7 Essential Home Furnishings Every Room Needs

Home furnishings are essential for making a house feel like a home. Here are 7 must-have decor pieces that make your home feel comfortable and pulled together!

Decorating your home is a very personal, intimate task. The goal is to create a home that is beautiful, functional and a true reflection of your personality.

For some people this comes naturally. For others, it's much harder. If you look at a beautifully decorated home and think, "I wish I could do that and stay on budget," then I want to help you!

Today I'm showing you 7 furnishings and decor elements that every room needs to look stylishly put together and still feel like you.

Anyone can pull this off (really!) once they include these essential furnishings.

7 Home Furnishings Every Home Needs

Home furnishings are more than tables, chairs and sofas. They are the decorative elements that bring every aspect of your decor together in a cohesive way.

I believe there are 7 essential decor items every room needs to look and feel complete and put together.

These are standard, basic pieces every room should have, no matter your decorating style. They aren't trendy or even expensive, but they bring a space together so it looks and feels complete and comfortable.

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1. Lighting

Good lighting is crucial in every space. Even the most beautifully designed room can fall flat and go unnoticed with poor lighting. Believe it or not, lighting that is too bright can be just as bad for a room as lighting that is too dim.

Rooms with natural light have an edge over rooms with little or none. Place your lighting solutions strategically to reach the perfect level that shows off your design without looking harsh or "plastic."

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2. Color

Color is the first thing people notice in a room, so it's one of the most important furnishings. I've covered color in lots of different ways across my posts, from how to choose the best blue paint colors to how to pick a whole paint palette for your entire home!

When picking colors for a room, go with subtle shades for the large items (walls and furniture) and use accents to highlight the more vibrant colors you love.

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3. Add Natural Materials

I'm a huge fan of including wood or other natural materials in every room. Nothing else brings the warmth and coziness of wood, jute, rattan, seagrass or bamboo (no matter the finish!).

Natural decor elements like wood create an organic, comfortable atmosphere that makes a room feel beautifully lived in.

For wood furnishings, think about chairs, tables, shelf decor, shelves, wall hangings, benches, coat racks, bowls for your coffee table or side table, and much more.

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4. Curtains

Curtains add texture, depth and a splash of color to a room. As decor pieces, they also soften the windows and make them feel like part of the room. Without curtains, windows look bare, as if they belong to the surroundings but not to the room itself.

Curtains can also help manage bright natural light. Use filtering curtains to let some of that lovely light in while softening it to a comfortable level.

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5. Plants or Flowers

You might not think of plants as home furnishings, but you couldn't be more wrong! Greenery truly brings a room to life!

Plants bring a touch of nature and a cheerful feeling indoors.

If you want plants or flowers but don't have a green thumb, go artificial! Faux plants have improved so much that they look just as lovely (and real) as live ones, without the work or frustration of keeping them alive.

Even I, a self-professed black thumb, have started buying real houseplants, and I can keep them alive! I love them. (My favorite is the pothos.)

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6. Fabric Home Decor Items

Fabric adds softness to a room. Without it, even a beautifully decorated room can feel cold and uncomfortable. When I say "fabric," you might think of curtains or an upholstered couch. Those are important decor pieces too!

But I also mean furnishings like throw blankets, throw pillows, area rugs, shower curtains, towels, bedding, tablecloths or runners, and more.

Every room is a chance to add something soft and cozy that makes the space feel comfortable.

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7. Art

Nobody loves living in (or visiting) a house with stark, bare walls. It makes it feel like nobody else lives there!

Since our whole goal with decorating is to make a home beautiful and comfortable, try adding some art to your walls. And "art" isn't only what hangs on the wall. It can sit on your mantel or take the form of sculptures that personalize your home.

Art can be beautiful and inexpensive, like free printable art. It's one of my favorite furnishings because it gives me such a great way to personalize a room!

I can hang photos of my family, artwork my kids made, or even a painting that reminds me of where we spent our honeymoon.

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So if a room ever feels like it's missing something, run through this checklist! Have you added something from every category?

When you bring in art, fabric, natural materials and plants, your decor looks complete, intentional and cohesive. I hope this makes decorating your home a little easier!