4 Easy Ways to Make Your Home Interiors More Personal

Your home is the one place you can call your own, where you’re free to make everything about you. A cookie-cutter interior design — the generic ones you see on Pinterest — are beautiful, but they lack a certain “homey” feel; they look like unlived model properties. Once you have your own place, every design aspect, from the color of the kitchen cabinets to the shape of the pool, is yours to change and personalize, so take advantage of that.

There’s just a problem — changing these design elements would require a lot of time, money, and energy. Not everyone has those luxuries, especially when you’re juggling work, child care, and household duties.

So we compiled a list of ways to inject your personality into your living space, without taking too much of your time or breaking the bank. These won’t require renovations or experts; just a little creativity and a unique touch of “you.”

Put Up Photos of the Family

Nothing is more personal than photos of your vacations, the kids’ graduations, soccer games, ballet recitals, school plays, and everything in between. In fact, photos are the first thing that real estate agents ask the home sellers to remove from their property during staging; photos are so personal that potential home buyers won’t be able to imagine themselves in the property if pictures of the family are still hanging on the walls.

Photos tell the story of your family, and they are one of the best personal home decors you’ll find.

Create a Simple Photo Gallery

You won’t go wrong with buying photo frames and lining them on the shelf, but if you want to take it up a notch, create a gallery wall of photos. Take a cue from Michael J. Fox. Even though he has tons of photos of other celebrities and exotic holidays, all the pictures on a long hallway in their New York apartment are of family. The frames are larger than the pictures, which create a thick, elegant border of white space between the photo and the colored edge of the frame.

Elevate Your Gallery

Architectural Digest also offers a few other ideas for your photo wall:

• Choose two colors of frames, one neutral (black, for instance) and one pop of color (cherry red) to add more depth into the gallery
• Create a floor-to-ceiling display of full-color images, with frames that are the same color as the wall.
• Hang portraits of the children on the fireside.

Map Your Adventures

Family trips are some of the best memories you build with your partner and kids, and these vacations provide wonderful inspiration for a map décor. Photos document your trips to different places across the world, but an actual map visualizes just how far you have traveled.

Create a Simple Travel Memory Map

You can buy a travel map that already comes with special push pins. Hang the map on a bare wall, like the one in the living area, above the couch or the fireside. Then, mark each destination with a push pin and some notes. Stores that sell these maps offer a wide array of designs, from full-color world maps to old-fashioned maps complete with ancient navigational symbols.

If you want to make one, simply buy a map of your choice and stick it to a corkboard so the push pins won’t damage the wall. Then, buy your choice of push pins and start marking your globetrotting adventures!

Kick It Up a Notch

To add dimension to this décor, flank the map with two, rectangular pieces of framed cork memo boards on the sides. Using the same push pins, stick your most prized travel keepsakes, whether they are postcards, ticket stubs, boarding passes, or travel pictures. Don’t fuss over the placement of the mementos — they’re meant to be messy. The bareness of the map complements the busy feel of the corkboard.

Together, the map and corkboards make for a conversation piece that will intrigue and impress every guest.

Display Your Personal Collections

What do you collect? Are you like Tom Hanks, who collects typewriters, or Janet Jackson, who collects pig figurines? As a collector, you can instantly make your interior design stand out from others by putting your collection in display.

For example, if you collect fun mugs, crystal goblets, or antique plates, take them out of the kitchen and display them on a wall in the living area. Look into DIY shelf-making tutorials online, create a special nook for your prized possessions, and stack them elegantly on the rows.

Collections made out of paper, like autographs, stamps, or paper bills from different countries, can be placed in frames and mounted on the walls. There are coin albums with covers that are beautiful enough to be left as a coffee table book. Your collectible comic books can also be framed or stored in a lockable case with a glass panel. Vinyl records, which should always be kept in their album jackets, are best stored upright on a bookshelf.

Have Household Items Customized and Personalized

From initials carved into a chessboard to monogrammed kitchen towels, personalized household items make the interiors grounded to your family.

Let’s start with one of the most beloved — and easily customizable — family item of all: your cornhole set! Choose from 13 different colors for your personalized cornhole bags, plus you can add your family name or quote. Have the cornhole customized, too; we can put any design you want.

Here are other items you can customize:

• Casserole Carrier – Never lose your casserole carrier at the next potluck party.
• Car Mats – There’s not a lot of room for personalization in the family car, but the car mats can easily be stamped and labeled.
• Holiday Wreaths – Make your wreath a notch above the rest by adding a paper cut of the family monogram.
• Beach Towels – Always mixing up the towels? Have the towels embroidered with the initials of the family members.

There’s nothing more enjoyable than coming home to a space filled with elements that remind you of your adventures, your family’s milestones, and the things that will create more memories for all of you. Once you personalize your living space, your home will truly be where your heart is.

Start this project with a set of beautiful, personalized cornhole boards and bags. Send us a message, and we’ll make you a one-of-a-kind cornhole set.