Here at Rise Above Remodeling, we hear this question often when we are planning a remodel for a client’s home. One of the things we keep hearing over and over is that they don’t know what to buy. They all have what I like to call “designaphobia”. The fear of decorating! Decorating your home should be fun, not intimidating. Here are 5 easy tips you can use to start developing your own interior design style and start decorating your home fearlessly!
Start a Design Inspiration Board: Begin to define your style by keeping a collection of pictures of homes, kitchens, bathrooms and styles you like. You might want to keep this in a binder the old fashioned way. Or literally pin ideas on a bulletin board. Or create a Pinterest board and call it “My Design Inspiration” Fill that binder or board with anything that catches your eye, from whole room designs to accessories. Before you know it you will start to see common design styles and colors emerge. These are going to be your go to inspiration pictures when preparing for your home’s remodel.
Define Your Style: Now that you know what you like, you can define your style. Are the majority of your inspiration ideas modern or contemporary? Are you traditional or transitional? Knowing your design style can help you determine what trends you find appealing and will help to determine the type of remodel that will fit your individual needs.
Shop Neutral: It might sound kind of boring but if you are overwhelmed by decorating, buy the basics (such as flooring and cabinets) in neutral colors. Once you find your style, you will also find that your style changes with time. You will never have to do a major and expensive overhaul when you keep key pieces neutral. Simply swapping out your back splash, changing your counter tops, or switching accessories like pillows and rugs will update your home and freshen your style in the future. To find the colors to layer on your neutral pieces, take a look in your closet. What colors do you wear the most often? These are probably colors you will love in your home too.
Give It Time: Most of us don’t have a big budget to work with so decorating a whole house might not happen overnight. Great designs happen over time. So get the basics of a room going and let the rest fall into place over time. For example, if you are remodeling your family room, choose neutral colors for the basic remodel activities, this way you can decorate in a way that can change and grow with your family.
Get Professional Help: Hiring an interior designer for a whole project can be a huge expense. But did you Rise Above Remodeling will explore conceptual drawings of your remodel and suggest product options as well as review the scope of work for your project. Our designer is here to listen and help define/ refine your priorities for the project. Through our discussions we will refine, and better define, the drawings and scope of work for your project. During this time we will also discuss the estimated budget for the estimated scope of work. This estimated budget will be comprehensive of the preliminary scope of work, product ideas, and other project priorities that were identified during the initial measure. With this discussion you will have a better understanding of the ability and value that Rise Above can offer you. This process of defining your exact needs and wants through the remodeling project might take 2-3 meetings or more depending on details and complexity. There is no pressure to hurry this process. Our estimators and designers are here to help you feel comfortable and guide you through the choices for your specific needs and wants.
There are so many other things you can do to help develop your style and design your home. But following these 5 tips will get you started. Happy Remodeling!
Categorised in: Design