Home Build
When my husband and I took on the challenge of building a fully custom home that meant picking out every little detail. Think about the things like your garbage disposal to the hinges of doors to everything in between and it gets overwhelming fast. One thing that always felt important was making sure the house felt cohesive throughout. Not just the hardware, a single room, or a couple pieces here and there. I wanted the whole home to feel like it blended together seamlessly while still having unique character in each room. Creating a cohesive home doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep reading for my tips on how to accomplish a balanced and coordinated home.
The Previous Era
Growing up in the early 1990’s it was common to look through a magazine and circle the bedroom furniture sets you loved. From the bedframes to desks and even down to the matching bedspread, curtains, and pillow sets these magazines had it all. Remember those fuzzy heart pillows, flowers, and peace signs? Ah, the nostalgia! Because of this, I grew up thinking that when it came to furniture pieces you bought the whole matching set. It was adorable and on trend in my 90’s bedroom after all.
Once I was grown and had a house of my own and it came time to buy furniture for my bedroom I went straight for a whole matching set at the furniture store. This time, it wasn’t cute. The room looked overly full and heavy. The furniture pieces were too matchy-matchy and felt bulky and heavy handed. I quickly realized that a coordinated home did not have to match perfectly, but was not sure how to achieve a cohesive look without going the route of a full furniture set.
My Realization
During outings I began finding myself looking at spaces and rooms that spoke to me. Whether at a coffee shop or a friend’s home I started looking at the details of the rooms I favored. I did not see perfectly matching furniture sets, but the home did not feel oddly eclectic either. There was a cohesive feel to the room and often even throughout the majority of the home even though nothing perfectly matched.
It dawned on me that there was a way to create a beautiful space and whole home, in fact, without having to have full matching sets of furniture, curtains, and throw pillows too. I just had to learn the tricks and how to curate a home that blended together beautifully and organically by thoughtfully matching styles and colors versus bringing in carbon copy pieces of one another.
My First Independent Home
Several years ago, I went through a very difficult time in my life and suffered through a divorce. After what I had been through I wanted nothing to do with my past life and other than some clothing and a few heirloom pieces I had brought into my past relationship I left everything else behind. I found a cute historic home that I rented and fixed it up. For the first time in my life I had full independence and allowance to decorate a home just like I wanted. It was the first home in my adult life that actually felt like home too!
I carefully picked furniture pieces and decor pieces and this time didn’t find a single matching set but instead bought individual pieces that flowed beautifully together. I loved that home. What I learned in my experience decorating that house is what I have brought with me in decorating the one that my husband and I currently reside in – and I think I have finally figured out how to decorate and create a cohesive home with just a few simple tips.
Tip # 1: Create a Theme
In order to create a cohesive home you need to know your theme. What style or styles are you aiming for? Do you like a cottage feel? If so, do you like a cottagecore, grandmacore, French farmhouse cottage, Cotswold cottage, etc.? Once you have a general theme you can still mix and match but it’s great to have an overarching style that you are aiming for especially when it comes to picking out larger furniture pieces like couches or dining tables.
Tip # 2: Have a Color Scheme
Like Tip # 1, your color scheme will follow you through your entire decorating process. For instance, in my historic rent house I used soft whites, grays, and blues. My “pop” of color was blue but the rest of my color palette were neutrals that worked well against one another and against my pop of color choice.
In our current home we have a lot of soft whites again, but this time we focused on a lot of wood tones to different browns, and our pop of color is sage green. The three colors go beautifully together, and I alternate what spaces have a heavier hand of the green and which ones just have an accent of the color. This allows for a soft cohesive flow from one room to another throughout the entire house.
Tip # 3: Balance
Following Tip # 2, it can be jarring to walk into a kitchen with all green cabinets, but never see green anywhere else in the home. In our living room and dining room we have cabinetry that is the same color as our kitchen cabinets, but in other spaces we may just have a rug, or pillows that have little bits of green to connect to the rest of the home without feeling like the whole house is green. Striking a balance with your theme, style of furniture, and color / pattern, especially a bolder color like the pop of color of your choosing is really important. You want to keep things from feeling to heavy handed and instead flow gently from one room to the next with a clear connection but not too obvious.
Tip # 4: Subtle Similarities
When it comes to furniture pieces but also decor in general it is important to keep things similar but in sneaky or subtle ways. For example, my couch has a Victorian feel to it. The legs of the couch are wooden and have simple carving that give them a bit of interest and slight flare. I found an armchair that has a very similar look on the legs of the chair. While the couch and chair are made from completely different manufacturers, are different colors, and have different styles overall with the chair being more of an American classic style they have slight similarities that allow them to blend.
If furniture is too uniquely different or the colors try to match but don’t or have zero color palette to bring them together (this can be achieved with patterns, throws, pillows, or covers) things can look to disjointed and eclectic in an unintended and unwanted sort of way. You don’t have to have all Victorian furniture – this will be too heavy handed – but little features and details should still complement one another and be subtly seen even if on an almost subliminal level.
Tip # 5: Do What You Love
This tip doesn’t specifically focus on creating a cohesive home, but it does help create a home you truly love—and that matters most. For years, I was not able to create the home I dreamed of creating. Once I was on my own and allowed to be me I could finally create a home that felt like, well, home. Because I wasn’t fighting against anything or anyone, my home became naturally more cohesive. We naturally gravitate toward things we find cozy, charming, and beautiful.. We’re naturally drawn to things we want to surround ourselves with. Utilize what calls to you when it comes to picking out your theme, colors, and overall style.
The more you lean into what you love the more cohesive your home will naturally feel and organically become. The more you decorate your home with what you love the more it will in turn feel like your home. This can be challenging when you and your housemates don’t necessarily agree on style, but I am all about compromise. You can still bring in a little of it all and keep things cohesive, just like my couch and armchair. They are two very different styles and eras of furniture but they still work beautifully together.
Looking For More Inspiration?
We are well into spring and ramping up quickly to summer. While spring is still in full force don’t forget to check out my Spring 2026 Bucket List post where you can download a free bucket checklist. Just because spring is almost over doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of this. The bucket list is reusable for years to come!
With summer well on the way, I know a lot of people are trying to get ready for swim season. I have two recent posts on my fitness routines. One is my regular workout routine and the other is for those of you who are currently pregnant or hoping to be soon!
As always, don’t forget to sign up for my email list where you can download a free cleaning checklist that will keep your home clean all year long. Simply click on the “Download Your Checklist” button on my Homepage and it will be automatically sent to your email.
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