Table of Contents
1. Figure Out Your Particular Style
Exactly how would you like your living room to feel? One trick to figure out your style is to look through your personal closet. Is your closet filled with comfortable casual clothes? Does it have tailored outfits?
Are most of your clothes a particular color or even pattern? Another way to figure out your style is to ponder on the keywords that you want the space to be defined by.
For example, some possible keywords include inviting, modern, elegant, traditional, casual, cozy, etc.
Next, look at different design inspirations that you particularly like. This is one area that I usually start with when talking to my interior design clients.
Think about any particular area or space that you really liked such as a hotel lobby, restaurant, etc.
It can even be an interior that you saw during a trip to another country such as a New York bar, a restaurant in Japan, etc.
2. Determine The Styles You Dislike
For most people, it is much easier to identify the things that they dislike. When you add this, it is much easier to eliminate particular styles and narrow down the choices.
So, for example, you may not like artwork with large prints because it reminds you of a childhood home or room that you absolutely hated.
This refers to furniture as well where you may not like leather couches because it brings back bad memories of when you had to go to the doctor as a child and the waiting room was filled with leather couches and chairs.
Even particular colors may cause negative feelings that you don’t want to feel. Remember, all of these are quite personal and they will make up your current tastes.
3. Use The Space And Build Around It
You will need to plan the space as well as scale. In many cases, people make the mistake of buying furniture that is either too small or large for the area. I personally believe that there is a certain retail company that creates large furniture that is to blame for this issue.
So, make sure that you build your space based on the furniture and try to balance it out as much as you can. If you have a big room, then you may want to have different parts of the room for particular activities.
For example, you may have a seating area for hanging out with your friends and family members. You may have another area just for watching TV and even another for working that has an office desk and chair. You don’t need to make everything symmetrical since space can feel over-planned.
You should look at the distribution of objects and properly space them out in the space for balance. Extra long curtains can finish a space beautifully. When it comes to good design, scale and proportions are critical.
4. Look At Different Paint Samples
The type and color of paint that you select are very important. Good paint choices will make space feel more connected and affect the entire house.
However, if you have different paint colors for different rooms, then this may make your home feel too disjointed. Keep in mind that different colors impact your mood since some can make you feel relaxed, happy, or even irritated. I personally enjoy painting doors in black so that there is a distinct contrast with white walls.
Be sure to place different colored samples of paint on your walls when considering your options. Make sure to look at how they appear under different types of lighting as well as in the morning, mid-day, evening, and night.
Keep in mind that even though you may have successfully used a particular color on one project, it may not go so well on another.
What works in another person’s home may not look good in yours. You can go to any paint store and look at the paint chips to figure out the best colors for your interior.
If you want white paint, make sure to look at the different hues of white that have different undertones. Some white paints can have undertones of yellow, pink, blue, orange, etc.
Additionally, the surroundings will have an impact on the color of your walls.
5. Mix Different Price Points
Lastly, high-priced items such as furniture, art, etc don’t automatically mean they are better. You may want to use a relatively unknown designer or artist if you particularly like their offerings as opposed to more well-known persons.
Even the most simple and understated objects can be quite beautiful and have more soul. So, it is advised that you furnish your space with items that are both expensive and inexpensive.
After all, something doesn’t need to be expensive to be beautiful and precious. Of course, in the same vein, you are also free to spend as much money as you want on items that you absolutely love.
