Functional Decor FTW
Executive summary: In my pursuit of minimizing the amount of stuff in my home while stopping short of living in a white box, I am always on the lookout for functional decor ideas. It’s all well and good to display art and things I like to look at on my walls and my horizontal surfaces (which I do!) but it’s even better if they serve a function besides eye candy.
Our move into the new condo went as smoothly as we could have hoped for … the biggest challenge was finding time to get anything done with a 2yo and 6yo constantly needing attention and getting underfoot. I’d mentioned previously that I feel slightly overwhelmed by the size (although I admit I’m quickly getting used to it) – we went from an 800 square foot 1br apartment to a 1300 sq ft “2.5br” condo overnight. That might not sound like much to most people, but it feels like a big change to me! My primary challenge in outfitting this larger home is filling it out but only with items that meet my usual high bar of functionality plus aesthetics. I can’t stand clutter or busy surfaces, and as much as I enjoy looking at design blogs and magazines, I feel stressed by the amount of STUFF that they display everywhere. Shelfies? Too many tchotchkes. Gallery wall? Too many frames to dust. Underutilized seating or furniture? Just another obstacle to vacuum around. My main motivation for being a minimalist is to make my life simpler/easier, so I don’t want a big home full of useless items (as harsh as that sounds). Decorating is much harder under those constraints, and trust me, I have to exercise a lot of restraint when walking through the home decor aisle of a store because there’s so much cute stuff out there! But I remind myself of the goal and focus on functional decor wherever possible. I don’t employ every idea in every home, but this is the tried-and-true list I mentally consult every time I think about decking out a room:
Hooks: They’re useful in hallways, bathrooms, bedrooms, almost anywhere. I acquired a collection of different ones to add interest to our home, from accordion hooks (bathroom) to whimsical hooks (kids’ room) to a hall tree with hooks (entryway) … I said it before, I’m hooked on hooks!
Mirrors: I use these sparingly because they are more work to keep looking clean, but they sure can make a room sparkle. I am particular to sunburst mirrors, although there are clearly (haha) many attractive mirrors out there of every shape and size.
Clocks: They can be big, small, on the wall, on a table, modern, rustic, whatever you like! However, I don’t want too many because then I’d have to change them all twice a year (can we just do away with daylight savings time already?)
Kitchen tools/appliances: We used to keep a Vitamix blender on the counter because we used it every day, although KitchenAid stand mixers probably grace kitchens more often. A crock of cooking utensils or a few oils and spices is so homey-looking too. These days, I like to keep my counters as bare as possible for super quick wipe downs, but I appreciate the dual-purpose functional and decorative nature of these items.
Bowls/pitchers: I generally use large bowls to hold food (e.g., fruit, snacks, things that we actually eat). I don’t do a bowl of photogenic lemons on the table because I’d never get through them, but bananas? The kids eat them every day, so the display isn’t just posing. I also employ bowls and pitchers as table centerpieces, the latter of which we use for watering our plants as well as holding the occasional bouquet of flowers.
Food/wine/liquor: On a related note, edible items in nice packaging can always double as decor, especially drinks. I do not decant into bins/jars, as it seems like unnecessary work, but things like wine and liquor bottles look nice as opposed to gaudy, so they can stay out if you have the space.
Trays: I don’t acquire trays for trays’ sake, but they are so useful for making a collection of things look intentional, like the booze I mentioned above.
Bins/baskets: I use attractive bins/baskets to corral random clothing and to serve as hampers. Why have an ugly plastic basket to cart my laundry around when I can use a nice wire or woven basket that can be left out in plain sight?
Books: I was an avid reader growing up but purged most of my physical collection of books as an adult because they were just too dang heavy to move around repeatedly. But they are a failsafe decor item for people who still have them lying around. In our last apartment, I put the kids’ books (which are really colorful) on display on picture ledges.
Bulletin boards/wall grids/clipboards: Memos, notes, calendars, etc. totally work on walls, provided they’re kept reasonably neat. I’ve hung up clipboards for years to hold onto frequently referenced papers, and they are just as good for showing off favorite pictures and prints.
