Ideas for Newlyweds to Achieve a Sophisticated Home Interior Design

Until now, you’ve always decorated your apartments with bead curtains, and posters of your favorite bands were your only form of wall decor. Perhaps you tried to achieve a trendy or stylish home decor in past homes, but feel you’ve always fallen short. Or, maybe you lived with your parents up until your wedding day. Now that you’re a newlywed, you might feel that you need a little help with decorating a more grown-up home interior. Consider these ideas to achieve a sophisticated interior design in your first home as a married couple.

Condense your belongings to minimize clutter

A sleek, sophisticated interior design does not consist of clutter. Between combining your things and his, and all your wedding gifts, you probably have a lot of things you don’t need. First of all, box up everything you no longer need, and either donate it or have a garage sale. Now, organize everything behind closed doors as much as possible–in drawers, cabinets and so on.

Swap out the futon for a real sofa

Can’t afford to buy brand-new furniture just yet? Many newlyweds are in the same boat, including my husband and myself. While you work on saving up for a new sofa, cover the old hand-me-down with a slipcover or cover the futon cushion in a solid-colored sheet and dress it up with several complementary accent pillows.

Pull the living room together with an area rug

The simple act of laying down an area rug can pull together a seating area and give it a more grown-up look. Rugs can be expensive so, if you can’t afford a nice one just yet, start out with a plain, inexpensive one that works with your decorating style. Place rugs near the door, in the bathroom and in the kitchen to coordinate with your decor.

Opt for more grown-up wall art

Posters work in the dorm room, but they won’t help you achieve a sophisticated interior design (unless they are nicely framed and somehow further the room’s theme). This doesn’t mean you have to go out and buy expensive artwork, though. If you can’t afford to buy paintings, make your own. Replace hideous prints that are in nice frames with your own photos, or even with a page from a calendar. Or, paint the frame on a cheap mirror and decorate it to enhance your home’s style.

Color-coordinate your walls and decor

To achieve a sophisticated home interior design, you will need to make sure everything works well together. This means style, texture, pattern and–very importantly–color. Painting the walls is the last thing you should do. After everything else has been decided upon, choose a paint color that works well with all of the hues already present in the room.

More from Tonya:
Romantic design ideas for the bedroom
What not to do when designing your kitchen
How to use accent lighting in the home