10 Beautiful Ways To Add Trendy, Whimsical Accents To Your Home

The popularity of whimsical decor has risen dramatically over the past few months, with people all over the globe looking to inject a little more fun and personality into their homes this year. Drab, minimalistic spaces are out, while playful, colorful, and unique spaces are in. Characterized by joyful color, animal motifs, floral prints, and vintage treasures, there are many beautiful ways to add trendy, whimsical accents and decor to your home with various levels of commitment, and we've listed 10 ideas below.

Whimsical design has its roots in the storybook architecture and style, which originated in the 1920s and looked like fables of unique cottages in the European countryside. Therefore, it is only natural that most people's first notion about whimsical decor is to make their house feel like a quaint fairytale cottage. However, there are ways to work whimsy into any style to add lighthearted touches and unexpected delight. In fact, even the most contemporary of spaces can inject a bit of unpredictable quirkiness and joy with small whimsical accents and decor ideas.

Pops of joyful color are the simplest way to add personality and lightheartedness to a space. While a neutral space might feel soothing and minimal, a colorful home gives a more charming, artistic, and fanciful vibe. If using color is a new adventure for you, start small with artwork, decor, or textiles, eventually branching out into larger statements like furniture, walls, or cabinetry. Using and combining hues into interesting color palettes is a surefire way to bring a smile to your face and create a playful, layered story for your home.

One of the hallmark motifs of whimsical design is the use of quirky animals throughout the space in unexpected, lighthearted ways. Brass animals, woodland critter artwork, or a wallpaper with an animal print are just a few of many ways to delight and surprise guests with whimsical creatures throughout your space. While you can certainly go all out with trendy animal motifs for maximum whimsy if that suits your style, you can also use these subtle ideas to incorporate an animal theme in your home for small doses of quirky (and sometimes mischievous) fun.

Another major element of whimsical design is to incorporate vintage treasures or curiosities to bring a one-of-a-kind quirkiness to a space. Since vintage items are nearly (or completely) impossible to replicate, they give a collected, unique vibe to a home, making it feel like every corner has a storied past. Magnolia Network's Katie Saro shares her expert advice for first-time vintage shoppers so you can bring in the excitement and intrigue of pieces that have their own fanciful past into the current tale of your eclectic home.

Nothing adds more whimsy than a bold feature wall that layers color, pattern, and texture. Fantastical handmade murals, artistic wallpaper prints with playful themes, or fun hand-painted patterned tiles can create a stunning statement wall that's oozing with charm and visual interest. Because feature walls are a bolder commitment to personality and character, they help create an unapologetically interesting home that is unique and customized to you. It is impossible not to smile when encountering an incredible feature wall (or ceiling) with cheer and wonder to spare.

Quirky light fixtures are a great way to bring a pop of unexpected amusement to a space. Fixtures in line with the common whimsical motifs such as animals or florals can bring that imaginative, playful fairytale vibe, while a beautifully-bizarre vintage oddity could boast just the right unpredictably weird charm to make a space feel thoughtfully collected and offbeat. Cleverly unusual table lamps, funky hanging pendants, fairy string lights, and unconventional playful chandeliers are all perfect ways to bring some interest into even the most contemporary of spaces for a burst of character and lightheartedness.

Lovely floral prints lend themselves to the magical garden vibe of an English cottage straight out of a fairytale. Tapping into the romanticism and naturalistic aspects of cottagecore, floral prints read less granny and more idyllic fabled cottage hidden amongst the garden. While innately feminine, combining them with more linear or geometric prints can keep these floral prints feeling more modern and balanced, while layering them with additional floral prints can really double down on the softer, pastoral feeling of a picturesque European countryside. Oversized floral prints can also create a fairy-like whimsy with their large scale.

A perfect way to bring quirky, curated whimsy to a space is with an eclectic art wall. As an ideal place to show off one-of-a-kind vintage treasures, a trendy gallery wall can be filled with thrifted curiosities and original artwork special to you, all artfully-cobbled together with mismatching frames and layered with unexpected, playful objects to create depth, texture, and interest. Differing from a traditional art gallery wall with similar thematic pieces and matching frames, a whimsical art wall feels intentionally hand-picked and collected to give guests a true taste of the unique story of your home.

Displaying your favorite collections is a wonderful way to bring individual personality to your home, as they are special to who you are and what you love. Perhaps you adore colorful art glass vases, antique French copper pots, hand-painted china tea cups, a wide assortment of hats, or mystical crystals — whatever makes your heart sing will tell a unique story in your space. Bonus points if the collection is full of vintage pieces! Group collections together for a bigger impact or scatter them throughout your home to create sporadic, delightful surprises for your guests.

Furniture with a unique shape, material, finish, or pattern could create a wonderful statement in your space. Try incorporating a sweeping semi-circular sofa, oversized wicker peacock chair, freeform coffee table reminiscent of a cloud, hand-shaped side chair, or any other piece with a funky, unique shape that you love to bring an unexpected yet welcome and playful departure in typical scale or silhouette. Use surprising and joyful artistic finishes on your furniture like a colorful hand-painted table, pom-pom fabric trim, fun floral print, a glossy lacquer finish in a bold hue, or vintage ornamentation and hardware.

Imperfect hand-painted details throughout your home give a playful, personal touch and a pop of extra color. A hand-painted garden mural on a headboard wall or abstract painted faux wallpaper that seamlessly carries onto the ceiling are one-of-a-kind statement masterpieces. Try adding colorful painted Moroccan-inspired frames around your doors, windows, and even artwork to add an unexpected layer of gorgeous color and funky design interest to something that is otherwise ordinary. Paint a colorful flowering vine or mix bold geometric patterns on furniture pieces to elevate them from typical to whimsically wonderful, unusual, and amusing.