Why I Recommend Quirky Home Decor

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Have you ever decorated a space and thought it was missing something? Maybe it was a touch of quirky. In this post, I want to share why I recommend a bit of quirky home decor and what that means to me.

How and Why To Add Quirky Elements to Your Home Decor

When I’m creating posts about decorating here on Inspired by Charm, one piece of advice I give over and over again is to incorporate some quirky decor elements into your home. As I am currently retweaking my own spaces for a new season, I was thinking more about this and had lots of thoughts I wanted to share with you in hopes that they might be helpful.

In this two-post series, I’m going to share why I recommend adding quirky elements to your home decor and then how to do it. Today is the “why”; next will be the “how.”

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I also think it’s important to mention that quirky doesn’t necessarily mean weird, goofy, strange, etc. Quirky could be an old artist’s palette slathered with colorful paint that is used as wall decor or using a collection of saved movie ticket stubs to create artwork. Quirky could be using something in a different way than its intended use. Maybe you could turn a basket into a light fixture or tuck a plant into a vintage coffee tin.

As I share my thoughts below, I hope these ideas make sense and will give you some ideas on how to make your decorating more uniquely you.

Note: When possible, i’ve tried to share links for every image that I used in this post. If you’d like to see more of the spaces featured, just click the link under each photo and you’ll be directed to the coordinating blog post.

Why Add Quirky Elements to Your Home Decor?

1. To Showcase Your Personality

Because of the nature of design and current designing trends, I think it’s really easy to be influenced by what’s popular. While there are benefits to keeping up-to-date with what’s new and trendy, I think it’s even more important to honor your own unique style and personality. The unnerving part about this is that not everyone is going to understand or like it. This is where you need a little courage and encouragement to do what makes you happy.

Simple Fall Decorating Ideas for the Kitchen #fall #decor #decorating #kitchen #ideas #autumn
Butler’s Pantry Decor

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Home Office Decor

For example, pink might not be a popular color to paint kitchen cabinets. But if you dream of a pink kitchen and want nothing more than to sip your morning coffee staring at that beautiful blush hue, then that’s exactly what you should do. Want purple chairs around your fire pit in the woods? Do that! Your home is a reflection of you and your family. Use it to showcase your unique personality.

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Backyard Fire Pit Design

2. Create Something to Discover

Now, I’m not telling everyone to go out and paint something in their home a random color for the sake of being “different.” You can add quirky elements to your home without them being “in your face.” It can be as simple as just thinking about those special little details. For example, in my powder room, I have a brass, bunny head hook to hang my tea towel. In my kitchen, I have a crock filled with a collection of antique rolling pins.

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Kitchen Decor Ideas

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Powder Room Makeover

These aren’t outlandish things, but they create interest. They tell a story. It’s something to discover. Maybe there is a family heirloom you can incorporate. Maybe you can create a gallery wall using artwork that you and your family created. Maybe you can frame old recipes that your grandma wrote and hang them in your kitchen.

One way I like to do this is with my Christmas tree decorating. I always tuck a weird ornament or a set of really odd ornaments into my tree. For several years it was a set of gold sequined animals (lions, rhinoceroses, unicorns, etc.). Another year it was colorful pheasants. Last it was a bunch of mushroom ornaments. From a distance, you wouldn’t even notice them, but when you got up close and looked, there was something unique to discover.

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Green and Navy Christmas Tree

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Red and White Christmas Tree

3. Everyone Loves to Laugh

We’ve always heard that laughter is the best medicine. And not that you want your decorating style to make people laugh, but a funny or quirky accessory in your home can help your guests feel welcome and comfortable.

Have you ever been in a home where everything is so immaculate that you’re afraid to take off your coat for fear a stray cat hair will leap off of your jacket and destroy their “perfect” space? Now that’s not to say there’s anything wrong with that, as do I love that people take care of things and show a sense of pride in their home. However, adding something clever and interesting to your decor may be a sign to your guests (and even yourself) that it’s okay to let your guard down a bit, have a little fun, and be comfortable.

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Living Room Bookcase Styling

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Living Room Bookcase Styling

4. It Makes Your Home Memorable

It takes me a very long time to complete a space. Can I complete a room in a weekend? Not possible. Does the room still look beautiful in the process? Sure does. Finding just the right interesting objects takes time. This is just my process.

Sure, I could head to one of my favorite home decor stores and finish things as quickly as possible, but then the room feels like it could belong in anyone’s home. I like to take my time to find unique and special pieces that feel like they could only be in my home.

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Christmas Ribbon Cabinet – Holiday Decor

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Living Room Bookcase Styling

These are the details that people will remember when they see your space and that will make a house feel like your home. In addition, these are the details that you’ll enjoy coming home to after a long day. When I look around my home, my favorite and most memorable pieces are the ones that are unique, quirky, and personal to me.

