evoke a tone without overwhelming everyone with the theme. Bring your own spin to it that look good for years and years to come.

Decide on a Focal Point

Minnesota-Residence-by-Martha-OHara-Interiors-1 Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: Martha O’Hara Interiors

A focal point is the most emphasized feature in the room. Cool houses make great use of them. It’s what a person’s eyes are automatically drawn to when he or she walks into a room.

The best spot for a focal point is usually directly across from the entrance of the room. Everything else in the room complements it. This focal point will point you in the direction you need to go. This can be a great help if you ever get lost as you’re redecorating the room.

Look for a Professional Organizer to Help with Clutter

J-Design-Group-Interior-Designer-Miami-Modern-Contemporary-Ocean-Front-by-J-Design-Group-Interior-Designers-Miami-Modern-2 Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: J Design Group – Interior Designers Miami – Modern

Clutter is the enemy of a cool house. You eventually get immune to the mess in your own house. A fresh set of eyes can be just the thing you need to help get rid of the clutter.

Most professional organizers work for hourly pay, anywhere from $35 to $150 depending on the location you live. They can easily help you clear out those closets and bookcases. These are often packed with twice as much as they should hold.

Don’t Overcrowd Your Furniture

Classic-White-Kitchen-by-House-of-House-of-L Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: House of L

Avoid putting too much furniture in your room. People need room to move around easily and also be able to focus on the pieces that you’ve carefully chosen. This is also helpful to your budget.

You can spend a larger portion of your budget on nicer furniture, instead of scattering your furniture budget between many cheap pieces that you don’t really like. Your nice furniture should not be fighting for attention. It should be allowed to stand out so that others can see why it’s a perfect fit for your room.

Create Higher Looking Ceiling Using Visual Tricks

Palmer-Point-Road-Residence-2-Master-Bedroom-by-Martha-OHara-Interiors Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: Martha O’Hara Interiors

Low ceilings can create a claustrophobic feel. One of the great cool house ideas is to use optical illusions to help alleviate this. Hang up curtains higher than your windows.

This will make your ceilings seem higher without looking too strange. Vertical stripes will also help. The lines will make your walls seem longer. You can also lean a large mirror against the wall to help, as well.

Stick to the Rule of Odd Numbers

Parkwood-Road-Residence-Master-Bedroom-by-Martha-OHara-Interiors- Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: Martha O’Hara Interiors

This is similar to the rule of thirds used in photography. It creates a sense of harmony and visual interest. Have objects of varying heights, shapes, and textures grouped together.

They should still have some elements that they all share. These two pieces of advice are not contradictory, though they do seem that way. The collection should be diverse, but it should also look like it belongs together in some way.

Update Outdated Finishes

Traditional-Family-Room-by-Emdesign Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: Emdesign

You don’t have to replace outdated fixtures to make them look right in your amazing house. Just use spray paint and cheap refinishing kits.

An old brass chandelier can be updated with a coat of satin-nickel or hammered-bronze spray paint. You can do a similar refinishing technique can be used to revive old and outdated spray paint. Just apply a few coats of white paint and some nice new hardware for a sleek look.

Tip for designing cool houses: Use Colors Well

Contemporary-Dining-Room-by-Palandsmith Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: palandsmith

You can use just about any color you like for an amazing house. Your colors should fit your theme. The trick is using them well. Try to stick with three colors. More can be visually confusing and disorienting.

Choose a base color. That should be 60% of your room. Your secondary color should be 30%. The remaining 10% should be an accent color. This three color palette allows you to develop a smart and interesting set of colors.

Make use of color theory when you’re choosing and using your colors. This will help you make smart color decisions and make your rooms more visually appealing.

Style Guides for Cool Houses

By-J-Design-Group-–-Living-room-–-Family-room-Miami-Interior-Designers-–-Moder Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: J Design Group – Interior Designers Miami – Modern

It can be hard to sort out what will look best for the theme or style you’re using for a room.

There are so many options out there for every last thing you can imagine, including color, finishes, decorations, and—most importantly—prices.  If you’re decorating multiple rooms, sorting out what works best can quickly become overwhelming.

Here are some great style guides to help you get started, whatever kind of style you’re going for:

  • Casual Style: This look evokes comfort, warmth, and relaxation. It uses rectangular elements, rustic design features, and soft furniture with pleasantly textured fabrics.
  • Formal Style: Just like it sounds, this styles brings in an air of elegance, symmetry, and luxury. It makes use of exquisite furniture. This style uses high ceilings, polished woods, tall windows, imported rugs, antique accessories, and decorative trims.
  • Contemporary Style: Contemporary styles always maintains a fundamental, simplistic, and subtle sense of sophistication. It uses neutral colors heavily, as well as any structural elements available. Contemporary furniture pieces are smooth and geometric.
  • French Country Style: This style uses mixed patterns, symmetrical chairs, chandeliers, and pops of color against neutral backgrounds.
  • Tuscan Style: This style uses natural stone, wood, and earthy colors to create a homey warm elegance. You want to evoke (and perhaps use) terracotta, open cupboards, copper pots, and rustic shutters.
  • Swedish Style: This style is light and clean. It makes ample use of white and blue.  It’s a casual look that includes minimalistic surfaces with gold and red accents. The furniture has straight lines and gentle curves with simple woven fabrics.
  • Paris Apartment Style: This style adds a touch of romance and romance to a room. It uses baroque, rococo, and neoclassical touches. Paris apartment style includes rich jewel colors, luxurious silks, and large posters of French landmarks.

Mix Up Patterns and Textures

laVista-Park-Renovation-Interiors-by-Niki-Papadopoulos Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: Niki Papadopoulos

Place old next to new, patterns next to solids. Heirlooms can look very nice next to new furniture. Figure out the best way to use contrast and complementary elements. Don’t assume that things can’t coexist.

Carefully considered design is the key. Think about how to frame disparate elements so that they can work together. Use them to tell a story together, which is a nice way to add a personal touch. This applies to furniture, rugs, art, sculptures, pillows, colors, and just about everything else.

Use Wicker Baskets

Hogarth-House-London-NW3-by-Studio-Duggan-Ltd Cool houses: Ideas on how to design cool and amazing homesImage source: Studio Duggan Ltd

Wicker baskets are a great form of storage in a cool house. They are elegant and economical. Any budget can afford some nice wicker baskets. You can use them to store almost anything, including books, utensils, fruits, vegetables, toys, and blankets.

They come in a variety of sizes, colors, and shapes. You can leave them out on counters or tuck them under benches. Wicker baskets also being in a nice organic texture that fits in well with even the most contemporary styled room. This can help to add a softening touch.

Ending thoughts on these cool houses

Amazing house design is easy to pull off for any budget and taste. Use these tips to help you figure out how you can build a new and cool home or update the one you currently have.

Categorized in: