How to Decorate a Room That Feels Purposeful

Top things to know about decorating a room that feels purposeful:

• Mixing contrasting tones and metals can add dimension and interest into your design.
• Blend wood tones for a more intentional feeling.
• Bring the outdoors in to create a calming environment.
• Utilize the color wheel when creating a palette for your space.
• Try your designs out with easy-to-use tooling before you implement them.

Want to know the difference between interior design and an unstyled room? Purpose. When you apply a small amount of strategy to your space, you can purchase funky decor, paint your walls bold colors, and buy that yellow velvet couch without consequence. The best part is that you'll develop your unique style throughout the process. This can easily be accomplished by embracing contrast and finding variety in your materials so it all looks like you intended.

Mix Contrasting Tones of Metals (If You Dare!)

If you want to add an industrial or even more modern feel to your space, you'll want to incorporate metal furniture and appliances. While there is nothing wrong with sticking to one metal material, don't be afraid to play with contrast. Using the room's color to guide you, consider if you're working with a cool or warm-toned space. For example, if you have a dark navy bedroom, you may want to bring in brighter metal decor to offset the darker tone, like an aluminum floor lamp.

Don't Try to Perfectly Match Your Wood Tones

Wood furnishings bring warmth to your home, but you don't want to overdo it. For example, have you ever walked into a room that feels like a cabin when it is very much not a cabin? If you use the same type of wood throughout the home, you can create a lumberjack style when you are going for farmhouse chic. Or worse, it looks like you ordered the whole set from a catalog because you were too afraid to get creative. While you should keep a common element to maintain a cohesive feeling, remember to mix up your wood tones—this way, it looks deliberate instead of a failed attempt to match.

Bring the Outdoors to You

You can never go wrong with plants (even if you don't have a green thumb). Faux plants have gotten remarkably good these days, and if you're concerned about looking fake, enjoy the greenery from afar by placing them higher up on your walls. IKEA has some pretty convincing options like their top seller FEJKA, which you can let dangle from a high shelf like any unwieldy ivy. The best part? Whether you go the artificial route or become a full-fledged plant parent, plants match everything.

Take the Fear Out of the Color Wheel

There's a reason maximalism is back, so don't be afraid to use more than one color in a space! Complementary colors are the opposites on the color wheel, and boy do these opposites attract. The visual contrast enhances each other. If you're intimidated by painting your walls something new, try a statement wall to see if you like it first. This works especially well if you want to go with a vibrant, bold color like Backdrop's Pretty Ugly or a more dark, dramatic shade like their Surf Camp. If you're still a minimalist at heart, monochrome, neutral tones, and classic black & white are still good options.

When in Doubt, Try it Out

You won't know if you like it until you try it. Spoak gives you the tools to create mood boards, develop floor plans, and build mock-ups of your room designs before you move forward with any projects. This saves you time, energy, and money, but it also is a great opportunity to share your ideas with family and friends if you want feedback and support before making a decision. Once you're ready to tackle the upgrade, Backdrop offers peel-and-stick paint samples to better understand how the color will look in your room.

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^{Photo Credit: (Left) Cup of Jo}