Basic Home Decorating Tips
January 27, 2021The pandemic has brought different ways for you to alleviate your stress. One of those is to keep yourself busy and productive. In a time like this that you are given a chance to work or study from home, you may realize that it should be given a minimal or even an overall transformation to keep you more inspired and motivated.
If you are planning to turn your nook conducive to stay at and refreshing to the eyes, you have to consider the following questions:
Does my home need to be repainted?
Does my wallpaper need to be replaced?
Does my home seem to be too plain or overly decorated?
Does the ceiling of my home too high or low?
Do the rooms of my home need more storage for toys, clothes, books, and other stuff?
Do I have to discard, donate, or sell some things or furniture to make my home more spacious?
What shall I do to make my home reflect who lives in it?
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"The best rooms have something to say about the people who live in them." - DAVID HICKS |
Asking yourself these kinds of questions may help you know whether you need to purchase, dispose of, or change something in your home. By doing so, you may be able to determine the design elements that you want to achieve and also the furniture, paint, wallpaper, wall art, decorations, curtains, and other home essentials that you are going to use to suit your taste. If you still have no idea how to do it, there are online interior design magazines where you can get ideas or inspirations. Pinterest is also a great resource for your home designing needs and pegs. Then when you already decide on the design and color scheme that you want, further ask yourself why you want them and why you choose them.
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"Be faithful to your own taste, because nothing you really like is ever out of style." - BILLY BALDWIN |
Decorating a home is not easy and it requires time, resources, and effort that's why planning is the best way to start. You may print out the design inspirations that you prefer then make a visual or mood board while listing all the things that you need. If you prefer to work with an interior designer since you are at a loss, then do it. If you cannot afford it, asking a friend with an innate talent in interior design that would love to do it for you in exchange for your services in your line of work may save you money.
Planning your home project
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"If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail."
| - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN |
If you plan to shop for new shelves, beds, chairs, side or coffee tables, or other furniture, sketching a floor plan of the room that requires any of those is highly recommended. Include in your sketch the electrical outlets, windows, doors, and other important details that may affect the traffic and placement of your furniture. It is quite challenging to go to malls or furniture shops due to the pandemic nowadays so online shopping is the best option. Never forget to measure your space when you plan to shop for furniture online to determine whether the specifications of the item that you choose fit your space or not.
Understanding design basics
Knowing the design basics especially when you are planning to do your home decorating on your own is very important. Like planning, it saves time and effort on your part.
Straight draperies and high-backed chairs are perfect for a room with a low ceiling. The use of vertical lines also may give an illusion of height and may always carry the eye upward.
To give an illusion of a huge space and make a high ceiling look lower, focus on using horizontal lines like a long sofa, long table, or low bookcases.
Floor plants, low coffee table, long-slung chairs, and other eye-catching and low-placed objects can make a room with a low ceiling seems to look more in proportion.
Complex patterns or designs can make small rooms appear even smaller. Simple colors, furniture, decors, and tapestries may keep the entire space cozy and pleasing to the eyes.
When you match the wall color with an oversized piece of furniture, a room will appear larger, particularly if both the walls and furniture are a light color.
A small room may appear larger than it is when very large mirrors on one wall are installed because they reflect the rest of the room.
Room dividers or furniture put in the middle of the room, such as a sofa or bookshelf, can offer the effect of two rooms in one.
The brightness and darkness of the room may depend on the texture of the furnishing. Glossy surfaces such as tile, satin, and porcelain reflect light and add brightness to the room while matte or rough surfaces such as woven fabric, carpet, and brick absorb light and create a soft atmosphere.
Updating the hardware such as curtain rods, drawer pulls, and doorknobs may give any room a quick facelift.
As the renowned American interior designer, Albert Hadley, said, "The essence of interior design will always be about people and how they live. It is about the realities of what makes for an attractive, civilized, meaningful environment, not about fashion or what's in or what's out. This is not an easy job." So make sure that you do to your home what makes you happy while following the basics of home decorating.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
