Pffft, you don't need to hire people. Decorating is easy. The TV shows teach you all about it. The trick is to pick a few colours and stay with the theme. Or pick one thing and everything else you choose has to work with that and subsequently with everything else you've already picked. Take samples or pictures with you when you shop if you have to as reminders of what you have to match with. And if it doesn't work, you can't have it. At least not in that room. Good design is less about everything matching and more about nothing sticking out. One piece in a room that clashes with all the rest does a lot more to ruin the cohesiveness of a design than a full matching set can do to help it.
For example, here I had the curtain fabric as my inspiration. The day-bed was already in the room, so we've got green, white and black and wrought iron as our foundation elements. Then it's simply a matter of repeating the elements so it looks intentional. The mirror and curtain rod are more black wrought iron. The pillows, blankets, quilt, shelf brackets and baby linens are all bright green. I knew I had to add a dresser, so that had to be repainted white or we're getting too many elements (the dresser was originally wood with a darker wood veneer panel, so that would have been that thing that sticks out). The pulls on the dresser probably should have been black, but the brushed nickel looked better on the white and the closet and bedroom door were brushed nickel so I could get away with it. And since the other wood in the room is white, the crib and toy shelves had to be white too. So you can see how one decision at the beginning (the curtains) shapes every decision that comes after.
Then there's the theme or feel of the room. Mine here is modern and graphic. Nothing frilly or floral or lacy. Instead I've aimed for things with strong, clean lines, sharp graphics and bright colours. That's where you put your personal stamp on it. What style do you like?
Finally, know when to stop. You don't have to cover every surface with nick-nacks and you don't have to fill every inch with furniture. Give each piece in your room space to breathe. Make sure you can still walk through the room and that the furniture isn't absolutely filling it. If you've got stuff that has to be in the room but doesn't match the aesthetic of the room, got a cabinet and put it behind closed doors or in a drawer if you can (I found a chest for my husband's guitar hero plastic guitars so I could stop looking and them and vacuuming around them for example). Less is more. Don't be afraid to throw away anything that isn't working and that you don't absolutely need. Start slow and add pieces gradually. Don't try to fill the whole room in a week, or even a month. I'm pretty sure this room took 4 months to put together. I'd add one piece and live with it for a bit and see if there really was more space or if I needed to stop.
It's also easiest if you start with a room where you aren't already committed to a lot of stuff. That's why I worked on the guest and baby rooms first. I didn't have to live there every day so I could afford to go slow, and there weren't a lot of requirements for what HAD to be in there based on my daily use of the space. After 9 months I'm still wrestling with my dining room, kitchen and family room. I'm close with all of them, but just not quite there yet. The games room is miles from done and I'm not really sure where I'm going with it at all. Part of my problem there is that it is part storage space, and there's a lot of hand-me-down furniture that I can't afford to replace. Also, the smaller the room, the less stuff you can put in it, so the more likely you'll be able to keep it all working together.
Pick one room in your house to "redo", you can even do it on the cheap by stealing things from other rooms (most of the stuff in the baby's room is actually stolen from elsewhere like the dresser, mirror, quilt, throw pillows and curtains, or acquired on the super-cheap, like the $20 worth of shelving) and see if you can't surprise yourself. I'm telling you, it's easier than you think.
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Date: 2009-07-30 03:29 am (UTC)For example, here I had the curtain fabric as my inspiration. The day-bed was already in the room, so we've got green, white and black and wrought iron as our foundation elements. Then it's simply a matter of repeating the elements so it looks intentional. The mirror and curtain rod are more black wrought iron. The pillows, blankets, quilt, shelf brackets and baby linens are all bright green. I knew I had to add a dresser, so that had to be repainted white or we're getting too many elements (the dresser was originally wood with a darker wood veneer panel, so that would have been that thing that sticks out). The pulls on the dresser probably should have been black, but the brushed nickel looked better on the white and the closet and bedroom door were brushed nickel so I could get away with it. And since the other wood in the room is white, the crib and toy shelves had to be white too. So you can see how one decision at the beginning (the curtains) shapes every decision that comes after.
Then there's the theme or feel of the room. Mine here is modern and graphic. Nothing frilly or floral or lacy. Instead I've aimed for things with strong, clean lines, sharp graphics and bright colours. That's where you put your personal stamp on it. What style do you like?
Finally, know when to stop. You don't have to cover every surface with nick-nacks and you don't have to fill every inch with furniture. Give each piece in your room space to breathe. Make sure you can still walk through the room and that the furniture isn't absolutely filling it. If you've got stuff that has to be in the room but doesn't match the aesthetic of the room, got a cabinet and put it behind closed doors or in a drawer if you can (I found a chest for my husband's guitar hero plastic guitars so I could stop looking and them and vacuuming around them for example). Less is more. Don't be afraid to throw away anything that isn't working and that you don't absolutely need. Start slow and add pieces gradually. Don't try to fill the whole room in a week, or even a month. I'm pretty sure this room took 4 months to put together. I'd add one piece and live with it for a bit and see if there really was more space or if I needed to stop.
It's also easiest if you start with a room where you aren't already committed to a lot of stuff. That's why I worked on the guest and baby rooms first. I didn't have to live there every day so I could afford to go slow, and there weren't a lot of requirements for what HAD to be in there based on my daily use of the space. After 9 months I'm still wrestling with my dining room, kitchen and family room. I'm close with all of them, but just not quite there yet. The games room is miles from done and I'm not really sure where I'm going with it at all. Part of my problem there is that it is part storage space, and there's a lot of hand-me-down furniture that I can't afford to replace. Also, the smaller the room, the less stuff you can put in it, so the more likely you'll be able to keep it all working together.
Pick one room in your house to "redo", you can even do it on the cheap by stealing things from other rooms (most of the stuff in the baby's room is actually stolen from elsewhere like the dresser, mirror, quilt, throw pillows and curtains, or acquired on the super-cheap, like the $20 worth of shelving) and see if you can't surprise yourself. I'm telling you, it's easier than you think.