Consider this—you’ve just bought a new home, signed a lease on a new apartment, or moved to a new city. You fell in love with the space that will become your new home, but when you think about decorating it from scratch, you get overwhelmed with options and decisions. Which paint color should I choose? Should I get a sectional or three seat sofa? What size rug do I need? At a glance, a blank decorating slate can feel intimidating, but with a project-managing approach to interior decorating, you’ll find that decisions are much more easily made.
As Interior designer, we know this all too well—when juggling dozens of clients and project, how we approach to interior home decoration is less akin to intuition and closer to a top-level project management method, complete with plans, spreadsheets, and actionable to-do lists. By breaking down each aspect of interior home decoration, we can track your progress and keep a decor plan on schedule and on budget. Better yet, we can easily ensure that whichever individual piece you choose will work within the overall scheme of the room or even the home. So how do you decorate a room from start to finish using a project management approach? We outline the 12 steps that will get you from blank slate to beautiful space—and how to tackle it in just one weekend.
Get inspired
The first step to decorating is to know where you’re going—and in order to do this, you need to have a plan. Start with gathering inspiration: interior images, furniture you love, textures, and materials. Group everything into a folder or Pinterest board to keep a clear and coherent vision in one space.
Your deliverable: An inspiration board filled with your favorite rooms, furniture pieces, colors, and materials.
Find the common threads
Once you have all your inspiration in one place, find the common threads. Do you have a penchant for marble, minimal designs, the color blue? Identify which items are catching your eye, and use these pieces, colors, textures, and materials as a base for your design plan. The goal isn’t to go overboard with any of them, but to create a coherent base and style for your space.
Your deliverable: A boiled-down palette of colors, materials, and textures to help you guide future decisions.
Take inventory
Once you’ve nailed down your aesthetic, take inventory of what you already own and decide whether each piece has a place in your new home. Can you find a spot for your favorite art? Does your grandmother’s antique buffet fit with your minimal scheme? Remember—mixing periods and styles can add to your decor, but only you can judge whether each individual piece will add cachet or clash with your overall look.
Your deliverable: A list of everything you’ll keep, sell, give, or donate—with actionable plans for each.
Identify your core needs
You may love small mid-century settees, but is it practical for your lifestyle? Identify your core needs so you don’t end up with a design that’s pretty but impractical. Consider how many people you want to seat in your living room or at your dining table; what type of activities take place in your home: Do you love playing board games, throwing cocktail parties, napping on the sofa, or watching Netflix marathons? Let your lifestyle guide your floor plan. Should your sofa face the TV, the fireplace, or a pair of lounge chairs? Should it sit in the middle of the room or by a sunlit window? How big should it be? These are all questions you’ll need to have answers to before picking furniture.
Your deliverable: A core list of activities that take place in your home and the requirements that accompany them (e.g., a desk for working from home or a table to play board games).
Digest your overall plan
You’ve had time to digest your overall plan and aesthetic for the space, now it’s time to take concrete action. Make a list of every single piece of furniture you want. Consider side tables, sofas, lounge chairs, entryway consoles, and bar cabinets. Now is not the time to restrain yourself with budgets or measurements—let yourself dream up your ultimate wish list regardless of what actually makes sense. Have you always wanted a chaise lounge? Maybe you’d like a vanity to get ready in the morning? Write it all down.
Your deliverable: An ultimate wish list of everything you want in your space, regardless of space or budget.
Floor Plan
Now that you know your needs and wants, it’s time to place these items in a floor plan to see which ones make the cut. Use a paper and pen or an app to make a floor plan to scale, and start dropping furniture pieces in. Again, don’t limit yourself with budget—consider only spatial requirements. As a guide, leave three feet of walking space in high traffic areas and one to two feet between sofas and tables.
Your deliverable: A floor plan (or a few floor plan options) depicting how you want your space to flow, complete with all the furniture you’ll need.
Lighting
Once you have a furniture plan, use the same floor plan to map out your lighting. Consider all sources of light: pendants, flush mounts, recessed, sconces, table or floor lamps—but be mindful of which types of lighting require an electrician and which ones don’t. Add floor lamps near lounge chairs and sofas, and table lamps on side tables, buffets, and consoles. At the very least, every room should have three sources of lighting at eye level, positioned around the room in a triangular shape.
Your deliverable: Your furniture plan completes with a lighting map—and a list of your lighting needs.
Cost Estimation
Now that you have a clear idea of what you need and where you need it, it’s time to start assigning dollar figures. To do this, input your furniture list into a spreadsheet with a total budget amount at the bottom—pick a figure you’re comfortable with and that seems reasonable with the number of things you have to buy. Then, start assigning numbers to each item according to how much you think it costs or how much you feel comfortable spending on each. Play with the amounts until you arrive at a total that’s under your planned total. Remember to budget at least 20% for unplanned issues, taxes, delivery, and other fees.
Your deliverable: A detailed budget plan to guide you through the purchasing phase.
Start Shopping
Now comes the fun part: Start shopping for pieces you love, starting with the biggest ones. It’s easier to place smaller items in afterward than the other way around. Don’t forget rugs, which will need to go in first. As you narrow down on each piece, add their price to your budget spreadsheet. If you go over, try making substitutions until you reach a budget you’re comfortable with. Most items and styles are available at a variety or price points, so don’t be afraid to visit budget retailers to see if you can find a similar item at a better price.
