A question I get a lot is – What is casual glamour?  How do I achieve the casual glamour look?! Easy! I got you gurl!

Here are my top 3 principles for how to achieve the casual glamour look in your home.  These tips and ideas will hold true whether have a large budget or you’re decorating on a smaller budget. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with a champagne taste on a beer budget!

1.  Let the phrase pave the way!

At its heart, Casual Glamour is all about playing with opposites and mixing materials.

A. Mix glamorous fabrics, such as velvets and silks, with more casual fabrics, like linens or cotton. If you have a velvet sofa, try mixing it with linen-covered chairs. You can also play with printing glamorous patterns on those causal fabrics. 

B. Mix rustic, beat-up wood with more polished brass, nickels or acrylic.

2. For me, casual is another word for inviting.

This is one of my biggest tips for how to achieve that casual glamour look! You want people to feel welcome and free to be themselves in your space. You can do that by having things that encourage comfort and engagement.

A. Use tactile fabrics, such as faux fur Mongolian lamp or velvet that make people want touch.  Also, nothing feels more inviting than a faux fur throw blanket or Mongolian lamb hair throw pillow — It’s cozy. It’s inviting. It begs to be handled.

B. Accessorize with games and small trinkets that spark people’s curiosity. In my home, I have a Jonathan Adler lucite tic-tac-toe game and a bowl of vintage dominos on my coffee table. This screams stay awhile and hang with me.  Accessorizing with games not your style? No worries, add in some interesting accessories that invite people to explore your home. Little antiques or pieces created by artists, mixed with interesting books, create the same result. I have used everything from antique prayer books and gum ball machines filled with rustic gems to quirky sculptures.

C. Hospitality makes people feel at home. Bar carts are one of my favorite way to do this. When you have a bar cart displayed, complete with glasses, mixers, tools, napkins, cocktail recipe book, etc… you can say help yourself! Being encouraged to get hands-on puts people at ease. Not big on cocktails? You can create the same effect with a coffee or tea bar, or something as simple as putting out a beautiful bowl filled with nuts or candy. Basically what I’m saying is, give people treats and they’ll love you forever.

3. Let go of perfection

Honestly perfection is boring and it means you are taking yourself waaaayyyyyy too seriously. Allow space for life!

A. Add something unexpected.

If you have a room full of perfectly pristine items, add something beat-up to contrast the perfection. My living room has a gorgeous velvet sofa and tulip coffee table, and I cut the perfection with a nicked-up dining table. Then, I beat it up even more by carving my husband’s and I’s initial into it.

You can have a gorgeous collection of art but perhaps allow yourself to mix in a piece of your child’s artwork or something funky into the same collection. You can have photos that have been professionally taken and framed but add in some candid silly shots too. Frame something sentimental or unexpected. I framed my husband first ½ dollar he made from his writing. He had a writing partner at the time, so we literally took the dollar and split it, then framed it in an expensive ornate frame. The combo makes people laugh every time we explain it. Or frame a butter-stained movie ticket stub from the first date with your loved one. I have lots of high-end art and photos that are professionally framed, but I also have polaroid’s taped to my walls.

Casual Glamour is luxurious and inviting.  High-end but approachable. It’s the best of both worlds! And that how to achieve the casual glamour look in your own home!

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