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Home decor has been held back by tradition. Of course, that is exactly what a person who wants to buck tradition would say. In and of itself, tradition is not a bad thing. It is what happens when one lands on an idea that has proven effective over a long period of time. If the traditional way of doing things didn’t serve the needs of a lot of people for a long time, it would never have survived to become traditional in the first place.
That said, home decor is as much about aesthetic appeal as it is about function. It is a matter of taste. And taste changes with every generation. There is also the fact that we are all individuals. We do not set up our personal space for everyone in our generation. We set it up for ourselves so that it will suit our individual needs.
Further influencing new ideas of home decor is the changing face of family. Smaller family units have different needs than larger ones. Many couples choose not to have children at all. Single parenting is more of an intentional choice than ever before. The center of family life is no longer the dinner table or the TV. All of these things have a profound effect on home decor. If images in home decor magazines from the ‘70s no longer suit your needs, Get inspired with these non-traditional ideas.
Build a Park
Go to your browser of choice and type something like “landscaping near me.” Talk to someone about transforming your yard into something like your favorite park replete with a koi pond, picnic tables, park benches, and a zen garden. If that is not your idea of outdoor bliss, have a putt-putt golf course installed. Whatever you do, don’t put in the one with the crazy clown.
The point is that your yard is a part of your home, and therefore, your home decor. You do not have to put in a patio, porch, or gazebo. These ideas are great for some people, but not for everyone. It is perfectly okay to completely rethink what a yard should be. You can turn it into anything from a tomato garden to a birdwatcher’s paradise. If you have the money to match your eccentricity, why not put in some bumper cars and turn it into a mini carnival? You have the green light to craft a yard that makes you want to spend more time outdoors, whatever that happens to look like.
Sans Sofa
A sofa is one of the most traditional pieces of furniture you can find. Just walk into the living room section of any furniture store and see what dominates the space. That is also part of the problem. Even small sofas dominate what little space you might have in a room. If you are living in an apartment, you have to design around the sofa.
That is just one of the reasons why decorating a living room without a sofa is not a bad idea. Another is the fact that you might never have more than two people in your living room on average. If you do have more people, they don’t necessarily want to be crammed together on a single piece of furniture. You might prefer a bit of social distance, not to mention elbow room for getting your snack on. The possibilities of your living room open up when you let go of the idea of the obligatory sofa.
It’s Just a Room
You know what else you can do with your living room? You can make it the bedroom instead. You can treat that huge space like a luxurious studio apartment and make it anything you like. Your room doesn’t have a name. It is not a living room or dining room or family room or bedroom. It is just a room for you to do with as you please. Don’t allow someone else’s vision of what that space is for to influence how you decide to use it. Any space can serve almost any purpose.
You don’t have to be Martha Stewart to do amazing things with your home decor. You will unleash your home’s potential by treating the yard like a park, removing the sofa, and allowing generic spaces to be whatever you need them to be.