Jewelry/scarves/other wardrobe accessories: I don’t have any jewelry besides my wedding ring and a necklace that literally hasn’t left my skin since I purchased it a decade ago, but if I did, I’d hang them up to decorate my wall instead of my body when not in use. I do have a scarf or two that can be left out on hooks, and can add a spot of color and texture to a room that needs it.
Kitchen/bathroom towels: I converted to Turkish towels for our bath towels years ago, as they are quick-drying and the fringe is so pretty. I use regular cotton towels elsewhere but always with a print/pattern I like so that they are as decorative as they are functional.
Pillows/throws: In moderation, I mean! I do not subscribe to piling pillows so high on a couch/bed that I have to spend 10 minutes every day removing and/or rearranging them ad nauseum (see my post on a minimalist bedscape here). The point of a pillow is to make sitting/lying down comfortable, so I only have as many pillows as serve that purpose. That means ~2 on the bed per person, and 1-2 per couch/chair, depending on the size.
Rugs: I used to think it was silly having them on top of carpet, but they do a good job of making your furniture look anchored while providing a color scheme to the room. And of course they are useful on hard floors especially with little kids crawling around.
Lamps/light fixtures: We replaced three light fixtures in our condo (the only three we’re allowed to touch) with ones that make more of a statement. We also have a few table and floor lamps, with an eye toward getting away from dust-catching fabric shades. Here, too, I go for simple design (e.g., I don’t do chandeliers with 8 bulbs, because I don’t want to deal with dusting them all or changing them when they burn out).
Window treatments: The previous owners had shades that always looked disheveled, so I replaced them with clean black curtain rods. We use blackout curtains in the bedrooms and lightweight ones in the living spaces to provide privacy at night without feeling suffocating. I am not a fan of decorative curtains that never actually get used – there are rods that don’t even span the window, which I find comical.
Instruments: My parents always said that they’d gift me my childhood piano whenever we “settled down.” I look forward to the day when I can have a minute to play it without the toddler screaming “no!!” and pulling my hands away. People also like to display guitars and other instruments, just so long as they can be easily cleaned when the dust starts to pile up.
Stools/benches: These are a very multifunctional item in my home. We have several spread throughout the rooms because you can sit on them, prop your feet on them, use them as side tables, or as a step stool to reach into closets and cupboards. I even employ a wooden bench as the kids’ table in the living room.
Plants: This gets an honorary mention, but I’m not sure how “functional” plants really are. They’re nice to look at, but all that hype about them cleaning the air? I think mathematically, unless you have a plant spaced every 2 feet in your room, it won’t make a difference to air quality. Plus you have to dust the leaves? I do keep a couple of plants on the balcony (no dusting needed), but my husband has taken over custody of them, because I can’t be trusted …
Here’s a sneak peak of our new home. In this shot, you can see rugs, pillows, stools/benches, lighting, a clock, books, and bowls of snacks and fruit employed as decor. Lots more to come once the whole place is ready for show-and-tell!
I obviously have strong opinions on what can double as useful decor, and I’ve spent literally years building and refining my mental list. As I said, I do have art that is just art, that doesn’t serve any purpose other than for me to look at. But for every piece of “just art,” there are two items in my home that aren’t strictly decor but can stand in as decor any day. How do I come up with my list? These are the questions I ask:
Does it exist in my home anyway, but looks nice enough to be left out? E.g., food, books, jewelry, bowls, etc.
Does an attractive version of this object exist? E.g., a nice-looking woven basket that can be left out instead of a plastic eyesore that needs to be hidden away.
Does it actually get used, as opposed to only existing to be looked at? E.g., hooks, clocks, lamps, pillows, curtains, instruments, etc.
Even though I’ve put a lot of thought into what can be displayed in our homes without adding “unnecessary” clutter, I still struggle sometimes to figure out how to complete a room. With this larger condo, it was a mental tug-of-war between (A) acquiring more things so that it wouldn’t be an empty white box and (B) keeping it pared down so I wouldn’t feel like I’m drowning in stuff. I hope I’ve succeeded in creating a warm inviting space that provides visual breathing room and is a cinch to maintain. I’d say we’re 95% of the way to the finish line post move-in, and I’ll share photos as soon as the final pieces fall into place.