where to start decorating
One of the questions I get from clients is where to start making changes in their homes. Many of them want that “magazine look” but feel very overwhelmed when they look at their house as a whole. So, I always advise to pick one room and start there. Do you want to start with the foyer because that’s where your company first enters your house? Or the family room because that’s where you spend most of your time? Most often, the master bedroom is the last room on the list because guests don’t normally see that space.
Once you pick the space you want to tackle, here are some steps for getting it to look exactly how your mind imagines:
Take a Look at the Room
What do you like about it? What do you not like about it? Is there natural light? Are the overhead lights too bright and you need to incorporate more lamp light? Take a look at the furnishings and make sure they are arranged to allow for the most function. I am a big “feeling” person and I want to make sure that the spaces in my own home or homes that I am working on give a good feeling; a feeling of comfort and “home”. Is there clutter that needs to be organized or tossed out? Make a list.
Collect Information
Next, figure out your style. This is easier said than done, I know! Personally, I like all sorts of things and can appreciate traditional, midcentury modern, transitional and even some contemporary pieces. Try to stick to one or two styles when searching for inspiration. Pinterest and Houzz are great places to start your search. Flip through magazines that show up in your mailbox and pull out pages, making notes about the things you like. Don’t worry about the details here, just start gathering info.
Scrutinize
Once you have all of your inspiration pictures selected and organized, really take a good look at what you have gathered and figure out what you liked about the space. Did you like the way the books were arranged on a built-in? Or maybe the neutral rug in the foyer. Did you select a family room that doesn’t look like your style at all but you loved the color of the walls or the pattern on the drapes? Start piecing together your favorite parts of each space and figure out what can work for you and your family.
Look for Similarities
Finally, start looking for things that are the same in your inspiration images. Did you find yourself selecting pictures that had the same type of greenery in them? Then work that into your space. Did you find that you gravitated toward furniture pieces that had lots of storage space (cabinets and drawers)? Then start measuring and hunt down something that will work for you. If you have good spatial skills, you might want to even pull out a pencil and paper and do a floor plan/space plan sketch. There are also really good online programs that are free and easy to use to help you visualize furniture layout (Icovia is one I love).
Once you have walked through these four steps in the first space that you want to start decorating it will be much easier to flow into decorating other areas of your home. It can feel overwhelming but stopping, focusing and being intentional with your choices will make it much more manageable.
