Start decorating your custom home, like a pro, with these guidelines for every room in your home!
Decorating can be a challenge for some, but a stress reliever for some. If you’ve got the knack, there is not guide or rule book to follow. You simply follow your intuition, and let your creative side run free. However, for some it doesn’t come that easy, which is why Houzz has put together a list of rough, decorating principles that can get you started on your next project.
- Pick the paint color last – There are thousands of paint colors to choose from with different hints and tones, which also have a different look from home to home. You obviously want the color that’s going to best complement your furniture and decorative accents. So why not move your furniture in, and then choose your paint color? This will allow you to see how your light sources illuminate the room. What looked good in your old home might not look the same in your new, custom home. Just look at the blue accents in this bathroom. It could be super tough to match, if a blue is chosen before furniture it placed into the room.
- Give your furniture some space – You never want to overcrowd your room. When you fill up a space with furniture, there’s less room to actually live and move around. Decorating with little accents or maybe just better-quality pieces of furniture will instantly help alleviate the feeling of being overcrowded. This great room has a stunning fireplace. It wouldn’t be so pristine if furniture was crowded all around it, hiding its true beauty.
- Hanging artwork at the perfect height – When it comes to hanging artwork, always remember to relate to the human scale. The average human eye level is 57 inches. With that in mind, when decorating your custom home with artwork, you should aim to place the artwork so that the center of the piece is 57 -60 inches from the floor.
- Know how to arrange furniture on a rug – Realistically, there are three different ways to arrange your furniture around a rug. You can choose to put it all on the rug, all off the rug, or front on. But what exactly does this mean? When it comes to putting all furniture on the rug, this means the rug is large enough to place all furniture legs on top of it. When it comes to keeping all furniture off the rug, the rug should appear to be close enough to be able to touch the front legs of the furniture. This particular set-up is great for smaller rooms. And finally, the front on arrangement. This means that the front legs are a placed on the rug, tying the arrangement together.
- Try and resist giving the room too much of a theme – Allow your decorating to be unique. When you follow a specific theme, while decorating, it’s probably been done over and over, and it doesn’t give you much room to set your room apart from your friend’s with the exact same theme. A look can still be achieved with relatable colors and furniture, will still providing you with individuality. Just like this dining room. It’s definitely got a rustic theme to it, country if you may, but personalizing it with different pieces of furniture allows it to be a little different from the typical rustic dining room.
- Create a focal point – This could be anything from a hood in your kitchen to the mantel on your fireplace. When you have something in a room that draws attention, run with it! Just be sure the accents and furniture you’re also putting into the room won’t draw the attention away from the main focus of the room.
- Consider sight lines – Focal points that you have chosen for each room should be free and clear from one room to the other.
- Edit your collectibles – When it comes to decorating, it’s important your collectibles fit together to create a unifying theme. It your purple lampshade it just not meshing well with the neutral color palette you have going on, it’s probably best to find a different spot, or room for that lamp.
- Vary the Scale – Always vary scale and proportion. A large frame filling a space on the mantel complements the little accents spaced on the custom built-ins. Without the large piece in the center of the mantel, the decorating would seem off balanced.
- Add layers of lighting – Different layers of lighting create interest and contrast between different pieces. In this kitchen, the under cabinet lighting illuminates the backsplash, separating it from the cabinets above. The lighting inside the cabinets completes the look, and really completes this beautiful kitchen.
- Be bold – What really makes a room great is adding your own, personal flair, and providing a statement. This bathroom definitely provides the statement of luxury. With the double entry shower in the back, to the freestanding tub in the center, just in front of the custom built-in. This bathroom has a story to tell, it’s definitely obvious.
- Ignore all principles in favor of creativity – Seems slightly contradictory from this whole post, we know. But we also understand having guidelines is definitely a huge help for those without the creative eye for home décor. However, it’s also important to give each and every room your own personal touch.
To read the full article on decorating tips visit Houzz.com!
