How to Decorate Your House in Contemporary Style

My husband and I had so much fun designing, building, and decorating our first house. We did everything from scratch, from the blueprint/construction to the interior design.

Our house was built with every characteristics that support modern minimalist black-white theme. The focal point of the whole house was our black iron staircase and black wood floor pop out in the background of white walls and white cabinets.

10635760_10152625645612639_5049291253361398683_n

To achieve the look of a contemporary home, it’s important to stick to some basic rules. Simplicity and subtle sophistication help to define contemporary style. To keep each room sleek and fresh we focus on colors, space and shape!

Color

Black and White are our main colors in the interior. Black is used to be the ground for everything: black wood floor, black staircase,…and with our walls painted in white we had a wonderful backdrop for bold paintings. I chose paintings with bold colors like red to accentuate the bold contrast of contemporary style.

10519503_10152625646657639_811434609267961379_n

10712373_10152625649807639_5948739564168101249_o

10403435_10152625648997639_8206679047046232735_n

Line and Space 

In contemporary interiors, less is more. We didn’t try to fill areas with objects; rather we left lots of empty spaces and keep everything sleek and neat. High ceilings and bare windows are often found in architectural details of contemporary style.

10675755_10152625649542639_6514433066389919931_n

10268621_10152625646322639_8778876091459464227_n

1913399_10152088203097639_6175732944488670604_o

Above are my tips for modern contemporary interior design. Now are some fun facts about our first house.

It took us 2 months to work with our architecture for the blueprint and another 2 months to demolish the old house and get all the required permits.

1468692_10151896691772639_360665907_n

1016984_10151594489437639_106121189_n

When it came to choosing the entrance door, we were looking for a black entrance door. We saw one door that we really liked but they were not available in black color. We bought that door anyway and then painted it black.

1463957_10151868633727639_732341659_n

Of all the resorts we have been to, Pelican Hill Resort is our favorite. So when building our house, Derek tried to apply some of the lovely Pelican suite’s details into our house design;one of which is the oak wood window open from the master bath to the master bed which brings lots of natural lights and creates a seem-to-be-bigger space. He left a big hole on the wood frame which at that time brought up lots of raising eyebrows from visitors ( friends and relatives), “Why is there a hole between your bedroom and bathroom?” Also we went through lots of troubles to find a perfect window for this design. And when the shutter arrived, we were so happy that we made a right choice and were persistent despite others’ critics. 

1467328_10152077458137639_818239159_n

10169425_10152625651352639_4819718313478563445_n

Mr. Big probably gave Carrie the most amazing closet, but mine was way more special since it was designed, custom made, and built by my wonderful hubby.

1901793_10152020186492639_2031796573_n

My boudoir counter was adorned with my favorite Oliver Gal art piece.

1187050_10152048387242639_552162210_n

When the house was completed, we entertained different groups of friends and relatives for house warming. 

1015982_10152088203152639_1220362136140693265_o

10156167_10152075006752639_14806438_n

1897853_10152106705777639_5507677184507443200_n

Our favorite corner was the loft where hubby enjoyed his coffee when listening to me playing “Marriage d’amour”.

1797393_10152121553847639_4732481508582757297_n

10364055_10152166325877639_3400740734846001068_n

Our two cotton balls, Lychee and Chloe, enjoyed watching World Cup in the bedroom!!!

10513533_10152321095972639_8329488200033306032_n

At night time the whole house was illuminated.

10373069_10152183336717639_5840372737283960870_o

I had some fun fashion photoshoots with our beautiful staircase.

1801289_10152050653437639_32457275_o

1891358_10152050726032639_1179218629_o

1974363_10152050726152639_328503968_o

April 6, 2014

 

mm

By inAra

Hi there! I’m May, a girl who loves to wander and wonder! I’m from Saigon, based in Los Angeles, but my current location is anywhere and everywhere. Travel, Photography, Tea Time, Picnic, Home Decor and Event Planning are a few of my favorite things.

inArabymay is a travel and lifestyle blog inspired by beautiful destinations, by color and nature, and by wonderful people that I’ve met on my journey.

Previous Post

Next Post