Interior Decoration


To reach the finish line, you initially have to know where you’re going.




Don't Start within the Furniture Store


Many have heard the recommendation to avoid grocery shopping when you’re hungry, because it results in poor choices. the identical holds true for furniture stores – don’t go shopping in a panic, simply because you have an empty home. Yes, you would like a sofa. But if you choose the pink-striped sectional just because you like it in the store, without taking measurements or brooding about the rest of the room, you’re cursed with it. the remainder of the room will have to be built around that sofa, and if it’s overlarge for the space it will look forever awkward.



Start within the room you’re looking to furnish, armed with a measuring tape and a notepad.



Know Your Measurements


Matching the size of furniture to the scale of a room is critical. A deep sectional sofa can easily overpower alittle room and svelte chairs can get lost in a wide-open loft. Before you begin designing, measure the length and width of every room you intend to decorate, together with the ceiling height and elements that could get in the way – stairs, columns, radiators and other obstructions. It’s also an honest idea to measure window openings, together with the wall space below, above and to the edges of each one, to urge ready for window coverings.



“The first mistake most of the people make is that they buy things that are the wrong size – sofas that don't fit in the room, sofas that do not fit through doorways, tables that are too small, desks that are too big, nightstands that hang into the doorway,” said David Kleinberg, founding father of the New York interior design firm David Kleinberg Design Associates. Carefully measuring your space can help avoid such problems.



Create a Floorplan


Once you've got the measurements of your room, it’s time to place them to use with a floor plan that gives you a bird’s eye view of the entire home. “Every job should start with a plan ,” said Alexa Hampton, the president of Mark Hampton, the ny interior design firm founded by her father. “You have to know the space.”



One option is to draw a plan the old-fashioned way, with paper, a pencil and a ruler. However, most professional designers use drafting software like AutoCAD. In between those two extremes are apps that aim to form it easy for homeowners to create simple floor plans (some even automate measurements with your smartphone’s camera, but double-check those numbers), including Magicplan, plan Creator and RoomScan Pro.



Once you've got the outline of the space, start experimenting with the location of furniture, ensuring that the footprint of each piece is scaled to match the size of the drawing.

Lou Wenger, a floor plan artist who creates plans for many established real estate agencies, measuring the dimensions of his apartment’s living room with a laser distance measurer.


Decide How you would like to Live


This is the tricky part, and there are not any right or wrong answers. Rooms are often traditional or modern, formal or relaxed, and visually warm or cool. “To the simplest of your ability, you've got to try to discern how you would like to live in a given space,” said Ms. Hampton. “What will you be doing? what percentage people live there? Are there children? What are your ambitions for how you would like to live?”



The decoration of a home for somebody who regularly hosts large dinner parties, as an example , should vary from a home for someone who eats out at restaurants every night. The one that plans to host lavish fundraisers should have a different living room than the person who dreams only of crashing in front of the TV.



Copy the Pros


Look in design books and magazines, also as at online resources like Houzz, Pinterest and Instagram to sharpen your personal style. “Figure out the design that you respond to most,” said Brad Ford, an indoor designer in New York City, and develop a dossier of favorite images.



Once you've got images you like, study the small print , advised Mr. Kleinberg. “See where pattern is employed versus where solids are used, and where color are often used successfully or not,” he said. it'll also help inform everything from the type of furniture you might like to a potential strategy for window coverings.



Tape It Out


To take ideas on a floor plan one step farther, use painter’s tape within the real space to outline where furniture will be placed on floors and against walls.



“We use blue tape on the ground to box out different elements,” said Anne Maxwell Foster, an owner of the ny interior design firm Tilton Fenwick. “Where will the rug be? Does it have to be cut? How far is the coffee table coming out? Even though we have everything down to a sixteenth of an inch on a furniture plan, there's something helpful about visualizing it within the space, and having the ability to walk around.”



Develop a Budget


There’s no getting round the math: If you splurge on an unexpectedly expensive chair, you’ll have less money available for the remainder of the home. “You want to form sure you're being strategic about how you spend your money,” said Mr. Ford. “A budget gives you a roadmap for a way to divide the costs of things between rooms.” you'll still make an exception if you find a one-of-a-kind dining table, he noted, but so as to pay for it you have be thoughtful about where else you can cut back.



Plan the Phases


Finishing drywall, refinishing hardwood floors and painting ceilings is all messy work. If in the least possible, it’s better to possess this type of work completed before moving any furniture or accessories into the space


.