Rachel from gorgeous interior/lifestyle blog 'The Ordinary Lovely' gives us her best tips on creating a beautiful home in 2017- comfortable, stylish and straight from the pages of Ideal Home! Here's how to achieve an 'Ideal Home' home...
I love Ideal Home. It’s one of my favourite magazines. Who doesn’t love having a nosy around beautiful homes? It’s almost a national sport, isn’t it? I’d be willing to place a sizeable bet on the majority of RightMove’s daily traffic not being people actively searching for a new home. With a few minutes to spare, I can often be found browsing within the 3 to 4 million pound price bracket. You’ve got to have a dream, right? No matter how untenable.
I do have the occasional eye-roll moment when I read Ideal Home though, no matter how much I enjoy it. The homes featured often seem to belong to people with exceptionally creative or extremely well-paying roles. Without their vision or budget, I’m sometimes left wondering how on earth I can recreate the looks that I love.
However, flicking through past issues, I’ve noticed a few common elements in the majority of the homes. Almost like an Ideal Home formula. And I think that it can be applied to any house and any budget. Here are the five themes I’ve spotted:
Neutral backdrop/colourful accessories
Most homes featured in the magazine seem to have a very neutral backdrop. White or pale grey walls, with a few putty-coloured ones in recent issues (neutrals are a big trend in 2017). The colour comes from the accessories. Cushions, rugs, vases and books bring the rooms to life. Also, the amount of feature walls seem to be on the decline. You can still spot them in the magazine but certainly not in the quantities that you once could. Four pale-ish walls are the popular choice.
Open shelving
Open shelving is not something that I’m personally a fan of. Think of the dust gathering in your cups! However, Ideal Home homeowners love open shelving. You’ll be hard pushed to find a kitchen that doesn’t have a least one open shelf. I’ll admit, they do look lovely. Pale walls, beautiful kitchen, and open shelving featuring colourful accessories and vases of flowers. Visually, it’s a winner.
Flowers and greenery
On nearly every available surface, you’ll notice vases of fresh flowers or pots of leafy greenery. Now, I’m pretty sure that such vast amounts of flowers are purchased specifically for the day that the photos are taken but they’re still lovely to have around the home. If a weekly bunch or two of flowers are out of your budget, plants are an amazing option. Succulents are my ‘go to’ choice for adding something living to a room. They look amazing, are reasonably priced and require minimal upkeep.
Vintage finds
No matter how modern the home, or how new the conversion, an Ideal Home home always features either an amazing vintage find or a stunning, sentimental piece. It’s an element that’s hard to recreate but scour your local second hand shops or car boot sales for unique finds to add that quirky touch of character to your home.
A statement piece
Last but by no means least is the statement piece. There is ALWAYS a statement piece. It could be an oversized light or mirror, a chair covered in an extravagant fabric, or a colourful painting. It tends to be something that stands alone and therefore stands out.
What do you think? Will you be applying these five elements to your home?
Do you have any more to add to the list? Let us know in the comments (and why not treat yourself to a special piece of post every month with an Ideal Home magazine subscription)!
