7 Tips for Creating a Cohesive Home Design That Reflects Your Style

You know how when you watch HGTV and they’re doing the ‘after’ tour of a house, each room flows and finds that perfect balance where it’s not too matchy but doesn’t look like an amusement park funhouse? Yeah, that wasn’t what our house looked like when we moved in. It was far from a cohesive home design.

Our house is very cute. It has hardwood floors, a fireplace, vintage crystal doorknobs, and lots of character. But every room was a wildly different color and nothing matched.

Navy living room. Brownish-purple dining room. Teal guest room. Blue sunroom. Yellow bathroom.

Now that we’ve been here a year and have slowly worked on making this house feel like our home, it looks much more put together. Each room has its own feel, and we’ve made a few bold choices, like our DIY bedroom plank accent wall. But we’ve been intentional about ensuring every design decision contributes to a cohesive home aesthetic.

If you want your home to look polished and harmonious, here are our best tips for creating a cohesive home design.

Pick a Cohesive Home Design Color Palette That Works for Your House

Not every room needs to be painted the exact same greige color, but it helps to have a general color palette you stick to and mix up. For us, it’s the greige color of our living/dining/kitchen and guest room, with black/blue accents and wood tones.

Choosing a cohesive home color palette ties all your spaces together visually. Neutral tones like greige, white, and soft gray can act as a base, while accent colors such as navy or sage green add depth and personality.

The living/dining/kitchen area in our home is not fully open plan but feels connected because we painted all three rooms in the same neutral color. This makes the space feel larger, more cohesive, and brighter due to the natural light.

Repeat Design Elements in Every Room

Turns out I love building shelves. If you scroll through our Instagram, you’ll quickly notice that we have a lot of them.

In our living room, we built big, chunky floating shelves. In the kitchen renovation, we incorporated two thick open shelves. We also built a DIY mantel for our fireplace, and even in the nursery, I cobbled together some decorative shelves with scrap wood.

To create a cohesive design style, incorporate repeated elements like wood shelving, matching decor accents, or similar artwork throughout your home. This consistency brings harmony while allowing each space to retain its unique charm.

Use the Same Wood Stains and Finishes

To that previous point, we primarily use one of two wood stains for each wood element in our house—Early American or Special Walnut.

Using consistent wood finishes throughout your home is another way to create cohesion. Whether it’s for furniture, floors, or DIY projects, matching stains or finishes ties different areas together.

In our mudroom, we used the color Riverway by Sherwin Williams, a bold blue-green, while the bathroom features Muted Sage by Behr. Both colors complement the wood tones and neutral hues in the rest of the house, ensuring that the overall aesthetic remains cohesive.

Match Hardware and Light Fixtures Across Spaces

Each of our two bathrooms, the mudroom, and the kitchen all have black hardware. The brackets for our shelves in the nursery, pantry, kitchen, and mudroom are different styles but are still black.

Using consistent hardware and light fixtures is a simple way to create design unity. Black fixtures are a versatile choice that works with modern, farmhouse, and industrial home styles.

Replacing outdated fixtures, such as silver chandeliers or brass drawer pulls, with cohesive black or matte finishes can give your home a fresh, updated look.

Invest in Crisp White Trim for a Polished Look

Painting all doors, cased openings, molding, and trim in the same crisp white color throughout the house is one of the easiest ways to create cohesion. It not only makes your accent colors pop but also provides a clean, fresh canvas for any design style.

For our trim, we used Behr satin paint in the pure white base color—no tint. This choice saved time, money, and ensured consistency throughout the house.

When you’re working on creating a cohesive home design, remember that details like trim and molding can have a big impact.

Mix Up Your Decor While Keeping the Base Cohesive Home Deisgn Consistent

If you’re worried about everything looking too matchy-matchy, mix it up with unique decor items like rugs, throw pillows, and furniture.

For example, our guest room has farmhouse-style ticking stripe bedding, while our kitchen shelves showcase deep green glasses and plates. These choices add personality without disrupting the overall cohesive aesthetic.

When creating a cohesive home design, think of decor as the fun, flexible layer that allows for individual expression.

Match Your Front Door to Your Cohesive Home Design Interior Style

This one is just an extra because I literally did it yesterday and am obsessed, but painting your front door a fun accent color you’ve used elsewhere sets the tone for your home.

We painted ours Van Deusen Blue by Benjamin Moore, which complements the navy accents in our bedroom and contrasts beautifully with the light neutrals in the main living areas.

When choosing a cohesive design for your home, don’t forget your exterior—front doors, shutters, and even outdoor furniture can tie into your interior style.

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