Figuring out the right look for your home might require a bit of inspiration. Look no further than whimsical storybook-style home design to create the ultimate getaway from the world’s stressors. These tips will help you create a playful and imaginative environment that makes your house the dreamiest in your neighborhood.
1. Find Your Fun
The idea of a storybook house began in the early 1900s when Hollywood producers needed medieval European buildings on sets for their movies. People who attended the premieres and became fans of these films recreated the style to bring the charming architecture back into the real world.
Reflect on what you consider charming and whimsical. Whatever strikes you as a fun color or piece of decor may work in your home’s new design. As long as your decorating choices match your idea of fun, you’ll personalize the design style with little effort.
2. Pick Your Storage Preferences
Sometimes people try to create storybook homes that end up looking like chaos. Your house will look unbalanced if your design elements don’t have a purpose. Focusing on storage possibilities can prevent that. Multipurpose furniture could become a room’s focal point or highlight and make the rest of your design choices blend into the background.
3. Browse Unexpected Color Combinations
Modern design schemes sometimes rely on the same color combinations to create an aesthetic. Soft grays and navy blues are popular, but they’re too often associated with minimalist, rustic or oceanside homes to work in a whimsical house.
Think about picking unexpected color combinations to make a personalized palette. You’ll limit your options to two or three hues that tie each room’s aesthetic together without straying from your inspirational theme. Forest greens, royal purples and dragon-scale maroons are a few ideas that pull colors from fairytales. Consider which stories you love the most to get started.
4. Weave Your Theme Throughout the House
Your indoor design elements will set the tone for your home, but the property won’t feel like it’s straight out of a storybook if the outdoor design is too modern. Reflect on exterior elements you could change or upgrade to make a cohesive theme.
You could switch standard asphalt shingles for thatched ones and provincial revivalism turrets. Each of these options creates a fairytale cottage exterior, which can also include:
- Curved edging
- Stacked gables
- Steep slopes
Compare all options that fit your price range to reinvent your home’s exterior. Once it has a whimsical curbside appeal, the interior design choices that follow will complete your renovations.
5. Centralize a Natural Element
Fairytales almost always include a natural element. Whether a story has an enchanted forest, talking animals or palaces made of stone, it’s an integral part of the whimsical storybook-style design. Pick something as the foundation of your design choices. Utilizing the same type of wood or stone in every room will subtly combine their different purposes into an overarching theme.
6. Pinpoint a Period
When thinking about your future storybook house, you might wonder what a medieval-inspired home looks like. There can be many answers to that question. You’ll find the right design by pinpointing a period with the architecture you like best.
There were three European medieval ages known as the early, high and late periods. You can recreate them with vintage furniture and thrift store finds that mimic handcrafted designs. You’ll add the right elements to your home’s interior decorations or architecture as long as they remind you of European cottages or medieval palaces.
7. Use Clean Elements
Many medieval furniture pieces and architectural elements had intricate carvings depicting biblical or period-specific scenes. Adding too much will make your house’s design look too busy.
Keep your chosen details clean with fine lines that balance a room’s look. A four-poster bed with gothic carvings in a room with straight-edged wooden picture frames on the wall would look much more appealing than if the frames were mismatched or as uniquely carved.
8. Emphasize Natural Lighting
Back in the periods that inspired storybook houses, people relied on candles for lighting. You can recreate the cozy ambiance with candles around your home, but you should also emphasize natural lighting in every room.
Gauzy curtains add a homey feel to living rooms and bedrooms while allowing as much sunlight into the house as possible. You’ll enjoy more golden hour sunshine and hazy sunrises that will make you feel transported back in time.
9. Browse Storybook-Style Homes
There are numerous websites and books dedicated to storybook architecture and interior design. Browse them for inspiration if you can’t think of ways to integrate this style into your home. You’ll discover various element usage and placement throughout the world that might help you rethink the look or feel of your house.
10. Remember Your Yard
You’ll likely need to rethink your landscaping to complete your home’s design changes. Modern elements like wooden pathways and minimalist shrubs won’t look natural against a backdrop of storybook roofing, shutters and porch decor.
A few additions will make a big visual difference on your property. Plant willow trees around a flower garden to bring cottage romance to your home. A vegetable garden with rustic fencing and a stone pathway also recreates medieval life in the modern world. Play around with various landscaping ideas or meet with a professional to discuss which plants would best match your whimsical upgrades.
Master Whimsical Storybook-Style Designs
Anyone can create a home with a whimsical storybook-style design without much hassle. To plan your next upgrades, you only have to reflect on what inspires you about medieval periods and architecture. Whether you decide to change your roofing material, paint color scheme or landscaping, you’ll actualize the ultimate home for yourself and your loved ones.
