Professional Home Style | 5 Interior Design Tips

Updating your interior design is exciting. Your home is like a blank canvas. You can explore your personality and creativity, and experiment. Sometimes, though, the blank canvas can be daunting. There are so many ways you can update your home. How do you know where to start? Follow the experts and style your home like a pro.

source

1. Be Inspired

Before you begin, gather some inspiration. Look at professional designer portfolios. Sites such as deBretton.com.au are invaluable because you can browse through their commercial projects to pick up hints and tips that can be used in all types of homes - not just ones suited to the rich and famous.

Design blogs and sites like Pinterest are useful. Create a board for each room of your home and pin like crazy. And don’t forget magazines. These are a great source of style tips and innovation. Compile a folder or scrapbook of your ideas.

2. Know Your Theme

A good place to start is with what is in place already. What do you like about the property that you could build on? If you have an ultra-modern home, it might make sense to follow this aesthetic. Similarly, if you have a vintage home, you may want to keep the traditional features in place and work around them. Use the architectural features to inform the design.

source

3. What Is Your Style?

What is your style? What look appeals to you most? You’re going to be living with the design each day and so being comfortable with the outcome is important. So decide what colours you like. Do you like feminine or minimal styles? Are you luxe or shabby chic?

4. Use Light Wisely

Light is important. During the planning stages, decide how this will work in your home. If the natural light is minimal, decide how you can make the most of the this. And find ways to enhance it. There are lots of blog articles on how to achieve this, such as a post from Pop Sugar: Tips for Brightening Dark Rooms.

Keep windows as open as possible to maximise the daylight. Keep curtains light. Avoid placing furniture in front of windows. Similarly, in the garden, avoid planting trees and large bushes in front of the window. When deciding on artificial lighting, start by considering the function of each room. Your lighting choices should support and enhance this. Avoid common pitfalls.

source

5. Choosing Colour

Colour sets the mood of a room. When making colour decisions, think about how you want the room to ‘feel.’ Are you looking for something vibrant and full of energy? Or, do you prefer a calming, more serene mood? A simple, classic look will last for longer. Bold, quirky decisions may be great in the short term. But once that trend has passed, it may soon feel dated. This is fine if you intend to make lots of regular updates. But if not, it is best to opt for a design that will date well.

Use samples to see which colours work best in each room. Try a few different shades and look at them at different times of the day. Use the colours in light and dark areas of the room to see how well they work. Once you have gathered ideas and made a start, the process becomes easier. With the basics in place, you can have fun building on the mood and style of the rooms. And remember, nothing is forever. If you really do hate that paint colour, you can always paint over it.

So, be bold, experiment, and have fun.