When you first move into a new place, the thought of decorating can be a little bit intimidating.
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1. Find a Style For You
Figuring out your own personal style is the first step in decorating your space. One way to choose the style is by matching the inside of your home to the outside. For instance, if your home has Craftsman architecture, you can make the inside match by opting for furniture with natural colours, beautiful wood tones, and clean, solid construction.
Below are some of the most common styles that you may want to think about for your home:
Modern Style
Straight lines and simple, clean designs are at the heart of modern decor. A bit of warmth and softness can be added to the look through the use of earth-tone colours and natural wood. Currently, furniture and design elements from the mid-century modern style are trendy. Some of the architectural styles that are best suited to modern decor include Art Deco and ranch-style homes.
Farmhouse Style
Famous interior designers from TV like Joanna Gaines have popularised the farmhouse decorating style. This style adds instant warmth and comfort to your space. Look for large, comfortable sofas, casual wood furniture, and unique accent pieces that look like they came directly out of an antique store.
Transitional Style
For a versatile option, look no further than transitional style. This style combines traditional and modern elements, making it ideal for bringing a slightly modern touch to Victorian or colonial homes. Alternatively, it can also be used to add warmth and character to a newly-built home. Transitional style is known for combining warm, natural colours like olive green and burnt orange with natural elements like stone and darkly stained wood.
Contemporary Style
Contemporary decor is centred around minimalism. Typically, the number of furniture pieces in each area of the home is extremely limited. The colour palette tends to be fairly neutral, featuring colours like grey, white, or black. Bright spots of colour are often brought in through the accessories. Unlike modern decor which incorporates natural materials like wood, contemporary design usually centres around materials like glass or metal. This style works exceptionally well in homes that have unique architectural details. Because the decorating style is relatively nondescript, it allows the architectural style of the home to shine.
2. Plan One Room at a Time
Don’t try to decorate your whole space all at once. Instead, move through your house room by room, focusing on just one space at a time. If you want to move a little faster, you can choose as many as three rooms to work on simultaneously. Try to limit it to no more than that, however.
Keep in mind, you don’t have to use the same decorating style in every room of your home. Feel free to mix and match. In fact, using different decorating styles in different spaces is a great way to give your home a lot of character. To keep it from seeming too disjointed, however, try to tie the rooms together through a unifying design element. For instance, you could include the same colours in each space or add a unique design feature in each room that helps bring them all together.
3. Choose Your Large Pieces First
Typically, the largest piece of furniture in a particular room is the one that cost the most money. Because of that, you should always start with the big pieces first. For instance, if you are decorating a dining room, start by purchasing your table. In a family room, shop for a sofa before buying anything else. For a bedroom, begin with the bed and move on from there.
4. Use Paint to Express Your Style
If you are looking for a fast, affordable way to completely change the look of your space, all you have to do is paint your walls. Visit your local paint store and pick out some colours that you love. Don’t be afraid to go bold. You can always paint over it if you don’t like the way that it looks. Neutral colours are also a good choice since they provide the perfect backdrop for your furniture and accessories.
As you can see, decorating a brand-new home presents some unique challenges. At the same time, however, it is also a lot of fun. By breaking your home down on a room-by-room basis, you can tackle the decorating with ease, creating a space that you absolutely love.