Interior Design: Top 7 Things You Should Know

 

Some things just come naturally for people, cooking, drawing, sports or even decorating a room… For the rest of us, it takes an education!

When we bought our first home I was beaming with excitement that I was finally going to be able to decorate, I mean I had pretty much waited my entire life to begin caring about the way my home looked so I wanted it to be bigger and better than anything I had ever seen before.

It wasn’t long before I found myself overwhelmed with all of the decision making because let’s face it there are a lot of details that go into decorating a home and 9 times out of 10 winging it just doesn’t work and unfortunately my case was no exception.

Once I was finally able to pick myself up from the disappointment that this wasn’t something that I was just naturally good at and really look at the situation it occurred to me that interior design just like drawing or tennis could 100% be learned and of course me being great at decorating wasn’t going to suddenly happen just because we bought a home.

 

 

As hard as that reality was to swallow it also gave me hope because that meant it wasn’t just something that a portion of the world was instantly good at leaving the rest of us to live in boring houses while the “others” enjoyed the perks of a gorgeous home.

Since that day I have paid very close attention to what worked in our home and I want to share that information with you in hopes that it will take some of the confusion out of interior design and help you to decorate your home with ease.

This post may contain affiliate links for your shopping convenience, this is at no extra cost to you. For information see my disclosures here. 

Interior Design: 7 Things You Should Know

 

Find Your Style: Sometimes this can seem a little tricky because you may find yourself liking several different styles but actually taking the time to hone in on the style you love the most will keep costly mistakes at a minimum and make decorating your home so much easier.

For example, if you love modern farmhouse design you probably won’t end up happy with a full-blown mid-century modern style home. Spending a little time discovering what style speaks to you the most will be a game changer as you set out on your decorating journey.

 

Tell Your Story: Your home should be a reflection of who you are. I know that designers/bloggers have been screaming this from the rooftops for ages but does anyone ever really know what it means? Adding personal touches to your home doesn’t have to feel like rocket science.

Think of this, when a designer meets a client for the first time one of the first questions is “what’s your story” then the client will proceed to tell the designer about his or her life, things that interest them, colors they are drawn to and how they live their day to day life. Without this information, the design could end up being the wrong fit for the client which is why learning to tell your story throughout your home is so important.

The best way to do0 this throughout your home is with pieces and accessories that reveal things about you such as your hobbies, interests, and colors. Often when we are in the beginning stages of decorating we can be drawn to the latest trends or prepackaged furniture sets and that is where so many people go wrong. Yes, it can still look good but it is so hard to achieve a curated personal look when all of the pieces are so matchy-matchy so avoid that at all costs.

 

Think Practical: When purchasing items for your home never buy something that isn’t comfortable simply because it’s beautiful. Buying pieces that are pretty yet uncomfortable is a huge mistake and one that unfortunately happens all too often.

Most of us want our homes to be cozy and inviting, in order to do that we have to think practically. Are you really going to use that strange mid-century chair that one butt cheek doesn’t even fit on? Probably not… Instead look for options that are both pleasing to the eye and comfortable for the space, sometimes this does require more work but it will always be worth the wait.

Less Is Always More: Keeping things simple will not only keep your space from looking cluttered and overcrowded but it will also all certain show pieces to shine.

For me, this became all too apparent when I realized there was so much stuff on our bookshelves that the custom drawing of my late father in law had suddenly faded into the background. As I began removing pieces not only did the portrait become the star of the show but the bookshelves themselves just looked better.

Remember you can always add more items if need but white space or a place for the eyes to rest is super important when it comes to design.

 

Texture Is King: I honestly can’t tell you how many times someone has written in asking me why their space still feels bland or like its missing something and 9 out of 10 times it always comes back to texture.

Adding different types of texture throughout your home is so important and its the number one thing that will give your home that well-designed look. Adding in baskets, throws, linen curtains, or wood bamboo shades are easy was to add texture throughout your home and if you feel like your space is lacking something its always wise to start there.

 

Learn Your Home: Taking the time to learn about your home and how you’ll use it is important for creating a design that fits your family.

Your knowledge of your home and what works best for your family changes as you live in it. In the beginning, you know nothing about how you’ll use your home or what space works best for what person etc.

For example, your home may have 3 bedrooms and an office, when you first move in your think you’ll use the office daily but after living in your home for a while you may realize that you don’t use it as often as you thought and your kids really need the extra space for when they have friends over. Taking the time to learn about your home and how it functions best for you and your family will keep you from having to redesign a something later because there was a better fit.

 

Planning Makes Perfect: In life, they say practice makes perfect but when it comes to design its the planning that’s important. Trying to piecemeal things together only to realize that they don’t work well together later is one of the biggest reasons people struggle with decorating their own homes.

Creating a plan for each space will not only take the guesswork out of what to buy but you’ll also know what NOT to buy! This is also a great way to make sure your spaces flow together nicely and overall will just help you stay on track. After years of doing it the wrong way and being disappointed in the end, I can tell you that I don’t decorate a space without first completing this step.

 

Decorating your home doesn’t have to be hard and educating yourself is one of the best things that you can do to ensure you’re well equipped for the task. Keeping these tips in mind will help you learn to decorate with ease and create a home that you can be proud of.

 

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