How to make your home look like you hired an Interior Designer

I’ve long enjoyed a passion for contemporary architecture and interior design, although this area was not my field of study. It takes a certain eye to be able to pull a room together and make it fabulous and functional, all at the same time. With that being said, not everyone can afford to hire an interior designer to come into their home, guiding all their design decisions. Some of us actually want to be the one who makes our own design decisions, using our own individual style and preferences.

It took me —and Aneta— a while to get things up and running at our apartment in Redwood City. By the way, we weren't in agreement with each other all the time, but we both compromised to each other's ideas to find a common ground to work on, and eventually worked out our differences of point of views and styles. Here's a tip if you are unsure of the final outcome or arrangements that you have made: snap a photo. Pictures of a room will allow you to see the design from a different view point, helping to see if you went wrong somewhere along the way. Remember, it’s your home and you are the one who has to live in it, so create a home that you love —a home that portrays who you are.

My style is contemporary

Unlike modern design, contemporary design it's constantly evolving to reflect the popular styles of present day design. It borrows qualities from modernism, minimalism, Art Deco, and other global styles, without hyper-focusing on any one in particular. Though contemporary design is, by nature, fairly ambiguous, there are a few qualities that help define the contemporary style. Neutral palettes, stark minimalism, clean lines, and organic silhouettes are some of the prominent characteristics. You can expect to see materials including nickel, steel, and chrome, combined with natural textures like hemp or jute.

The Taj Table Lamp

Described by designer Ferruccio Laviani as both essential and bold, the Kartell Taj LED Table Lamp is uncluttered, minimal, and incredibly sensual. The strength of the piece is instantly evident (inspired by the graceful curve of an elephant's tusk), and the touch sensor/slide dimmer is intrinsic to the fixture, located right below the LED array.

If you can’t hire an interior designer, you can still have a home that looks like you did. You can find online a bunch of little tips and tricks that work together to create a well-designed home space.

I'll share more photos soon, but hopefully this post can give you and idea of what the apartment looks like. Feel free to leave your comments below with feedback and any contemporary interior design tips or ideas that you would like to share.