10 Tips for a Successful Decorating Project!

Our Philosophy: Decorating a home is a form of creativity open to everyone. What makes a house a “home” is what each person uniquely brings to their own space. There are no rules in decorating, but there are rules of thumb. The 10 tips basically cover from start to finish key elements that are necessary for a successful and hopefully stress free and fun project.

1. Dream, explore, discover! Take some time to look through magazines, web sites, and newspapers and randomly clip things that catch your attention. Don’t over think it too much. This will help you find an inspiration picture and ideas you may want to incorporate. Don’t be so sure that you and your spouse, partner or roommate is worlds apart. Designing for the sexes is not always as hard as you think!
    

2. Know your space. Whether reading a floor plan or drawing your own floor plan, understand your room. How does it feel? How do you want it to feel? What will you do in this room? You can have beauty and function in every room!
    

3. Develop a plan. Look at your house as a whole and then break down each area. Whether doing a single room or a whole house this is important. Set a budget and priorities. Inventory the items you own that you will keep, and create a wish list of what you’d like to put in each room.
    

4. Get Organized! My partner and I were crazy trying to organize everything we needed for a successful decorating project. We came up with a solution to hold everything we needed that goes from home to the store – the Decorating Assistant. See how we organize our project with the DA!
    

5. Pick a starting point. Whether using an inspiration picture, a piece of art, furniture that you love, or a favorite paint color, start with that and go from there. Additionally; when working on an individual room, start on what will be the focal point or area of the room and spread out from there.
    

6. Don’t be afraid – especially of color! Everyone makes mistakes, (even the professionals!) but you’ll never know if you don’t try it. The biggest fear is picking paint and matching colors. When using the age old “squint test” it’s easy! See examples of color schemes for beautiful rooms.
    

7. Furniture. Arranging furniture can be overwhelming and back breaking! With a floor plan and some “rules of thumb” it can be easy and mistakes are easily prevented. Some simple “rules of thumb” are….
    

8. Don’t forget about the ceiling! We all know we need to think about the floors and walls, but often forgotten is the ceiling. Ceilings can be a great way to add special touches and character to a room.
    

9. Lighting. A key element of every space that is often forgotten. There is day-to-day lighting, task lighting, accent lighting are equally important a room that both functional and beautiful. Lighting can make or break a room.
    

10. Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize. Often forgotten or eliminated because of budgets, but most important. Accessories define the personality of the room. Plant ledges, mantles, tabletops, are key places to create interest and define the personality of the room. 15-25% of your budget should go towards accessories, and this is not the place to negotiate.