When moving house or renovating your home, it is usually the case that all decorating and furnishing decisions must be made in the few hours between work and sleep, and all purchases must either be delivered to the doorstep or shopped for on the weekend. Bearing in mind that there are people that make a career out of interior design, taking days to plan and implement themes, balance lighting and all the other considerations that the layman is likely to have no idea about; it is wise to get some pointers before attempting to decorate your home yourself. Take some of the advice in the below article to heart and save yourself that cold shiver that comes when you realize that the cupboard you just bought can't fit through your front door...
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Home Decor: Home Interior Decorating Ideas
By: Sonal Panse
Home interior decorating can be quite a daunting prospect. There are a great many details to be taken into consideration, and innumerable possible interior decorating ideas that you can come up with. Just knowing where to start is a major issue. You can, of course, just call in a professional Interior Decorator and save yourself all the bother, but then you will miss out on the fun part of doing up your home yourself, of imprinting your home with your own personality. Because, of course, your home interior design should reflect your personality; without that personal touch even the most perfect arrangement in the world would fall short. . It is also important, when going for home decoration, to give a lot of thought to comfort, functionality, safety, and ambiance. You need to develop an overall plan before you get started.
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
What is your budget?
Are you going to do the entire house or just one room?
What are the rooms going to be used for?
Who is going to use the rooms?
Have you taken into account the storage space you will require?
What kind of effect do you want?
Do you want any specific look?
What is your personal style?
Do you want a low maintenance interior or can you manage a high maintenance interior?
Do you need to make special concessions or take special care for children or pets?
Can you rearrange or recycle old furniture or will you need to buy new furniture?
Can you put the various odds and ends you have around the house to some useful or creative purpose? Like making a lamp out of an old vase or stuff like that.
Do you collect books, musical instruments, ornaments, stones, shells, crystal ware, dolls, and so on? If so, how and where will you display them to their best advantage?
Once you have formed enough ideas regarding all these, you can move on to other home décor concerns.
What is your floor plan? To find out, measure your entire living area, including windows, doors, cupboards, etc.
What color or colors do you want and in what combinations? Do you want something calm and harmonious, or are you looking to make a bold statement?
What kind of patterns, textures, and special effects would you like? Try thinking out of the box. You can collect color samples, fabric samples, photographs, etc. You can get tips and inspiration for home decorating from a great many different sources. Match, mix, and shuffle your ideas, and take your time before you settle on the right combination for you.
Are you going to have any special theme?
What kind of lighting arrangements are you going to have? You will find an immense wide variety of lights and light appliances in the market to choose from. Most people usually install bright lighting in kitchens and bathrooms, and go for softer lighting in other living areas. You might also want to use special illumination to highlight your collection displays.
Are you going to have floor tiles and, if so, what kind of floor tiles? Or, what kind of wall fittings, what kind of furniture, what kind of curtains, sofa covers, bed covers, and so on, what kind of bathroom tiles and fittings.
If you have decided on a specific look, you have to make sure that the furnishings and accessories that will gel with the theme. You can either choose one theme for the entire house or you can have different themes. Personally I'd go for different themes. It might be fun to be able to say to guests, "So, would you like to stay on the Pacific Island or in the Serengeti, or would you care for a nap in Sixteenth Century England?" On the other hand, since you're the one that has to mop up the Island, the Serengeti, and Old England, maybe you should think about these home decorating ideas first.
One thing to remember is that you don't have to get everything done right and proper all at once. You can develop your interior setting gradually.
By Sonal Panse
Published: 5/2/2007
Available at: buzzle.com
Hopefully this article has served to inspire rather than deter, becuase it is certainly a far more rewarding feeling to have decorated your own home, giving privilege to those things that mean the most to you. Colour combinations and appropriate matching of themes, among many other considerations, may prove to be a great challenge to many so keep in mind that you should ask for help from someone more knowledgable when you feel that you are stuck, rather than creating something that will be hurting your eyes for years to come.
