June 23, 2022

INSIDER | INTERIOR STYLIST NATALIE WALTON

For this Insider, we chat with our founder Natalie Walton about some simple ways you can style your home. If you are unfamiliar with Natalie's work, she is an interior designer & stylist with 10+ years of industry experience having her work featured in interior and lifestyle magazines across the world. Most recently though, Natalie has published her third book Style: The Art of Creating a Beautiful Home which is filled with inspiring photography and practical tips for how to transform your home using what you own & love and guide you towards the life you really want. Today, Natalie shares 5 easy ways you can style your home and elevate your spaces.


Natalie — "Styling is all about making your home the best it can be and is the process of how you can curate and place objects for maximum impact, helping you connect with what you love. In essence, this is your chance to make your spaces beautiful, and help them feel more like you.


1. CONSTRAIN YOUR PALETTE
One of the easiest ways to elevate your interiors, and make them feel more cohesive, is to constrain your palette. It results in a more harmonious and
sophisticated feel. The key is to ensure that you amplify texture. You can choose to focus on three to five colours, which you repeat throughout your home in a rough ratio of 70%, 30%, 10%, or just keep everything tonal, such as creams, natural, white. 

In your home
... Try sourcing pieces that have a beautiful natural tone and texture like seagrass rugs or taupe linen pendants.


2. CREATE CLUSTERS
An easy way to create impact is to create clusters. Now, this is different to adding
clutter. Instead, it’s about creating groupings within your home of what you use and love. It’s a way to add volume, texture and visual appeal to any space.

In your home
... Stack beautiful ceramic plates on a shelf or on your table when your ready to eat, place your favourite timber utensils in a ceramic pot, display your chopping boards vertically on the kitchen counter.



3. DISPLAY EN-MASSE
Anything looks more impactful when it’s displayed en-masse. It creates a sense of
luxury. You can apply this idea to everyday objects, too. Remove the packaging from your toilet paper and put it in a wire basket in your bathroom. Similarly, instead of storing a box of white pencils in a cupboard, put them on display in a glass jar.

In your home
... If you are short on storage, try stacking towels in wire baskets on your bathroom counter or shelving to create a beautiful display.


4. ‘GROUND’ OBJECTS
Often objects can look as if they’re lost on a large empty surface, such as your kitchen counter or sideboard. A good styling trick is to use books to ‘ground’ decorative pieces. You can also use trays to corral a collection of unified objects.

In your home
... Is there something on your kitchen counter that would look better with some friends on a tray or a timber serving board? What about placing a candle and ceramic on a coffee table book?


5. THE RULE OF 3
One of the most popular rules that relates to styling is to display a trio of objects for visual interest. It’s less formal than even number groupings. And better use a variety of heights, sizes and materials. You can repeat this idea throughout your home: 3 cushions on a sofa (for a relaxed look and feel), 3 books stacked on your coffee table, 3 objects on your chest of drawers...

In your home
... Take a look around your home and see where you can display groups of three. Works well on shelves, sideboards and mantlepieces. Apply the rule of 3 to art, plants, baskets (like these Tonga wall baskets), ceramics and more.


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Style: The Art of Creating a Beautiful Home is now available in Australia & New Zealand and for pre-order in the rest of the world. Grab a signed copy to learn more about how you can create a home you love that brings you more joy everyday.