Your deliverable: A detailed shopping list outlining each piece of furniture you need to purchase. Don’t forget to measure everything twice before confirming your order.
Comparing and Choosing
Chances are that during your furniture sourcing, you came across items you absolutely loved but that didn’t fit your budget, but that doesn’t mean you should cross them off forever. Keep these pieces aside and see if you could purchase them down the line or if the splurge is worth it. After all, one investment piece can elevate the furniture of a whole room, if chosen carefully. The types of pieces you may want to splurge on are unique statement pieces that will make a big impact on your overall design, or timeless larger items like sofas that you can see yourself keeping for decades.
Your deliverable: A short list of a couples of splurge items to consider investing in for the long run.
Colors and painting
You may think that the best time to pick a paint color is at the beginning, but we prefer choosing it at the end. Why? It’s easier to pick a tone to complement your entire furniture collection than the other way around. Pick paint samples and look at them against the furniture you’ve chosen until you find the perfect match. Examine them against fabric or material samples to make sure that everything works together. If you can, get sample pots and paint one-foot squares on your wall to look at under different lights throughout the day. Each paint will look radically different under natural light than it does on a paint chip.
Your deliverable: A painting plan complete with colors and paint finishes.
Add in Accessories
Lastly, add in accessories in your space as you create layers that will make it feel lived in. A mistake people often make is to purchase a ton of small accessories instead of the big pieces first because they’re afraid of committing to a design scheme. By picking the bigger items first, you’ll avoid ending up with a ton of small accessories that don’t work together. When picking accessories, consider art for the walls, storage like baskets and trays, coffee table books, coasters, vases, and anything else that might enhance your space while still keeping it livable and practical. Repeat the same steps 8 through 10 to budget your accessories.
Balance your room by placing large pieces of furniture around your living space. If possible, tall items like bookcases and grandfather clocks ought to be opposite each other to shield the room from looking cut sided. Then add smaller pieces like tables in the spaces where they will be convenient and attractive. If you have small furnishings or decorator objects, group them in uneven numbers like one, three or five items together. Just try remembering those three table set or two lounge chairs. Just see some furniture pieces on our sites in photos section. You might get your charming style of furniture and then you may source them accordingly.Floor coverings may be wood, tile or carpet of the same color or a darker hue than the walls. Area or throw rugs may then be added to add interest, color or texture. Rugs also serve as protection from dirt and scuffs.
Common Home Interior Design Mistakes To Avoid
Here are some design trends you may want to avoid:
1. Not hiring an interior designer
When you decorate your home interior by yourself seems to be cost efficient, when it comes to mistakes, it will lead to more costly. Investment will be disturbing every time you look at interior design mistakes. Hiring an interior designer can help you avoid unsightly and expensive mistakes. The
interior design price will not exceed a big mistake, and the end result will bring years of enjoyment. A good interior designer will know how to transform your thoughts to the next level and establish a functional space, leaving you with a home you love. You need to find the best interior designer for your home interior design.
2. Poor Painting Color
Painting is an important factor which will give vibes to your home. Do not use the single color theme for home instead use matching color with furniture. You must take a time to look for suitable color. Colour combinations give your living space a cohesive and striking look, but you must set the balance for everything. Choice of flooring can have huge repercussions on the overall ambience and atmosphere of your home. Avoid the colour which makes your home dull. You should discuss with the interior designer while choosing the painting color for your home interiors.
3. Bad lighting
It might be one of the last things people think about in a home, lighting, however, is critical to a pleasant environment. It feel worse when we living in the dark home. Lighting is a tricky thing to get right in a home. Try different types of lighting which is suitable for your home by considering the electrical cost. Task lighting is also incredibly important in the study and kitchen. Making sure that lighting casts the proper shadows is vital to effective illumination and remember — dimmer switches are your best friend. The hidden lighting extending from the bed edges to the ceiling add a degree of sophistication to the room. Placement of light is very important when it comes to home interior design.
4. Huge furniture
Some home owners tend to buy furniture even if they don’t need it , thinking it will give amazing interior design styles. Your home does not need rooms full of decorative pieces of furniture. You have to think of space availability when u buying huge furniture. A room overcrowded with furniture will never feel spacious. All your pieces should be in an appealing arrangement and fulfill your needs with regard to function and comfort. Don’t let furniture impede traffic flow through the space or restrict movement.
5. Hanging too many pieces
Don’t follow too many design trends because, in a short time, your house will appear dated instead of timeless. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing.Hanging pieces too much also affect the home interior design. Keeping necessary hanging pieces will balance the home interior design.
6. A Boring Entryway
When visitors walk through the door, they should get the good feeling from your entryway that leads to give good look for the rest of the home. If your entryway is boring, they aren’t going to expect much when they walk around the corner. A messy hallway or entrance can ruin your home’s sense of space, as well as its ambience. Choose functional storage options and avoid leaving shoes on the floor.
7. Following all the trends
The greatest mistakes done by the homeowners these days are blindly following all trends. However, some styles are timeless, so go for them in your home. Think of timeless trends when you buy décor pieces for your home. You should make sure that you are comfortable and satisfied in every way possible with your home.
Your deliverable: An accessories plan to add finishing touches to your decor and, at the end, a beautiful home you’ll look forward to coming home to. For Best Interior Home Decoration Services in Singapore, Please contact us.
If you in need of best interior decorator in Singapore then get in touch with us and we assure you best service at competitive rates.