How to Create a Cohesive Look

March 3, 2022

One of the most important aspects of interior design is cohesion. Not only is a cohesive look aesthetically pleasing, but it also makes a comfortable and harmonious atmosphere that you’ll want to spend your time in. Prioritizing cohesion in your stylistic choices will help your home look masterfully put together.

Keep reading to learn some tips and tricks on how to take your interior design skills to the next level and create a home that has a sense of cohesiveness while staying true to your unique style. Let’s get started.

6 Tips on Creating a Cohesive Look in Your Home 

We don’t want to bore you with overly complicated concepts or industry jargon and terminology, so the six tips provided below are quick, easy to learn, and effective. If you implement all of them, your guests will be amazed that you didn’t hire a professional designer!

Less Is More 

Minimalism has been a trend for quite some time, and while it is considered to be its own style, using minimalist concepts can help you create a cohesive feel in your home. Its implementation requires you to consider which items you can let go of and which items are an indispensable part of your home. 

This helps you fill your space only with items that fit into your design scheme (or sentimental items that you hold dear) and remove all the unnecessary clutter. 

Creating Cohesion With Color 

Having a color palette to work with is a must for achieving a cohesive look. For each room—or your entire home, depending on your preferences—choose anywhere from two to three colors and then use them as either base or accent colors in your designs. 

Each color can be used in a different intensity or tone to produce a wide range of effects. Another good tip is to paint or stain all the trim in your home in the same shade so that you get a sense of flow as you go from room to room. 

Taking Advantage of Furniture Arrangements

The way furniture is arranged can have a massive effect on the cohesiveness of a space. A common mistake is positioning sofas and all other furniture pieces directly against the wall. This can make the empty space in a room stand out and take away the cozy feeling. Pulling furniture slightly away from the wall can solve this issue.

Some furniture arrangements can also cause a space to look cluttered and thus affect the overall look. This is why it’s important to make sure there’s enough space between pieces of furniture. A good tip is to lay furniture out around the room's focal point. For example, in living areas, the focal point might be something like a TV or a fireplace, and in a bedroom, it’s usually the bed.

Mix Materials 

It’s still a common misconception that all of the materials in a room have to “match,” meaning that if a coffee table has shining gold accents, then your side table, barstools, and lamps must also have that exact gold finish.

However, this is often not the case. Mixing different materials like wood, fabrics, and metals (even of different finish types) will give a room a lot of dimension and make the space look more interesting and unique, especially if you choose materials that complement your color palette and design style. 

Envision Your Home as a Whole 

You don’t need to think of each room in your home as a separate space that needs its own design scheme. Instead, try to think of your home as a whole—one large space that should look and feel cohesive. When you start thinking this way, you will be able to design each room as a piece of a puzzle as opposed to treating it as a puzzle in and of itself.

Stay True to Yourself 

Your home should be a place you enjoy spending time in. It should bring you a sense of peace and enable you to fall into your very own world. While designing and decorating, you shouldn’t only think about what colors or materials match and how to achieve the most cohesive look. 

You should also be thinking about whether a design decision is practical for you and whether or not it will bring you joy on the daily. After all, the space is all yours, and no one else has to like what you do with it!

Final Thoughts

Designing a beautiful, cohesive-looking home is not an easy job. It requires time, effort, and dedication to the task. So if you’re just starting your design journey, be patient and don’t rush things. Follow the above tips and tricks to create a cohesive look in your home and make a space that you love coming back to every day.

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