You want a beautiful home. You want your guests to walk into a room and nod in appreciation. But you also want it to be livable. After all, this is your sanctuary. If you and your family can’t breathe and eat and perform daily tasks without the fear of staining the carpet, you are not truly at home. The best rooms show that form follows function. And you don’t have to hire a smart interior designer to make this happen.
Here are some basic interior design guidelines to follow as you turn a new and empty or old and cluttered apartment or house into your own personal castle.
Begin with a Simple Base
If you are looking for a house or just bought it and haven’t moved in yet, know that the best rooms to work with have simple walls and floors. Red brick walls, crazy wallpaper or quirky carpets can be difficult to work around. If you can, seek out wood floors, simple carpet colors and white walls.
However, if your home has many pros and a few cons, like one crazy room, don’t be discouraged. There are ways around it. Don’t be afraid to pain those brick walls white, tear down the wallpaper or rip up that odd colored carpet. Replacing these with solid but bold colored walls and flooring will give your home both versatility and beauty.
Add Natural and Layered Lighting
Light can have an amazing effect on a person’s mood – whether it be the light of the sun filtering in through the window or an elegant, well-placed lamp. If you can afford to add extra windows to your home – or even lift the curtains and drapes from the ones you have – you may find that your family and guests are happier in your home.
If you want that happiness to continue into the evening, it’s best to have both organic and electric lighting inside your home as well. Try installing gas logs for fireplace. The bright, natural fire is sure to cheer up any room. You can also layer your home with a variety of table lamps, floor lamps, wall lights and ceiling lights. The availability of light at various levels will improve both the form and function of the rooms.
Measure Twice, Buy Once
If you are looking to buy new furniture (or move in old furniture), it’s important to measure both the space of the room, the width of the door, and the length of the furniture before you do all that hard work.
Remember to consider not only whether an item will fit in the room, but also what space it will leave open. Scale can make or break your space.
If your space is small, look at the most functional furniture pieces first. You might even consider installing a bed or table which folds out from the wall.
Seek Symmetry and Personality
Once you have decided on and installed the furniture, you are ready to add accent pieces and paintings. Here it is most important to consider what you want to communicate about yourself and your family as well as the purpose of the room. Are you quirky, fun and bold? Are you peaceful and subdued?
Also, take a moment and consider whether the piece will interfere with the functionality of the home. You don’t want to put a fragile vase in your child’s playroom, for example.
Finally, take a look at symmetry. Will the position and size of this painting, for example, complement the dimensions of the furniture below it? Does the size of this art piece work on that table? You may buy a piece only to discover that it doesn’t work in the house. For that reason, you may want to save your receipts so that you can take back whatever doesn’t work.
Have faith. You will find the right form of form, functionality and expression for your home. Whether you are a first time homeowner or you just bought the home in which you plan to retire, you can make it the castle of your dreams.
