Is your home a pleasing place to be?

In so many ways, the architecture of a home is one of the most overlooked elements in home decor. You may spend hours selecting the paint hue for the walls, searching for beautifully marbled countertops to fit the kitchen’s style, or deciding on how to decorate the foyer to make a perfect first impression for guests. But often, a few simple updates to the actual four-walled structure can yield a strikingly beautiful impact.

Quick Fixes for Bland Architecture: If your home simply doesn’t shine from an architectural standpoint, there’s hope. Crown molding adds instant polish to plain walls, and chair rails increase the formality of a room, while bead-board can lend a relaxed, beachy vibe. Don’t forget the power of trompe l’oeil; this classic painting technique gives the look of expensive molding with just some tape, a can of paint and a paintbrush, and some elbow grease. Updating the builder-grade treads, newel posts, and balusters of your staircase can turn an outdated eyesore into a stage-setting feature. Ceilings can also be dressed up, with ceiling medallions surrounding light fixtures and pressed tin giving subtle detail. And if these tricks don’t fit the bill, there’s always the opportunity to search for another home that would better fit your architectural aesthetic.

Recurrent Design Styles: Interior design styles come and go, with old looks becoming new classics, with a dose of modernity added for good measure. Here, a few styles that deserve your re-acquaintance. Art Deco: A streamlined, geometric style that was popular in the 1920s, 1930s, and again in the 1960s, Art Deco features materials such as chrome, mirrored accents, inlaid wood, and exotic animal skins. Eclectic: Nearly anything goes in the eclectic style, with pieces ranging the spectrum of color, era, and material. The key to executing the look correctly is balance and scale. English: A heavy use of wood, numerous collections on display, and intermingling of patterned pieces in traditional colors and prints such as floral, plaid, and paisley create a busy yet charming English look. Mid-Century Modern: Generally considered to stretch from the 1930s to the 1960s, this style features clean lines, organic shapes, and a bevy of manmade materials, such as Lucite, vinyl, and melamine. Moroccan: Jewel tones, patterned fabrics, Oriental rugs, and carved-wood furniture mingle to create a warm, exotic Moroccan feel. Rustic: This style can span in style from grand hunting lodge to primitive cabin, but the consistent elements are natural materials, such as wood, leather, suede, and wrought iron. Ornamentation is generally more subdued, allowing the natural beauty of the elements to shine through. Tudor: With origins rooted firmly in the period from 1485 to the late 1500s, this traditional style is generally highly decorated with use of ornate furnishings, contrasting patterns, rich colors, pewter accessories, and flooring of stone or brick.

Has this whet your appetite to change your environment?