How to Decorate a Room

When I asked one of my daughters for suggestions for blog topics, the first thing she said was “how to decorate a room.” Its a good topic, simple yet complex. So here are some of my suggestions on “how to decorate a room.

Budget

Before taking on any project, you have to determine how much you have to spend. Is this going to be a small project of updating the accessories, or are you looking at structural changes. It is important to set a realistic budget when you figure out how to decorate a room. Do it in the beginning and stick to it. If you spend all of your money on a beautiful rug, but don’t have money left for a chair or for accessories, you will be disappointed. So try to set a realistic budget. After you have gone through the steps below, you may also want to revise your budget.

What Do You Like?

Do some research. Go to Pinterest and pin pictures of rooms you like. Figure out what you like about the room. Houzz is also a good place to find inspiration shots. Magazines are also a great resource. After you have done this, you will have a better idea of what you like.

Survey the Room

Figure out what structural changes if any that would want to make to your room. Do you want to take down a wall or maybe add mouldings? Changing the flooring would be considered something structural. If you can’t do the work yourself, this would be the time to start searching and contacting people that can do what you need. This would also be the time to revise your budget accordingly.

What To Keep

Part of surveying your room would be to look at your existing furnishings to decide what to keep and what goes. Is there something in your room that you might be able to change, paint or reupholster to make it work in your new room? It’s all part of figuring out how to decorate a room.

Make a List

Figure out the pieces that you will need. Include the accessories that you will need and make sure those things are considered in your budget.

Your Inspiration

Inspiration can come from many places. It can come from a piece of art that you love or a fabric or rug. It can also come from a piece of furniture that you already have. This inspiration piece is a good place to help determine your colour palette. Does it fit within the style that you determined above?

Get The Messy Work Done First

If you have to some sort of construction, new flooring or painting, this is the time to do it. You want to get all of the messy stuff out of the way before you bring in your new pieces.

Colour Palette

You can can look carefully and determine colours to work well with in the room. The colours should, in part, link to the inspiration piece you determined above. At this point it is important to consider how this colour palette corresponds to adjoining room. This is not to say that you want to paint your rooms the same colour. I like to have at least one thing in each room that helps the colour palette link room to room. For example, we have a lot of greens and blues in our house. The rooms don’t look the same but they feel like they belong together.

Take Your Measurements

Before you make any purchases it is important to take your measurements. You need to know the measurements of the walls and floors when you are shopping. It is also a good idea to tape out on the floor the size and placement of the pieces you are considering to make sure they are going to fit and leave space for moving around.

Shopping

The big question is where to start first. The best place to start is with the biggest piece of furniture. That will probably be the most expensive, so it is important to get it right. It needs to fit with the colour palette that you have established, but it is important to consider the longer term as well. Is that something that would be flexible enough to work with a possible future colour palette change?

The rest of the pieces of furniture may not cost as much as your first investment but they are no less valuable. Select everything that you purchase with care. You don’t want to buy something just for the sake of finishing up the room in a hurry. Take your time and make well thought out purchase. Look at your original inspiration pictures to make sure you are going in your intended direction. The floor covering where you should next turn your attention or if it is your biggest purchase, it should be first. This is also likely to be a sizeable investment.

The accessories are the last thing that you should choose. You will likely continue acquiring accessories for quite a while after until a room is finished.

Paint

Once you know the colours of what is going in the room, it is time to choose a paint colour. You can look at your inspiration piece for a colour suggestion. I would suggest that you pick a few colours and sample them in the room, on different walls and during different times of day. I am a self-professed lover of white but even picking the right white takes careful consideration.

A few things to Keep in Mind

Colour is different from texture. You want to make you have texture in your room that fits with the inspiration shots you saved. For example, rough woods for a more rustic or farm setting, smoother darker woods for more formal. Smooth, shiny or more ornate fabrics for more formal and more chunky, textured fabrics for more casual.

Every room needs a bit of black and some greenery – fake or alive.

I always like to have something notable in a room. Maybe its a piece or art or antique or a great photograph. There should be something that catches the eye and begs a question or comment.

The Finished Product

There is nothing quite as satisfying as pulling everything together in a room transformation. Once the painting and/or flooring is complete and the furniture can go in along with the accessories.

I hope this helps you in some way to move forward with learning how to decorate a room. And I hope that you are pleased with your results.

Always

Leslie