5. It’s Budget Friendly

We all know how expensive new and trendy decor can be. (Especially if you’re continually trying to keep up with the latest trends.) Now It is fine to use brand new items for adding a touch of quirky to your decor, but I’ve found some of my best and most unique pieces during my antiquing and thrifting adventures.

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Hocus Pocus Broom Co. Drawing

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Paint-by-Numbers Gallery Wall

If you’re looking to add some originality to your home decor, visit your local thrift store, stop at a garage sale, visit an estate sale, or go to your local flea market. These places are just loaded with treasures and you will spend significantly less money than you would at a big-box home decor store. Plus, the chances of anyone else having the same thing in their home are minimal. This leads me to my final point …

6. Your Decor Becomes an Original

One of my favorite things about home decor and interior design is when someone does something I’ve never seen before. I love when someone tried a new paint color I haven’t seen or used a decorative item that not everyone else is using. It’s interesting, unique, and memorable.

One of my biggest decorating thrills is to bring pieces into my home that no one else has in their space. It’s a way to create an environment that is truly unique, memorable, and special.

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Main Bedroom Makeover

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Living Room Bookcase Styling

That’s a Wrap on Quirky Home Decor …

… for now at least.

When you’re looking to decorate a space in your home, I cannot encourage you enough to look deep into your decorating spirit to discover what YOU really want, rather than simply doing what’s popular, trendy, or easily available. Embrace the quirky!

As I mentioned above, I ended up having a lot to say about this topic, so I needed to divide it up. In the next post, I’m going to talk more about the “HOW.” Meaning, how can you add some quirky elements to your home decor. I’ll also share more examples of how I implemented some of these thoughts and ideas into my own space.

Stay tuned for part two of this post next week!

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15 Comments

  1. Oh! My love love your creativity, your uniqueness, your quirkiness. As I read I felt connected to you and your ideas. I too have a ceramic Bunny head hook and the recipe of my Grandmother’s in her handwriting. I matted and framed the recipe and a picture of her and gave it to my son as a gift. He was thrilled. Incorporating memorable treasures I cherish gives me a feeling of being enlightened and safe. Loving, appreciating treasures and giving them a second life
    is a treasure in itself! Thank you Sherry

  2. I wholeheartedly concur! I’m very glad to see this message, and I sincerely hope that others pay attention to it. I’m so sick of constantly seeing the same houses decorated with the same furnishings and in the same colors. One of your favorite aspects of interior design and home décor, according to you, is when someone does something original. When you said that, my heart grinned. It’s precisely how I’ve felt for the past year.

  3. Love this post, Michael. And it always your quirky home decor items that draw my eye and make me remember your post (and your home), and inspire me.

  4. I call it whimsy and I make a point of adding a splash of whimsy in every room. I have a small 40’s Tudor style cottage with a phone niche in the hall. I turned it into my Anthony Bourdain “shrine” with a AB glass prayer candle and mini-Tibetan prayer flags, mini bottles of liquor, sage sticks, incense, tealight candles, fairy lights and a small bowl I place small food “gifts” in when I am expecting guests. I just love the comments when they return from the powder room a few feet away. My other favorites include a wooden scrabble tile rack with “LET IT GO” displayed with additional tiles scattered around that allow me to spell out “THAT S*IT”. I’ve got something in every room that makes me smile. You cannot come into my house without learning something about what makes me laugh.

  5. I agree and have a whole lot of “quirky” in my house. When we lived in London I entertained myself by collecting unique items from the markets o. portobello road. People get a kick when they come over discovering my treasures sprinkled through out my home.

  6. I have a few Nevin Robinson sketches scattered around my home. I just love his simple clean line drawings! We are near the ‘Burgh too!

  7. I agree with you wholeheartedly. And that is why I love your home. It has such a great blend of classy and quirky! I was happy to see the brass snail make a reappearance in this post. And the little football guys! They make me smile.

  8. You really captured my feelings about creating and enjoying a home that uniquely reflects the people who live there. Like others mentioned, this is why I enjoy your IG and blog; your home doesn’t look or feel like so many of the virtually interchangeable-looking homes/accounts. Looking forward to Part 2!

  9. Wonderful post. I think this post sums up why I’m drawn to you, your posts and Insta feed… you think outside the box. Really looking forward to part 2!!

  10. I cannot agree more! I’m so happy to see this post; I really hope people take it to heart. I’m so tired of seeing the same homes in the same colors with the same accessories over and over. You said, “One of my favorite things about home decor and interior design is when someone does something I’ve never seen before.” My heart smiled when you said that. It is exactly as I have felt for years. Do something clever, or interesting, or joyful; don’t just copy every single trendy item that comes along, at the expense of expressing who you are. I like to get to know people a little better when I go to their homes. It’s supposed to be their personal space; not a catalog page or a house staged for sale. I have a number of quirky things that are not bizarre or outrageous. They are simply things that spark joy for me: a billy goat photo, artwork of a bird looking questioningly at a clothespin on a clothesline, a few travel and hobby items, a couple unusual sculptures, etc. Thanks for posting. I’m looking forward to the next post.