You’ve come a long way in the custom home building process. As move-in day nears, harness your growing excitement to refine your decorating ideas for a new home!
Browsing home design trends for interiors and exteriors is a great place to start – but you didn’t choose the custom home route to end up with a decor scheme that looks like everyone else’s. Selecting the decorating elements your family will have to live with for the foreseeable future can feel overwhelming, especially after all the decisions you’ve already made.
The pros at Weaver Custom Homes are here to help. We crafted this guide, on how to decorate your new home so that it reflects your unique personality and sense of style.
Let’s start with some interior design basics, then we’ll give you our seasoned tips for getting started in an organized and constructive way.
Then we dig into the fun part: trendy and timeless decoration ideas for new home bliss!
Basics of Interior Decorating
No matter how many wow-worthy custom home features you include in your design plans, you still need to decorate a new house. Each room requires paint on the walls, furniture that fits the space, and artwork or accents that make it feel like home.
Here’s a breakdown of the three basics of interior decorating and how each one helps bring your style to life:
Color 
Color is the foundation of home decor. Choosing a cohesive color palette for your home goes a long way to create the vibe you want, whether that’s vibrant and lively, soothing and understated or sumptuously rich and cozy.
Consider these tips to narrow down a color palette you’ll love:
- Stick with only two or three main colors to keep the design clean and to avoid “color chaos.”
- Warm colors (red, orange, yellow) evoke happiness, vitality, and passion.
- Cool colors (blue, green, gray) bring up feelings of calmness, peace, and abundance.
- Neutral tones like ecru and beige can balance stronger colors.
- Monochrome palettes work best with many lighter and darker variations of your chosen color for an elegant and modern look.
- Complimentary colors lie opposite each other on the color wheel and create a pleasing balance.
- Analogous colors lie next to each other on the color wheel and lend a sense of harmony to a space. Pick three and make the middle shade the most dominant.
Achieve Colorful Balance With the 60-30-10 Rule
Use this simple rule to achieve a beautifully balanced palette that ties all your living spaces together:
- 60% – This is how much of your space should be in your dominant color. It’s the main event, the hue guests notice first and recall later. Use this color on:
- Walls
- Floor coverings
- Foundational furniture
- 30% – This is your secondary color, the sidekick to your dominant hue. It must be supportive yet interesting, as you’ll include about half as much as the main color. Use this hue on:
- Window treatments
- Upholstered accent chairs
- Second-tier furnishings
- 10% – This is the fun color – the accent color. You can use it to go bold and add character, or let it tone things down with more of a neutral feel. Use this color on:
- Throw pillows & accessory fabrics
- Decorative pieces
- Artwork
Texture
After color, textural elements do the most heavy lifting in the way you decorate a house. They appeal to our sense of touch as well as sight, adding depth and contrast to your home. Pairing hard and soft items or smooth and rough surfaces creates dimension, variety, and interest in any space. Accessories, like throw pillows and blankets, contribute layers of softness, but consider other opportunities for bringing in textures, like:
- Dimensional artwork – Collages, abstract oil paintings, chunky picture frames
- Flooring – Wood planks, woven rugs, ceramic tiles
- Wall Treatments – Exposed brick, reclaimed wood paneling, faux stone applications
- Accent Pieces – Fabric lamp shades, marble sculptures, wood or metal boxes
Pattern
Patterns are the two-dimensional version of texture. They add visual definition, character, and a sense of scale to decorations. Ideas for new home decor that incorporate pattern include wallpaper, wood inlays, tile layouts and upholstery. Keep these guidelines in mind as you decorate a new home with patterns:
- Scale – Large-scale patterns make a big statement while small-scale patterns add subtle interest to a space.
- Color – Sticking with one hue creates a sense of unity in decor that includes patterns.
- Balance – It’s okay to mix patterns, but keep it limited to two or three that vary in scale and come from the same color family. Step back and evaluate. If your eye gets “stuck” on one pattern or the room feels “off,” consider eliminating one pattern.
