Some people tend to think it's too hard or expensive. They don't know where to start so always find an excuse not to do it. Here are some design tips for people who always avoided home decorating due to their inexperience. Home decorating secrets unveiled.
1. Courage
Having some courage to change. That might be the missing ingredient to begin transforming your surroundings. Leaping into reconstruction doesn’t mean inconsequentially switching all your furniture or repainting the entire room.
Have the disposition to plan such changes and the courage to undertake the necessary actions. You will never know you left your comfort zone until you are actually out of it.
As people say “courage does not always roar” (photo byJo Leonhardt onUnsplash)
2. A Moodboard
Create a mood board for your decoration project. A mood board is “a group of pictures, words, etc. arranged on a board or screen in order to create or show a particular style, idea or feeling” (Oxford Learner’s Dictionary). This visual tool is a very useful resource with several applications such as brand design creation and product design for example. It could be done online or through collages and there’s even a Master Class on how to make one.
As you can see, both phrases and photos can compose a mood board and the collage formed represent an idea/concept for its creator (photo by Andy Art on Unsplash)
3. Sharing your ideas
Talk about your plans with someone close to you. Sharing your thoughts and concerns with someone else will likely help you clarify the ideas you already have in mind and often bring you new ones to think about.
Why not talk about your ideas over coffee? (photo by Yura Timoshenko on Unsplash)
4. Asking for help
Your inexperience should not be an excuse to avoid home decorating, there are numerous qualified professionals ready to help and you should not have to handle everything on your own. There are tons of qualified professionals such as architects, interior designers and decorators who would be happy to assist your home redecoration.
Depending on what you need and imagine for your house, a different expertise is recommended. For instance, if you are looking for a more drastic, structural transformation in more than one room in the house, an architect is the most qualified – especially those who focus on interior design. Some interior designers can also conduct bigger refurbishments.
On the other hand, if you are looking for more subtle yet refreshing changes to a small space, the help of an interior decorator might do just the trick.
Qualified help is always welcome (photo by Daniel McCullough on Unsplash)
5. Baby steps
One of the home decorating secrets is to start with something small. Decorate some corner of the room as a means of testing.
For instance, you could get a new table lamp, statue or wall art. In a recent trend, people have been placing frames over shelves, on the countertop, or even on the floor! You don’t even have to hang the frame and it is already decorating your living room, bedroom or toilet.
Start small: seat, stand, walk and finally run just like a toddler would do (photo by Simon Infanger on Unsplash)
6. Before & After
Take photographs to see the before/after transformation; to compare your space with other pictures you see online, or simply to remind you of the redecoration process. See how far you have come?
Either with a mobile phone or a camera, everything can now be easily recorded and archived (photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash)
7. Being patient
Don’t rush anything for you might regret it! More haste, less speed is the maxim here. There aren’t specific rules for decoration, however, patience and calmness in dealing with changes are the way to go.
Aren’t you a bit calmer just by looking at it? Get inspired by some feline patience (Photo by Misael Silvera on Unsplash)
8. Seeing what you have
Before buying anything, take some time to know what you already have. Eventually you can decide to sell or donate a piece of furniture, or perhaps revamp it to match the nouvelle decoration style.
9. Research
Look for inspiration online, such as blogs and Pinterest pages. Maybe the name of a designer you admire could link you to other designers and ideas. In case you need an update in terms of design trends, also read Key Interior Design Trends 2021 for innovative suggestions.
10. Old school research
Something slightly less common lately is to buy some magazines at the bookstall – a bit more unusual nowadays, but why not? Even if you have already adopted e-books, there’s no substitute for flicking through a book. Here’s a link to a rank of UK’s best architecture magazines to help you get started.
Printed paper is printed paper (photo by DZHA on Unsplash)
11. On the field exploration
Nothing replaces feeling the atmosphere of an environment or certain ambiance by actually being there. A great move in the course of deciding what to do in order to change an interior space, is to visit decoration exhibitions such as Homebuilding and Renovating Show, Decorex or Casa Cor. Also, don’t forget to check out large stores which showcase decorated rooms, a great place to find some contemporary inspiration.
12. Self awareness
What pleases you? Are you more content in the face of more solid warm colours? Or not? Our homes will inevitably be a reflection of ourselves at some point, because you won’t be buying (or loving) a trendy, designer brand pink cushion if you hate pink.
13. Knowing your desires
Let your imagination run wild and then fine-tune your decisions to a more realistic perspective. Let’s say you have been dreaming about Victoria Beckham's latest mansion décor and you feel like reproducing some of it in your house. Take a moment to really know your deepest desires. First, listen to what your heart wants, then try to achieve what is possible and other pragmatic issues can wait.
It is not always easy to know what you want without deeper reflection (photo by Tachina Lee on Unsplash)
14. Knowing your limits
Boundaries for change could be formed by all sorts of different factors. Whether they are financial or not, you must know where to advance or not during the transformation process. Understand your budget, be aware of the size dimensions of the space you are going to modify, but most importantly, ask yourself how far you are disposed to go for that change.
15. Goal-setting
Another helpful strategy is to create some targets along the home decoration. That means deciding what to do and how long it will take for it to be concluded. A suggestion is to make approximations and readjust them when necessary, without skipping steps.
Take notes of those goals. Say, for example: “By Christmas, I want to have decided on at least three different sofas and two wallpapers that remind me of that photo I saw on my favourite TV series.”
Add your project goals to your personal agenda or maybe your phone calendar (Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash)
16. Identifying your needs
Well, you started by visualizing the change. You need that change. This is also an extremely important moment for you to truly ask yourself what you need.
Maybe you have always been bothered by the fact that you don’t get enough illumination in the room. So lighting is an important aspect to consider for the new layout.
Think about everything in the current design you couldn’t live without and all the details you miss the most. Do you need to keep a certain focal point? Do you love that gallery wall it took you months to decide on? Make sure what you love is kept and only change the elements you can live without.
17. Considering functionality
One of the essential home decorating secrets is to think about the functionality of each room. Think about the key features of that environment.
Will you work there? Or is it just for leisure? Is there enough space to perform what I am planning to do? You need to be able to easily circulate, balancing aesthetics and still managing to get things done there.
18. Online testing
Taking quizzes is a simple and fun way to explore different styles of interior design, as well as finding out what you prefer. The results of a test should not be taken so seriously as if they were the sole answer to your own taste. But they sure are good exposition to different layouts that may appeal to you. Following is a list of some entertaining and helpful quizzes:
- The DSA Interior Design Style Quiz
- Everyone Has A Specific Style For Their Ideal Home – Here's Yours
- The Ultimate Find-Your-Style Quiz by Apartment Therapy
- The Decorist Style Quiz
- The Modsy Style Quiz
19. Well-being references
Search in your mind places that brought you a sense of well-being: a trip abroad, a hotel you stayed in, a friend’s house. Apart from the great memories created in such places, remember those surroundings and use all your senses to bring all elements of welfare closer together (colours, textures, patterns, etc.).
20. Comfort references
And last but not least, always bear in mind what brings you comfort. Something from your youth or childhood such as details from your grandmother’s house that could be wood floor finishes or an old fashioned wall plate decoration. Some other materials are bound to bring along cosiness, like knitted throw blankets, soft fabrics and carpets. Time to really feel at home at your own place!
