Home is more than four walls and roof. Home is a door opening to you, your family, your pets, your lifestyle, your neighborhood, your community, your city. It’s all encompassing on so many levels.
Here Kitty, Kitty
Designing with Leo in Mind: Bring a little August energy home with bold color, warm textures, statement pieces, and just the right touch of drama. Check out our newest listing — in the style of Leo.
August. It’s hot, it’s golden, it’s dramatic, and it has absolutely no intention of slipping quietly into fall. To put it celestially, it’s Leo season.
Ruled by the sun and generally associated with warmth, confidence, creativity and a certain appreciation for being noticed, Leo provides surprisingly good inspiration for interiors. And no, this does not mean adorning your house in lions and zodiac symbols.
Don’t do that or we are in kitsy territory. Instead, think about what makes a room feel confident. What makes you stop when you walk into it? What makes a house feel less like it was decorated from a catalog and more like someone bold actually lives there?
For a little August experiment, we took one of our Corva listings and gave it some Leo energy, virtually, of course. Just a little inspiration to see what this cool home can look like underneath the guise of our kitty friend.
Adding some rich color and drama makes this living room perfect for cozy eves.
Start With the Sun
Leo is ruled by the sun, so warmth is an obvious place to begin.
Gold, amber, ochre, cognac, rust and warm caramel can completely change the temperature of a cool or neutral room without touching the paint. Even a gray room suddenly feels warmer when you bring in honey-colored woods, aged brass, golden textiles and warm lighting.
And you don't need all of them. One beautiful ochre chair may do more for a room than a ton carefully coordinated beige accessories ever could.
Every Room Needs a Diva
This might be the most important rule. Every room needs one thing that knows it's fabulous. Something that gets people talking. Maybe it's an oversized piece of art. A velvet sofa. A vintage mirror. An outrageous lamp. A sculptural chair. A rug you'd normally be afraid to buy.
The trick is letting that piece have the room. If the sofa is the diva, the rug doesn't also need to be a superstar.
That balance is what keeps bold decorating sophisticated instead of chaotic.
Creating a functional space
Taking a small space and making it your own
Bring in a Little Gold
Leo and gold are natural companions, but there is a very fine line between warm glamour and Vegas hotel lobby. And yes, we do know gold has been overplayed in all trendy aesthetics, but to is a true classic when it comes to finishing rooms off.
We prefer aged brass, antique gold, warm bronze and metals with a little patina for that old world feel.
A mirror frame, lamp, side table, picture frame or hardware can catch the light beautifully without making the entire room look like it won a trophy.
Elevate the kitchen area with new pulls, adding some fresh flowers, and rug to bring it all together
Don't Be Afraid of Drama
Somewhere along the way, decorating became very concerned with resale. Ew. This is not what we tell our sellers to do for their listings. We cannot tell you how bored we are with beige, greige, and the neutrality of HGTV styled homes.
We don’t like forgettable. We want homes to feel lived in so that you can feel like you want to live there. We aren’t going for that showroom look.
Hang the giant painting. Buy the weird chair. Display the thing you brought home from a trip. Put wallpaper somewhere unexpected. Mix an antique with something completely modern.
A home doesn't have to appeal to everyone. In fact, the most memorable ones rarely do. Leo is all about shaking that mane.
Adding gold accents and velvety textures changed the mood of this room instantly
Animal Print Is Practically a Neutral
The problem with animal print decor is that people overdo it. It can make a statement in its soloness. Choose animal print decorative pillows, a small upholstered stool, a vintage zebra-patterned rug? They are statements that don’t shout at you.
Used sparingly, animal prints have been wandering in and out of sophisticated interiors for decades. They add pattern without requiring an entire color scheme to be built around them.
Give Yourself Something Luxurious
Leo energy isn't only about being seen. There's also something wonderfully indulgent about it. So bring in something that simply feels good.
Velvet. Linen sheets. An absurdly soft throw. A reading chair you can disappear into. Beautiful glassware you stop “saving for company.” Fresh flowers on an ordinary Tuesday.
Luxury doesn't necessarily mean expensive. Sometimes luxury is simply using the good stuff.
Leo energy can be found outside too. Add some soft outdoor lighting, textiles, and voila you have some seasonal drama on your hands.
Let Your House Have a Personality
We spend a lot of time in real estate talking about houses in terms of bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage and resale value. Those things matter, but eventually, somebody has to live there.
Utilizing nooks and unthinkable spaces can become useable and standout spaces. Sometimes buyers will walk into an empty home and don’t see the potential of what a home can bring. What looks like an empty boring space can become a sophisticated and lived in invitation. When did we stop showing off our homes? Let it roar with drama as the Fall and holidays approach!