8 Steps you NEED to know for Decorating the Perfect Home

8 Easy Tips & Tricks for Home Decorating

Simple Home Decorating Hacks

            

Step 1 – Learn How To Declutter

There are a lot of home organizational tips to help you declutter your home, including how to organize a closet, to the full ‘declutter your house’ bootcamp offered by professionals. Putting things away, or in many cases giving them away, helps you to clean the slate and see what you have left to work with. It simplifies home decorating by eliminating the stuff you don’t really love but have been hanging on to for one reason or another.

How you declutter your house is personal. Some people purge, never taking their eye off the ball until every last bag or box has been removed. For others, breaking the task down into smaller bite size bits makes it less overwhelming.

Step 2 – Improved Lighting Fixtures

The American Lighting Association defines ambient as the main source of lighting. Currently the trend is for ceramic pendant shapes, metallic pendants and even simple bulb chandeliers with wood.

Most rooms are instantly improved with additional or upgraded lighting. This can be as simple as adding 100 watt bulbs to some rooms or areas or highlighting corners to make rooms feel instantly bigger. Vary your lighting heights to even out your lighting sources and use a combination of ambient, task and accent lighting. This creates a flattering ambiance. Next is good task lighting.

Quality task lighting is often the missing link in most home decorating. It can be beautiful as well as functional. Consider adding recessed lighting or and track lighting, pendant lighting and under cabinet lighting,  more portable floor lamps or desk lamps.

Use them to highlight paintings, window treatments, wall decor or fireplace mantels.

LIGHTING TIP: Accent lighting should provide three times as much light on the focal point as your surrounding lighting.For your living room, light three of the four corners using accent lighting to focus one light on a painting, chair or console table. To change your mood lighting put some lights on dimmers.

Step 3 – Reinvent Spaces and Rooms

Home decorating is all about creating beautiful functional spaces. Corners, hallways, spare rooms can all be dead empty spaces but when done right, these can be the most beautiful and functional spaces. Adding shelving, hooks and baskets to this hallway has created a mudroom where none existed before.

Step 4 – Wall Decor

1 Mix up your wall decor. There are great ways you can create a photo wall gallery either using photos on canvas or wood, or frame your photos, group and place over a sofa as a one large piece of art. 

 2. Display things at different heights. Mix up the size and shape of frames, add mirrors, street signs, faux antlers or a clock to create wall decor that is memorable.

3. To make your ceilings appear higher, hang pieces well above eye level.

Step 5 – Use 3, 5, 7 Groupings

This is not a strict rule, but things grouped in odd numbers are interesting to the eye. Grouping things in three is the most common.

Group them by contrasting color, shape, and texture. This is particularly true of cushions or throw pillows. Placing three differently colored cushions together is not enough.

                             

Step 6 – Paint

Use paint to update finishes. From updating, distressing or rejuvenating pieces of furniture to covering accent pieces. The results speaks for themselves.

There are so many different paints, like chalk and milk paint to metallic paints or paints that can be used on vinyl, concrete and even plastic that there is no excuse not to look at paint to update your outdated furniture and finishings like these kitchen cabinets found on Hometalk.

Step 7 –  Color

Number 2 is all about color schemes. Neutrals in white, blue and gray are still very popular. Darker tones are used to create drama.

Color can change a mood, make rooms feel cozy, larger, more dramatic or romantic. When you add color you can change the room by introducing colors that subdue or create bold, strong, vibrant statements.

If you are uncertain about new colors start small, experimenting with the color or tone you are considering. Consider the mood you want to create, the amount of natural light your room has, get paint samples and test the colors on boards you can move around the room.

Step 8  – Accents

The final step can be the most fun. Use accents and accessories to create subdued or bold decorating schemes by layering accents. Accents add character and personality to your decorating; from throws, accent chairs, ottoman, cushions, mirrors and other decorative items. They can be functional, striking, unusual or fun.

There is always talk about where to spend your money, whether its on accent pieces or main pieces. Should you spend your home decorating dollars on high end pieces like a sofa or on curtains or accent pieces?

Remember: It’s often the accessories that get the spot light. To create a high end room, spend more time, effort and money on your home accent lighting, wall decor ideas and throw cushions. Accent lighting and accent furniture can bring your room together.

by Decorated Life Team