Redecorating your home is exciting and a little nerve-racking. It’s fun to watch home makeover shows on tv and find inspiration online, but keep in mind – the problems and setbacks they face on tv aren’t just added for drama, it’s because those problems pop up in real life. The more extensive your makeover, the more likely you are to face problems.
Fortunately, if you’re just looking at redecorating – maybe some fresh paint, a couple new pieces of furniture, or accent pieces… it should be relatively painless. Your biggest concerns will be sticking to your budget and deciding on colors and fabrics. This article features 5 great tips from designers for redecorating your home.
- CREATE A GREAT SPACE FOR CONVERSATIONS.
When planning the layout of your living room or family room, imagine how a hotel lobby looks. The furniture is arranged in groupings. By balancing your furniture, as they do in hotels, you create a natural environment for conversations. Try it yourself, position your sofa, chairs, and tables to be in an “H” shape or “U” shape. Remember that furniture doesn’t have to be pushed up against the walls either. Usually, when people do this they’re trying to make the room look bigger. However, by floating furniture away from the walls, you create a large atmosphere with a cozy centralized spot for socializing.
- THERE SHOULD BE A MIRROR IN EVERY ROOM.
Mirrors can really brighten and open up a room, simply because they bounce the light around. Just be careful where it hangs, traditional spots are over sinks, furniture, and near doorways.
- LAYER YOUR LIGHTING
Most decorators believe that every room requires three kinds of lighting: ambient lights (the overall illumination of the room), decorative lighting (often used to highlight artwork), and task lighting (found in a reading nook or over the kitchen sink). While some rooms, such as bathrooms and kitchen require a ton of bright ambient lighting, in other areas you can have more fun. There are plenty of lighting tricks on the internet to try, such as placing a canister light in the corner of a room. It’ll cast a glow on the ceiling, that makes the room feel larger.
- START WITH YOUR BEDROOM
About half of your life is spent at home and about one-third of your life in your bedroom. This is not the area to skimp on your renovation budget. Sure, most of the time, when you have company, they probably won’t be hanging out in your bedroom; that’s why most people don’t focus on the bedroom at all, let alone first. But studies have shown, that loving your bedroom and being totally comfortable in your bed – increases your quality of sleep as well as your overall daily mood. Areas to focus on here are paint and your bed.
When it comes to choosing a color for your bedroom, we recommend matching it to your lifestyle. Early risers, for example, should choose a lighter palette of colors to help brighten the room when you wake. If you’re a night owl, however, then deeper tones to help set the mood at night are best.
As for your bed, start with the size; are you and your partner comfortable? If it’s feeling crowded at night upsizing your mattress will help you sleep better. We recommend choosing a Canadian made mattress, here in Sudbury Diggs and Dwellings have a great selection for you. Next, you’ll want to focus on your bedding. Don’t forget… thread count matters!
If there’s still room in your budget to finish off the master, the best designers recommend investing it in window treatments. Something substantial that will be sure to block out the light; choose a color or pattern that’s reflected in your bedding.
- FIGHT THE URGE TO MATCH
A lot of retail stores love to display and promote the fallacy that all your furniture has to match. This way you buy everything in sets… hopefully from them. Having a few pieces that do match is fine, but when you start to match too much, your home feels more like a showroom. Say you buy a cream color leather sofa and matching love seat, this is an opportunity to bring in a navy wingback chair to complete a more exciting set.
When choosing a furniture store to shop from, do a quick lap of the store to get a sense of the different styles and pieces they offer. If you’re excited during this first look around, then chances are it’ll be a great store to work with. Next, talk to the staff; finding a store with designers on staff will help you with reflecting your style in your newly decorated home.
