Interior Design & Decor

It may seem rather intimidating to think about decorating your own home. Lots of people just live with things the way they find are. Others get the help of professionals, since they have no clue what they like or what approach to take!

Your home is your personal space. If you need help ask for suggestions, browse through interior design journals or online for inspiration! However, when the time comes to make decisions, they should be yours and your family’s. It’s your home and you should feel comfortable with the choices as you are the one who has to live with the choices!

Take a focal point in your room or the natural pathways. An example of this could be an ornate fire place, architectural features or placement of windows. Make this your starting point and start to design from one of these,

Choose your fabric, flooring and upholstery first, not the paint that you will use on the walls. You can always have paint mixed in any colour to compliment or match your soft furnishings when the time comes.

Don’t try to make things match, this is rarely effective! It is far better to have different textures, patterns such as floral and stripes which will add interest and style to the room.

Try not too make the room look too fussy by covering every surface with your treasures! Select the loves you love the most give them space to be viewed and enjoyed!

Determine which style of window treatments would be most practical and fit in with your design theme. The most common window treatments are blinds such as vertical blinds, or Venetian or traditional styled curtains used on their own or in combination with a blind. Choose the window dressing carefully as they do far more then just dress a window, they give you privacy, light, and insulation. As such they should always be an integral part of the design scheme not left as an after thought!

If you have thread bare carpets you have some great choices! Probably the most cost effective is to buy cheap rugs and cover the ‘bald’ bits! However, this is only a short term measure. Either replace the carpet or opt for the latest design trends and have stripped floor boards if you have wooden floors. The most cost effective way would be to strip the boards yourself, but this can be very time consuming, particularly if the boards are not in very good order or have layers of varnish to remove, in which case it may be advisable to obtain professional advice.

If you live in a modern style home which has concrete floors wood effect laminate floor is worth considering. The cheap rugs you brought can still be used on either of these floor surfaces as they will still coordinate with your soft furnishings.

If your furniture is mismatched or maybe you have inherited it, try to find a way of tying it all in with your room. By adding throws or cushions in coordinating fabric or painting the wood on some pieces of furniture, can achieve the desired effect you want.