Reem from Fashion Gone Home shares her secrets for designing a space that has a good fashion sense
In the day and age of Instagram and constant social media posting, having a good looking home feels more important than ever. But how do you bring a sense of fashion into your home? Reem from Instagram account Fashion Gone Home spoke to Bliving about designing with style in mind.
After eight years in the fashion industry, and attending multiple Fashion Weeks in Paris and London, I learnt that there was more to style than overpriced outfits that you wear once. Being fashionable is a lifestyle. There’s a smart way of shopping that goes with it, like spending bigger on the long term more durable, items, and spending smaller on trend pieces. When we spend so much time and effort putting together outfits, it only seems right that the same diligence is paid to our homes. After all, having an ugly house is far worse than having a bad outfit, because you can’t take it off! So, how does one bring fashion home? Here are my top five tips:
Treat your house as an outfit
Start by asking yourself, would you wear the style you have in your home as an outfit? Does it represent your personal taste? In my opinion, the way your house looks says more about you than your outfit. You can tell a lot about someone from their home, whether they’re messy, detail oriented, loud, calm or flamboyant. As soon as you realize that your furniture is just as important as your clothes and how you present yourself to the world, you will naturally be drawn to create a more unique, stylish home.
Stay knowledgeable about trends
I say ‘knowledgeable’ as opposed to ‘up to date’ because you don’t necessarily need to follow all the trends, but you do need to be aware of them. Then you can decide if it fits you and how you can integrate it in your home. Take the “boho” style for example It is a nice, relaxing, style that works well in most homes, you need to decide where you want to use it. Do I want every room to be crafted in this style or do I want to add a hint of boho to a couple rooms? In deciding this you need work out how much you like and the longevity of it, do you think this is something that you will love for a long time? Or, is it just a phase?
Based on those answers, you will know whether you want to pop a few of this trend’s cushions here and there, or invest in a sofa or bed that’s in-line with this trend. If you like to test out trends before adopting, just make sure to start with something that doesn’t cost a fortune, I do exactly the same for my clothes! I test out the trend with items from the high-street and only spend invest money in items that I know I will wear over and over again.
Personalise it
Another tip I use both in fashion and interiors, is personalisation. I never just buy a piece and use it exactly how it was displayed in the shop, I call these ‘walking look-books’ where your new item is styled up with those you own already to look magazine-chic. To do this in your home, buy something and add your personal touch to it with the items you already own. Mix it with something older you have to create your own style.
Adding a personal touch is easy with pictures, whether that’s of loved ones or holiday snaps that bring back happy memories, make sure your home sings to you.
Change it up
How many times do you wear an outfit, exactly the same way? If it’s not very often, then the same should go for your home!
In retail, they change things up often. You can walk into the store on Tuesday, and then again on Thursday and be fooled into thinking they’ve got a new collection, but all they really did was shift things around. Every now and then, it is nice to bring this same fresh energy to your home by moving things around. Whether it’s the bookshelf styling or the entire room’s set-up. It helps to keeps things fresh and gives you a sense of novelty – even though you haven’t bought anything new. You
Be unexpected
My favourite way to be fashionable is to wear something eye-catching and unusual. In your home, I suggest saying goodbye to typical room layouts. Why not give your sofa the prime location that faces the view/sunlight? That way you’ll get to enjoy that, rather than starring at a TV.
Consider using furniture in uncommon ways, for example a couple of side tables along with some poofs can be an interesting coffee table. A lamp can add an interesting look to your bathroom or kitchen counter. Thinking outside the box can mean you’re able to create a show-stopping statement – the same goes for both interiors and outfits!
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