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Decorating My Home

Getting Started

Making your house a home is a personal adventure. Everyone has different taste and style. You are the one who will be living there, so make sure you are comfortable with the decorating decisions.

When decorating any space, having a plan to follow will help make decorating a positive experience.

Here is a suggested decorating order:

1. Walls (paint color or wallpaper)

2. Furniture arrangement

3. Accessories (window treatments. accent pillows etc.)

4. Lighting

5. Artwork

6. Landscaping

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The Walls

• Light colors make a room look bigger and dark colors make a room look warm and cozy,
• Light influences color, so be sure to experiment with the lighting to make sure you have the color you want.
• Beiges and off-whites have color that becomes more intense under light.

Your walls can to set the mood for the rest of the room. They can make a room seem larger or smaller, formal or informal. Decide what mood you want reflected in that room.

You can visit your local paint store for help with selecting the right paint or wallpaper and proper tools. Your paint store, local hardware store or neighborhood craft store should also have information, resources and tools on special painting techniques like faux painting or stenciling.

 If you are going to hire a professional, be sure everyone understands what work is going to be done, what services will be provided, how much they will cost, and the completion date. Put all the information in writing, so there are no misunderstandings.

Perhaps you are doing the work yourself. Take some time to find out how to do the work properly. If possible, give yourself some practice before tackling the real project, especially if you’re going to be using a specialized technique. Avoid decorating disaster by being prepared.

My walls are fine. Move on to Furniture Arrangement

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Furniture Arrangement

• Arrange the furniture to allow movement around the room.
• Decide on a focal point for each room and arrange the furniture around the focal point.
• Keep the furniture away from heating and cooling vents.
• Use protectors on the legs of chairs, tables and sofas to protect non-carpeted floors.

 The way you organize your furniture has a huge impact on how the room looks and feels. Do you want the room open and simple, or do you prefer more furniture in the room? Either way, there are a few general rules for arranging furniture in any space.

Determine who and what the room is intended for and decide which items MUST be included.

For example if the room is a common area, allow enough space for everyone to gather at once. If it is a private area, more intimate spaces may allow for more furniture.

Furniture can sometimes be difficult to move about the room, and you probably only want to do it once. Drawing a sketch of your furniture layout may save you extra work. Position your larger and must-have furniture items in the room first. This way if you have to rearrange it more than once, smaller items won’t be in the way.

Once the must-have items are in place, you can fill in the extra space with your smaller, less functional and more decorative pieces. Play around with the positioning of these pieces in order to achieve the desired look.

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Accessories

• The fabric and texture that you select gives your décor a distinct personality.
• Use one color from your print or fabric to dominate the room and tie visual elements together.
• Two or three other colors from your print or fabric can be used as accent colors in smaller areas or in accessories to compliment or contrast your main color.

Window treatments, accent pillows and bedding ensembles are inexpensive ways to balance color and create personality for a room. And once again, understanding how a space will be used and who will be using it is a key to choosing the right accessories.

Will the room need privacy?  Should the room have direct sunlight or would filtered light be best?  Should the window have curtains or blinds? Are accent pillows appropriate and what colors should be used? 

Look for coordinating products. Many wall covering sample books feature a whole range of   coordinating home fashion products like fabrics, borders, comforters, pillow shams and even shower curtains.

Visiting model homes, fabric stores and even the displays in furniture stores will give you plenty of information and ideas to create your perfect environment.

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Lighting

• When selecting light fixtures and bulbs, remember that dark wall colors will absorb more light than light wall colors.
• Artwork can be highlighted with low-voltage tungsten picture lights that mount directly to the   picture frame.
• Use low-level, general lighting around televisions and computers to prevent glare and screen washout.
• Position floor lamps so the light comes from behind a person’s shoulder. The lampshade should be at eye level to avoid glare.

Lighting is both functional and decorative. It provides light; it creates interest; it establishes mood. How much light is needed in each room depends on the room’s use, the wall color, how much natural light is available and what you want.

Local hardware and furniture stores can offer a wide variety of different types of lighting. There are also specialty lighting stores that offer a wide selection of lights for every room in your house.

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Artwork

• When you create a wall display with multiple items, put the heaviest object at the bottom and keep the center of the group at eye level. This will allow the art to be enjoyed and without separating from the furniture and room accessories.
• Artwork doesn’t just mean pictures on a wall. Use a hanging mirror or put an attractive fabric on a frame. Try putting together a collection of items on a table or windowsill. An odd number of items in the group will work better than an even numbered group.

• Use mirrors in difficult spaces to give the room a sense of flow.

Artwork can mean anything from a wall size oil painting created specially for you to a framed drawing done by your first grader. Artwork can add style, color, personality, elegance, humor and almost anything else you need in your home. The most important factor in selecting artwork is you. You have to like it, because you’re going to live with it.

Mirrors can also be considered as artwork.  They can make small spaces appear larger when hung in the correct place. When you hang a mirror in a crowded corner, it seems to open up the space. If you hang the same mirror in a corner with colored walls, it reflects the colors of the walls and makes a hint of the color appear about the room. A mirror can enhance your space and help spread light and color around the room.  A small painting hung in the same space doesn’t produce the same airy results.

Finding the right artwork is an adventure in itself, so start looking. What you want for your walls can be found at a neighborhood garage sale, an art fair or in your family photo album.

Craft stores, art galleries, home decorating specialty stores are obvious places to look, but don’t be afraid to use your snapshots or your child’s school drawings. Properly framing them can make an inexpensive, but elegant and personal wall hanging.

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Landscaping

You’ll want to personalize the outside of your new home too. Well-planned landscaping enhances home   enjoyment of your new home and adds value to your investment.  Look through home and garden magazines for creative ideas and helpful hints.

 A local nursery or garden center can also assist in making landscaping selections that are sure to give you the look and feel you desire. How well your plants do can depend on how much of a green thumb you have and how much work you are willing to do. Be sure to let the person at the nursery know your level of gardening skills, so your landscaping will improve the quality of your life as well as the value of your home.

Now that you have read about some general decorating rules, you can apply what you have learned.  Have fun, be creative, and be yourself!

After you get your new home looking great, you may want to know how to keep it looking that way!  Every house will need some sort of maintenance.  Learn about common seasonal maintenance tips for the up-keep of your new investment.