Monday, July 14, 2014

Visual Clutter in Homes and A Question?


Today I have a simple question for all my blogger friends, lovely readers and fellow decor enthusiasts :) In your decorating journey do you ever succumb to visual clutter? Let me explain this further! I am not talking about excess stuff in the home, junk etc....that's a whole other story :) I am referring to "decorating in excess"......where your home is filled to the brim with curios, artifacts, patterns and colors!

While patterns and colors can be energizing and creative, too much of it hurts my eye. By this, I don't mean that one should be minimalistic or use soothing color palettes. For me it means striking the right balance when you chose patterns and colors for your space. I need to feel rested when I walk into my home! Too many patterns just exhaust me and my eyes :)

While everyone has a different personal style, I  want to know how do you reduce visual clutter in your home? Some magazines and blogs showcase rooms where the space looks fabulous! ! However when you look closely, can you see yourself relaxing in that space? Beautiful throws and fabrics in myriad patterns adorn every piece of furniture, its dreamy alright but is it practical and calming?

I for one, am constantly trying to achieve the right balance. The desire to create a calm and peaceful home is the driving force behind my decorating style! I am not sure if I am there yet, but for now I am happy the way things are :)

Can you achieve both? A home filled with things you love, and and a visually calming and peaceful home? I would love to hear your take on this? Everyone's decorating rules are different, and I am not talking about attaining perfection either. However, exchanging ideas and thoughts is fun, don't you think?


Image: My Dream Canvas

11 comments:

Unknown said...

That is a design or decor dilemma that everyone face. But as rightly pointed by you, what seems perfect to you may seem lacking for others. This dilemma happens between me and my husband. (I won't say who stands where :) ). It's been a little over a year since we moved to our new home...I seem to still struggle to find that right way of setting it so that it's comfortable for my family and feels like home. I guess some space go through a series of iteration before even it can be deemed cozy/perfect :) (in the eyes of homeowners)

My Dream Canvas said...

Thanks for your comment Vidhya! Yes a home evolves as we go along , the journey is what makes it special :) Striking a healthy balance between two individual's choices can be a tough too :)

deb said...

Yes, I agree there can be too much. I have a two-word solution: plastic bins! It's painful to put things away but I find I'm always happier with less, visually. Ironically! Some things can be put in storage and you can always switch things out. It's like going shopping in your own house, and you discover new things all over again. But when bringing new things out, always put a few things away. This helps avoid visual clutter.

Harshika said...

I agree with you completely. I have a friend who has an extremely cluttered space but then, somehow, she pulls it off! Her house is gorgeous inspite of the crowdedness. I wish i could shsre pics here. Yet another friend has a similar home, but her's looks like a bombsite! I guess some folks pull it off while most of us dont. Like coco chanel asked us to deck up. Then remove one thing from our ensemble before stepping out, if you know what i mean! Your own house decor is perfectly balanced though.

My Dream Canvas said...

Deb you are a gal after my own heart. We think alike :) Yes, I too put away stuff perhaps for a new season or atleast for a few months. Then the joy of rediscovering it is almost akin to shopping for new stuff :) Thanks for stopping by!

My Dream Canvas said...

Harshika, I so agree that it differs from person to person almost like some people have the ability to carry off something and some don't :) Thanks for stopping by and really appreciate your comment about my house!!

Unknown said...

I feel we, who love to collect things, love to put things on display all the time. There was a time I used to do the same but as the stuff increased , things got out of hand. Now, I have started rotating and shuffling things around. I have a closet just for my knick knacks and I keep bringing out something and putting back something else in exchange. This way I get to break the monotony of the rooms by changing the artifacts and arrangement and also not to cram things that end up cluttering the place .

Unknown said...

I love to experiment and change the look every now and then, even if its a small change. So, I keep on reshuffling the items! By doing so, not only I get new ideas, I (try to) minimize the visual clutter too :).

My Dream Canvas said...

Reshma, yes rotating and shuffling is a great way, I do that all the time too :) I have to remove something to get in something else or the space looks too busy for my liking :)

My Dream Canvas said...

Kunjun, yes reducing visual clutter seems to be an ongoing process for most of us :) Thanks for stopping by!

Jane@Bluebird1959 said...

I think that is what I like about blogging - when I take pictures of a room or space in my house there are times when I look at the photo and go, "whoa? what was I thinking?!" because the shot was so visually cluttered. i think taking photos really helps keep some of the clutter down because you look at your space differently than when you are actually present in the space. Jane

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