Switch Up Your Home’s Style! 17 Creative Home Décor and Art Tips for the New Year

No matter if you’ve recently moved into a new home or have been in the same place for a number of years, the new year is a great time to consider re-doing your space. From charming and one-of-a-kind pottery to hanging a beautiful watercolor painting on the wall, there are countless creative home décor and art pieces you can bring into your home.

To help you find the right creative idea that speaks to you, we’ve asked experts all the way from Miami, FL to Vancouver, CA, for their best advice. That way you can make redesigning your home meaningful as you begin another new year!

Shop local when it comes to ceramics

Search for local ceramic artists to find one of a kind works of art that can make your space fun and unique, and act as a conversation piece. When choosing a sculptural ceramic object that compliments your home, look for minimal forms that draw the eye in with subtle shifting glaze colors and interesting textures. Functional ceramics such as large fruit bowls, candle holders, and serving dishes can elevate the everyday or a special occasion at home. – Laurie Longtin, Laurie Longtin Ceramics 

The possibilities are endless with creative home décor

Whether you are looking for the right home accent piece to add to your living style, or bring handmade elegance to your table, original ceramic pieces are the perfect choice. From sculpture to wall hangings and pottery, ceramics offer endless possibilities with variations in style, surface and purpose. Express yourself and bring art into your life through fun colorful pottery, or create neutral and serene living spaces with ceramic sculptures or home accents in earthy tones and sublime glazes. – Regina Farrell-Fagan Exhibitions Manager, Clay Art Center, Clay Art Center Shop, Shop all Clay Art Center artists

Choose textures and pieces that feel like home

Finding common ground with texture and pieces that evoke a feeling of “coming home” can serve as a guidepost to encourage a smooth transition into a new style. Experiment with colors and patterns from different mediums like tile, fabrics, and wallpaper to establish the perfect transformation and set the mood. Lastly, choose what feels right for you. – Catherine Perez, Peacock & Dahlia Interiors

Keep it simple

When it comes to embracing a new décor style for your home, we recommend keeping it simple and sustainable and working with what you already have. A few small things like a fresh coat of paint, swapping out pillow covers (reuse the pillows) and linens, and changing the art in existing frames can transform your space quickly and with a small budget. Choose well-made and “neutral” base pieces that can be loved for years and then add colour, pattern, and texture with pillow covers and throw blankets. Finally, don’t forget to add some greenery and plants to give your space more interest and life. – Lesley Robb (she/her) Owner & Designer, Swell Made Co.

Paper flowers bring a unique take on your home’s décor

You can decorate giant paper flowers on the wall to give a 3D effect or you can embellish it on a wooden frame and hang it on the wall. Glue small crepe paper flowers to a twig from your backyard and make a centerpiece for your table. Either way you use them, you cannot go wrong decorating paper flowers in your home. – Preksha, Craftworm Creations

And they’re just as versatile as real blooms

If not more so because of their longevity. I’m always looking for new ways to decorate my living space with paper blossoms. From a simple table arrangement to a wreath on my door, a garland for a mantle or even creating a wall arrangement with larger than life blooms, paper florals can bring a fresh and bright element to any home. – Abigail Gillespie, Abbi Kirsten Collections 

Embrace natural elements to your décor

Bringing twigs, driftwood, and natural elements into your living spaces can be a fun foraging and DIY activity, and also look stunning. Collected twigs can be transformed into lovely wall wreaths like the one in the attached photographs, or an interesting piece of driftwood can be riveting décor; our creative tip to elevate the natural piece is to combine it with some bright hand-painted art, like the paper butterflies you see in the photo. The contrast of color and texture, between the wild branches and vibrant bits of art, will add dollops of charm to any corner. – Sky Goodies, Instagram, Video Tutorial

Incorporate a natural look into your home

At The Tea Kitchen, we love natural products and ingredients, this goes hand-in-hand with what is in our home too. While being a founder we’ve done multiple renovations as well, and we love clean looks, natural wood tones, and the use of plants, herbs, and candles to touch our senses and warm up the spaces. Everything from herbs like lavender and basil that look good and smell good to candles that fill rooms up with scents like eucalyptus, vanilla, and more. – Tony Adam, Founder/CEO The Tea Kitchen

Use ceramics in unexpected and creative ways

I believe that ceramic pieces can be used in so many unexpected creative ways, outside of their originally intended function. I love to use small coffee cups and espresso mugs to hold paper clips and pens on my desk, and pitchers/carafes as flower vases. You can find so many dual uses of ceramics to make your home extra special and unique to you. – Nicole Goldfarb, Illustrator + Graphic Designer

Design your room around the artwork

When designing a room, it’s best to choose artwork first, then build the room around it, treating it as the centerpiece. A painting with a wide array of colors that still has an overall color scheme such as this blue grey palette is easy to work with and a beautiful choice for coastal style. There is always something new to see in this highly detailed painting of shells. A world of happy memories of lovely walks along the beach with loved ones, discovering shells to treasure forever together. – Kristen Olson Stone

Personalized custom artwork is a great way to make your space into a home 

A custom painting can preserve your memories of pets, homes or travel, while adding beauty to your home. Hand painted, original artwork has unique emotional value, and as more people now opt to have small home gatherings rather than attend large social events, a lovely painting can be a fun conversation piece. – Marybeth Cunningham, Cunningham Watercolors

Make your own artwork

One way to bring a new style into your home through art is by creating and displaying your own artwork. Whether you are an artist or not, many things such as a simple line drawing in a unique frame, a watercolor painting, a child’s drawing, a canvas painted abstractly with your favorite colors, art incorporating a motto you believe in, or your favorite flowers pressed and put into a frame can become meaningful, unique pieces of art. This is a way to truly bring a style to your home that is all your very own. – Alexis Glenn, Blooming Creativity

Pottery belongs at home

Donovan Pottery was born from Will’s eagerness to grow as a potter, the generosity of his mentors, and a fierce belief that the making and using of pottery can (and should) be for everyone. Whether it’s an anchor for your home, for friends gathering at a table, a vessel for your coffee, or it just looks really good in that empty spot on your shelves – pottery belongs at home. – Will Donovan, Owner of Donovan Pottery

Pottery will tell you where to display it

Adding any type of pottery into a room (indoor/outdoor) is like creating a conversation between the colors, materials, textures, objects and the furniture already inside the space: listen, and it will let you know where it wants to go. – Delphine Lippens (Founder/CVO), Humble Ceramics

Pottery should always enhance your space

Pottery whether to eat in or just for aesthetics should enhance your home. When choosing pottery, select pieces that speak to your sense of style or spark a happy memory or have the potential to spark a conversation. Don’t be afraid to mix and match colour palettes. You’d be surprised at how an eclectic combination or unexpected splash of colour could add to your home décor. – Greta Michelle Joachim, ArtbyGretaMichelle

One color can tie it all together, so you can mix and match

Hand-made and hand-painted ceramics from Poland offer a variety of colorful patterns and designs on a wide range of high-quality ceramic products. One of the best things about decorating your home with Polish Pottery is that you can experiment with your pieces. By mixing and matching different patterns, your home and dinner table can turn into a spectacular symphony of colors and will carry a long-lasting impression on your guests. – Artisan Imports

Forget minimalism and embrace bold colors

Minimalism is fading away as we continue to spend a lot of time in our home. People are leaning towards bold color and pattern combinations to bring life and playfulness to flat walls. 3D art, think large paper flowers, is gaining more popularity and gives that intrigue and wow factor. – IvaCrafts

Originally published by Redfin