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A Beginner's Guide To Home Decorating
Fed up with that dull living room scheme? The look of a room in which you spend a good deal of time can really impact your mood. It can even put a damper on your social life: if you are not comfortable in your own space, how can you expect anyone else to be? If you have never redecorated a room before, you may not even know where to start. In fact, many people settle for same-old-same-old because the staggering amount of choices--and the fear of an interior decor disaster--can be quite intimidating. Yet taking a risk can greatly improve your at-home experience; and turn a blah room into one that is irresistibly inviting. Here are some steps to help you decide, then go after, the look you want.
- Think about mood. Only you know what the feel of the room should be. Factors like how you intend to use the room, during what seasons, room size, natural light, how much time you will spend there, with whom you will be sharing the room, and, certainly not the least of factors, your personal style, should influence this. You may like a simple, modern look, or prefer elaborate floral patterns. Whatever the case, with a little help, you can create a unique, inspired look that suits your style.
- Get ideas from outside sources. You may want to create a look that suits your individual style, but you may need a little help with ideas as well as where to find certain items. Luckily, there are home decorWeb sites, furniture catalogs, and even home furnishings stores everywhere to inspire you to explore new looks for your room. By examining these sources, you can see many variations on one style and get an idea of the many things that can be done with color.
- Decide on a look. Once you have seen the possibilities, it is time to narrow down your list. Your favorite decorschemes likely all share common qualities. Once you discover what they are, you can project these qualities onto your own walls to see how you can make it work in your home. Knowing what kind of style you want narrows down the kind of fixtures, furniture, and accents to look at. For example, if you choose a modern look you need not look at overstuffed couches, and should instead be eying more simple furniture pieces that better agree with your desired look. The same goes for everything from curtains to wall decorations to vases.
- Pick your color. You may have already decided on mood and style, but you have at least one more process of elimination to go, and it isn't an easy one: color. When you go online or check out hardware stores in search of the perfect shade, you will find an inexhaustible spectrum of what you previously may have thought was merely one shade. These shades may look alike, but their subtle differences can have completely different effects. Take several samples home, examine their finishes, explore complementary tones, and see if you like how the light hits them in the room whose walls you are aiming to paint.
- Check out patterns for color combos. This is the best way to find complimentary colors. Look at patterns on wallpaper, curtains, bedsheets, or even your favorite shirt, that use your desired wall color as the main shade. Examine how the colors work together and what their effect is. If a pattern really stands out to you, try looking for items- accessories and pieces of furniture- that match its secondary colors. You may even want to consider stenciling along the borders or even painting an accent wall using one of these colors.
- Furnish. Knowing your theme will make shopping for furniture extremely easy. Finding the right color may be more of a challenge. Keep those paint samples with you as you shop around. Stick to more neutral colors for your bigger pieces of furniture if you plan to go bold for your walls. Also remember that if you cannot find the exact color you are looking for you can have it reupholstered with your desired fabric. But you will likely not have to resort to this.
- Accent. Now is the time to hunt for vases, wall decorations, area rugs, and other pieces that will help breath life into a room that was once dull. Refer to the room schemes that inspired your look for style and concentration of decoritems.
Decorating or redecorating a room for the first time may seem confusing, but can actually be quite fun once you decide want you want. Sticking with it can sometimes be a challenge for people with little spare time, but keep in mind how much your surroundings contribute to your quality of life.
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