How to style your home | 5 tips from a designer
Nearly all of my interior clients want one thing, an understanding of how to create a beautiful, liveable home without spending too much money. Most have a great sense of style and have cuttings from magazines that show exactly how they want their homes to look, but they lack the confidence to bring a design concept together.
Today I'll bring you five simple, actionable steps that you can put in place to create the stylish, liveable home you've been wanting.
1.Lifestyle:
For me the top tip for creating a space is by delving deep in to the lifestyle of the owner and really understanding who they are and how they use their home. Irritating function issues are easily avoided through great communication and the rapport built between client and designer.
The post I wrote here (8 questions your interior designer should ask you) will help you think through the questions a designer would ask you and help you start to be clear about your likes/dislikes and what you want to achieve from your new design.
In addition to the questions in that article you might also like to think about:
what kind of lighting you might need around the house - do specific areas need task lighting? do you like to have overhead lights on at night or prefer softer lighting created by side and floor lamps?
which people use which spaces - consult with them (even if they are children!) about what they like and dislike so that the best possible space can be created for them to enjoy.
which are the busiest spaces in your home - think about whether there is enough room to move around, whether there is enough seating and whether the spaces have a good flow about them.
2.Storage:
You can never have too much storage. Having different options that can be used by all members of the family are the key to keeping clutter at bay and creating a streamlined look. Think about functionality of furniture – for example can you find a tv cabinet that also has really good storage? Or an ottoman that has built in storage under the cushion? And if budget allows always consider putting in as much built in joinery as the space will allow for. In this playroom storage unit I designed all the toys can be put away and be organised so the kids know exactly where to find what they need. The unit has been design as a wardrobe (you can see the hanging bar) so that when a playroom is no longer required this room easily converts to another bedroom or a spare room for guests.
3.Neutral palette:
I always recommend making your big design decisions around a neutral palette and then layering colour, texture and pattern with your choices of furniture, accessories and art. Many clients don’t want to think about resale at the time of renovation but this should be a factor for any home owner. Making appealing design decisions in the elements that can’t cheaply be changed is an important factor in maintaining the value of your home. Although you may like yellow wall tiles these won’t appeal to the majority of people. If you love yellow think about bringing this in to the bathroom through bright towels, a stool or a pot planter. That way when you get sick of yellow you can swap these out easily and cheaply.
4.Big picture concept:
Before you start any project think about the overall look and feel you want to create and how this can be adapted to each room in the home. You want the home to be cohesive and have a similar look and feel throughout. If you have more than one bathroom you may like to choose the same fixtures and use these in each bathroom, but mix up the tiles you use. Or you may have a feature tile you choose to use in a different way in each bathroom (e.g. as a feature wall in one bathroom and then up the hob in another bathroom). What colours do you want to use? If you like a particular carpet, how does this work with the flooring you choose for your hallways or bathroom? An example of two bathrooms in the same home that use these concepts can be seen above and below. Note the use of the same fixtures and the use of a herringbone tile as a feature on the hob in the bathroom below and as a feature wall in the bathroom above.
The best way to develop this big picture concept is to do what the design professionals do and create a mood board. Collect together a palette of samples and lay these all out together. This might be fabric swatches for cushions or couch, a sample of the carpet you like, pictures cut out from magazines, sketches (no matter how bad!). You can also do a similar process to this online via websites like Houzz or Pinterest. Create a folder or board for the overall look and feel of your design and save photos you like. All of these resources will be hugely helpful as you go on to implement your project. Alternatively if you choose to then hire a designer this will be a hugely impactful resource that will help the designer understand what you like and your vision for the design.
5.Don’t take it too seriously
In my opinion the interior design world can take themselves a bit too seriously. But for me design should be fun and rewarding. I pride myself in being unpretentious and down to earth in the way I approach projects with clients. I impart as much knowledge as I can to my clients to help empower them to feel confident in future design choices – but most of all I want the process to be fun and enjoyable. Some people just need the confidence to know they are making good choices and I love to be able to see the process that clients go through as we work together where they realise that nothing is really right or wrong. And the best part is that in most cases if you choose the wrong dining chairs, cushions or paint colour you can either sell them on ebay down the track or just paint over the walls. Nothing is really set in stone and none of it should be taken too seriously.
Learn SketchUp with our fun online course for beginners…
If you want improve your work with design clients or you are about to start renovating or remodeling then you will love SketchUp.
With this software you can mock up an entire home in 2D (floor plans, joinery/millwork elevations, lighting and electrical plans and more) and 3D (renderings and perspective drawings) so you can picture exactly what it will look like when it is finished plus prepare your technical drawings for use with your clients, trades and contractors.
Learning SketchUp will save you time, money, mistakes and so much more! It is a well known piece of software in the interior design and architecture industries and will give you a solid technical drawing skill that will immediately upgrade the professionalism of the work you are doing.
I teach an online course for beginners that is focused specifically on using SketchUp for interior design purposes. We have had more than 10,000 students come through the course with so many fantastic projects designed and built!
We have all sorts of students in the course including designers and architects, cabinet makers, home renovators/remodelers, kitchen and bathroom designers, event planners, landscape designers and design enthusiasts.
To find out more about the courses we have on offer click the link below. And reach out if you have any questions I can help with :)
Have a great day!
Clare x