Inspiration

Style your home like a pro with these dos and don’ts of good decorating

Article by Homes to Love

While decorating your home is a very personal art, there are certain principals of design that will help you to style with success! 

Goodedecorating

Style your home like a pro with these dos and don’ts of good decorating

While decorating your home is a very personal art, there are certain principals of design that should be followed to help you decorate with success! Whether you’re looking to furnish a newly renovated space or just refresh an existing room, these dos and don’ts should help to get you started.

DO

  • Make your decorating style work with the architecture of your home. Don’t force a slick, modern look if you have an older bungalow or villa; try to work at least partly with its heritage.
  • Consider your location. Embrace where you live and use your environment to inspire your decorating scheme.
  • Make moodboards and floorplans for each room of the house, not for the house as a whole. You can still see how all the rooms work together, but each space needs its own time and effort dedicated to it in order for it to work well with the overall scheme.
  • Mix old and new. If you like the look of all-new furniture, add something else that’s slightly aged to the space, such as a vintage clock, antique candlesticks or a weathered timber shelf. It stops the room from feeling too uniform.
  • Take your time. There is no need to rush and do all the decorating at once. The best spaces are those that have evolved over a few years.

DON’T

  • Place all the furniture up against the walls. Bring pieces in, give the walls breathing space and use the whole room.
  • Choose similar accessories. They shouldn’t all be the same height, shape, colour or pattern. Get creative – break up all the square cushions with a round one; choose vases in different heights, shapes and materials. A little variety is key.
  • Clutter the space. Less really can be more in decorating. Stick to your base style and add a trend or two, but don’t go overboard. Allow a little white space on the wall, some gaps between the cushions on your couch and think of other ways you can store things out of sight rather than just adding yet another cupboard or shelf in a room.
  • Decorate only around one colour. Or dedicate a colour to a theme – choosing everything in blue and yellow won’t make your home look like a coastal retreat.

This article first appeared on Homes to Love Australia.

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