Cozy and rustic: You might have a rustic design personality if you love the countryside and are drawn to natural surfaces like warm wood, rich leather, and stone. [1] X Research source Modern and urban: You might have a modern esthetic if you love the big city, traveling, and are drawn to bold, crisp lines, geometric shapes, and surfaces like chrome and glass. [2] X Research source Casual: You might enjoy a casual design approach if you like modern colors and textures, but with clean lines and sparse décor. Casual designs feature natural surfaces, cheery colors, and comfort. [3] X Research source
Look for things like fabrics, patterns, paint colors, photos of rooms, “mood” images of things that inspire you (like nature photos, pets, cityscapes, children, etc), and pictures of furniture, appliances, or fixtures that you love. As you begin to gather ideas, don’t worry about price points; you can usually find something in the same style or color at various price points from luxury to bargain.
Online. You can check out professional designer’s websites, do-it-yourself home improvement blogs, or websites associated with television shows (such as HGTV’s website). You can also search photo sharing websites like Pinterest or use keywords like “living room modern” or “living room southern. " Magazines and books. Visit your local bookstore or library to check out magazines and books dedicated to designing, decorating, or even more general lifestyle categories. For example, if you are designing a kitchen, a cooking magazine may have great photos of actual kitchens, cookware, and appliances. If you are designing a living space, lifestyle magazines (such as women’s magazines, hunting magazines, or parenting magazines) may have photos that inspire your space as well. Showrooms and stores. Do a quick internet search to find furniture stores, design studios, and home boutiques in your town. Then take a trip with your camera at the ready, and get pictures of mock up spaces or particular items that you love. You can also visit big box stores for ideas, especially for particular colors and styles for paint, flooring, fixtures, and appliances.
Is there a home in particular where you feel comfortable, relaxed, and rested? What elements of the living spaces do you like best, and which do you think is less ideal? If you have a friend who has a style much like your own, ask him or her to help you as you work on your own room design. Even if all your friend can tell you is where he or she bought the furniture and décor in the room, you will have an advantage as you work on your room.
Red is associated with passion, anger, and warmth. It also can be overpowering and cause headaches. It is a great accent color for one wall, or for a couch or other piece of furniture, but some experts suggest that you should not paint an entire room red. [8] X Research source More significantly, studies have shown that red can impair performance on cognitive tasks, so it be used cautiously in rooms like an office or study. [9] X Research source Green is associated with calm, rest, and balance, and is a great color for living rooms and bedrooms. However, too much green might take the energy out of a room, so combine it with a bit of red or orange to counteract its calming effects. [10] X Research source Blue is known as a calming and intellectual color, but it can also appear cold and uninviting unless you choose a blue with a warm base instead of a cool base (for example, teal or aquamarine instead of true blue). [11] X Research source Yellow and yellow-green are considered the least pleasant, but green-yellow (that is, more green than yellow) is considered to be an arousing, dominant color. [12] X Research source
The rooms in your house should complement the personality of the person or people who use them most. For example, if your space will be used to host dinner guests or clients, you will want to take a different approach than if it is used as a nursery or playroom. Similarly, if you are the only one who will be using the room, you might feel more free to design it to your own standards and not worry about how others will see it.
Don’t forget to measure windows and doorways, including width and height.
Your budget should be a list that includes general categories and a specific breakdown of how the money will be spent in each category. It will be unique to the room that you are designing, so it will differ depending on if it is a kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedroom, etc. Some aspects to include in your budget might include: Walls: Do you need to paint? What about repairing, replacing, or adding features like wood trim, crown mouldings, or paneling? How about wallpaper? Windows: Do you need new windows altogether, or can you keep the ones you have? Old windows can be drafty and dated, and hard to clean. But they can be disguised with good window treatments. Do you need new blinds? What about draperies, curtains, valances, or other window treatments? Flooring: Do you need to replace the carpeting? Do you want to put down hardwood floors or tiling? Could you just get by with steam cleaning the existing floors and perhaps adding an accept rug or area rug to update the space? Fixtures: Does the area have light fixtures or chandeliers that need to be replaced or updated? What about outlet and light switch covers? Does it have a sink, faucet, or bathtub that needs updating? What about countertops, cabinets, or appliances? Furniture (couch, chair, table, bookshelf, bed, etc). Décor: This includes everything from the pictures on the wall to the throw blanket on the couch. In many cases, you can renovate the appearance of a room by just changing the décor items. Do you want to add photos or canvases to the wall or to shelves? What about figurines, wall hangings, or soft lines like throw pillows or blankets?
As you write down the furniture, make a note of what you currently have and what you might need to buy.
Experiment with different furniture arrangement options using free room planning websites. Search online for “interactive room design” to get started. You can also use these websites design a virtual room from flooring and paint colors to cabinets and counter tops.
Begin by moving furniture and every item of décor (including pictures on the walls) out of the room. Keep it in another room if you can, to give you time to finish your project before you decide what to give away or sell. Give the space a deep cleaning. Clean the walls, windows, and floors and any permanent fixtures like lights, light switches, cabinets, or baseboards.
You may need to remove old wall paper or old wood trim before beginning. Prime the walls and paint the walls and trim.
Make sure all paint is dry before you begin with the flooring, which can produce a lot of dust that will stick to tacky paint. After you finish the flooring, be sure to vacuum or mop the floors before proceeding with the next steps.
Don’t be afraid to re-arrange. Sizes and placements might not completely match what you were envisioning the first time. Make sure seating arrangements provide the opportunity for conversation and/or unobstructed views of the TV, if applicable. Keep walkways clear for a natural flow of the room. Determine if rugs or end tables and positioning of seats are needed to section off areas of the room.
Use dimmers on the main light and place lamps strategically. Choose curtains, shades or blinds to control natural sunlight.
Hang pictures and artwork on the walls to complement the furniture placement. Place pictures, keepsakes and other decorations on shelves and tabletops. Use hideaway storage for blankets, coasters and other items that might need to be used but are not needed at all times.