Tips For Getting Started
With a firm handle on the basics, it’s time to dig into how to decorate your home without getting overwhelmed by all the choices out there. Here’s how:
1. Define Your Style
Before you go buying paint and accessories, spend some time defining your personal style. You don’t have to commit to just one, but choosing an interior design style for your home will help guide you to the colors, textures, and patterns that will feel the most cohesive.
2. Create a Layout Plan
Deciding where the larger furniture pieces will go may seem premature before you move into your new home. But a solid layout plan allows you to better envision the placement of other decorative elements, like wallpaper focal points, artwork arrangements and accessory groupings. At Weaver’s Design Center, your personal consultant will work alongside your custom home builder to make your personalized floor plan an invaluable asset for this step!
3. Save & Select Quality Pieces
You don’t need to buy all new furniture to decorate a new house! Evaluate your existing pieces to see what’s worthy of making this move with you, then invest in quality pieces that complement them and build your style. Criteria for keepers can include:
- Sentimental Value – Family heirlooms or pieces linked to important life moments
- Monetary value – Pieces you’ve already invested in that maintain timeless appeal
- Stylish Value – Unique pieces that dovetail with your personal style in a meaningful way
Home Decor Ideas to Elevate Your Space
Now that you understand the basics of interior design and have started narrowing down your style, it’s time for the fun part: Exploring creative decorating ideas for your new home!
Though we indulge in a trend or two from time to time, we’re big fans of timeless decor that feels delightful year after year. Here are some great suggestions from the Weaver Custom Homes experts that can help you create a custom home design that will never go out of style:
Wallpaper
Wallpaper tends to elicit strong opinions. If you’re firmly on the “no way, no how” side, we understand. But if you’re wallpaper-curious, it’s a great way to express your family’s personality, especially in unexpected places like the guest bath or inside a pantry. Here’s how to incorporate it into you decor in a fresh, modern way:
- Define elegance – Classic wallpaper patterns, like damask and stripes, lend sophistication to traditional and transitional decor schemes.
- Make a Statement – A big, bold geometric or abstract pattern brings a contemporary edge to any space. Keep it effective by limiting it to one accent wall.
- Welcome Nature – Botanical prints bring a serene sense of calm to a space. Pair them with other natural elements, like rattan furniture and wood or stone accessories.
- Go Retro – Wallpaper that plays homage to the midcentury modern era can add charm and a whimsical touch to a home. Mix in a few vintage or retro-inspired furniture pieces to amplify the effect.
Mirrors
Mirrors and mirrored surfaces amplify light and expand the sense of scale in a room. Choose frames that dovetail with your overall style – ornate frames work best with traditional or retro themes whereas simpler frames can complement nearly any decor. And they’re perfect for bringing in that 10% accent color! Pro tip: Rather than hanging mirrors directly across from a window, hang them on an adjacent wall to bounce more daylight into the room.
Real Plants
Nothing breathes literal life into a new home like real houseplants. No green thumb? No problem! Options like succulents, philodendrons, and spider plants thrive when they’re ignored. Group small plants on bookshelves, place larger pots next to picture windows, or tuck a tall palm into a corner for a simple boost of freshness.
Handcrafted Accents
From woven rugs to thrown pottery to embroidered cushions, handcrafted accents bring warmth and charm to modern decorations. Ideas for new home decor that feels personalized include functional items like vases and bowls from a local artisan or craft guild. And consider how custom built-ins elevate your home design with character and creative storage.
Custom Window Treatments
One of the great aspects of going custom is that you can incorporate customized window treatments as decorating ideas for a new home. Whether you prefer the classic, stately look of plantation shutters or the softer feel of fabric drapes, use them to emphasize your secondary color choice! They’re also the perfect opportunity to bring patterns into your decor in a way that’s not overwhelming.
Get Started Designing Your Weaver Custom Home
Feeling less overwhelmed about how to decorate your new home? Want a knowledgeable and insightful partner in the process? Start your journey to an interior design that’s totally you with Weaver Custom Homes! Contact us today to get more decorating ideas for a new home you’ll love for the long haul.
