Design Ideas to Consider When Redecorating a Home
While working in our Authentic Home Color Bar in Seattle, we often receive requests from customers for some quick interior design ideas they can integrate into their home. Given the popularity of the question, I thought I'd share some of our basic interior design ideas to help you with your next home remodel or update.
Paint Color
Paint color can have a lasting impression on all who live in and visit your home. Because we spend a considerable amount of time in our homes, we can enhance our living spaces by bringing in warmth, beauty and joy into a home through paint. Painting the five walls in a room (the fifth wall being your ceiling) can provide the largest impact to the look and feel of the space, with the least amount of expense and effort.
Often times, people get overwhelmed with the magnitude of paint choices on the market today. I designed Authentic Home COLOR Paint™ to help you overcome the fear of selecting a paint color. That’s because we understand that too many choices can become confusing and that most homes can be designed around a few beautiful, simple colors. The Authentic Home COLOR Paint™ is designed in three vignettes to evoke moods and feelings. The palettes help you stay focused and diminish frustration around choosing the right paint colors for your home.
Window Coverings
When I walk into a person’s home for the first time, I am constantly surprised by the number of bare windows. Dressing your windows is a simple way to ensure a cohesive look of the entire space. Many design elements, such as stationary drapery panels or sheer roman shades can be added to complete the room's design without detracting from your view or sunlight. After the sun goes down, an undressed window turns into a black box that is neither appealing nor warm. Try to imagine the look you want to achieve in your space and take baby steps to work towards that look. There are a tremendous amount of options available today and with some guidance you can bring the look you want to reality.
Interior Arranging
After the painting is complete and the windows are dressed, it is time to arrange your living space. You’ll be surprised to find out that you probably have most of the elements for the room arrangement right in your own home. When we provide interior arranging services for clients, we spend time going through their attics, basements and garages to uncover hidden treasures that you may have forgotten about. More often than not, we find beautiful antiques that just need to be dusted off and shown in the right setting.
I typically recommend a few easy and inexpensive ways to refresh a room's look that include – swap out or purchase new artwork, lampshades or pillows, spend the time updating your family photos and place them in similarly colored frames and add in some seasonal touches like silk flowers and candles to your living room or bedroom. Sometimes all it takes is changing the little things that can have the biggest impact on you and your family. Make it authentic to yourself and enjoy!
Room Flow
I often advise clients to pretend they are a first time visitor in their own home. Stand at the front doorway and look around to see where your eye goes to first. Are you looking at something appealing or are you looking straight through a window that has an unsightly view of your neighbor’s backyard? Work towards having a pleasing welcome to your home by camouflaging spaces that are not attractive. Fresh or silk plants can do wonders to help hide unwanted areas or act as fillers for open spaces or empty corners. Moving around furniture or setting up small vignettes of artwork on the wall can also help.
Creating a conversation area is the next step. Look carefully at the flow of the room. How do people get from the front door to the kitchen area? Once you determine this, you can decide where your conversation area will be located. Arrange the furniture so that you need to enter into the conversation area or zone. Create the area with a sofa, one or two chairs, a coffee table and one or two side tables. Keep I mind that couches do not always need to be situated alongside a wall or in front of a window – for example, try placing the couch on an angle or as a divider between two areas of the room. Once the couch is set you can then place the chairs, tables, and lamps close to the couch to ensure you maintain an effective conversation area.
Lighting
Lighting is an important design element that is often overlooked. Having sufficient light for reading is critical and lamps with shades that project the light down are usually best. Also, the lamp wattage is important to note when determining the number of lamps to be placed in the space. I also recommend using soft pink light bulbs instead of white ones. The pink sends a warmer light into the room – try it once and you’ll never use a white bulb again!