Make your Decorating Dreams a Reality

For some people, the idea of decorating their home paralyzes them with fear, and renders even the most realistic incapable of making a decision. Fear grips you in the pit of your stomach because you dread mistakes, or have this skewed perception of perfection. Get over it!  See also: Ten Modern Home Decorating Tips.

 

Sometimes the best way is to walk through your home and make a list of the things that need to be tackled. Bring a friend along if she’s a great decision maker. Does a room simply need to be repainted? Do you need a new light fixture? Or does the wall need to be knocked out? Whatever it is, you need to dispel those fears by asking yourself what is really necessary to make the space what you need.

Make those necessary changes a reality by listing the easiest or least expensive ones first. Enlist in a decorator to help you prioritize and create a budget if you don’t feel comfortable doing that yourself. Try these simple tips to help you focus:

1.)  Keep a notebook of things you like and tear pictures out of magazines, print pictures off the internet. A pattern should develop of the things you like.

Scrapbook for Home Decorating Ideas2.)  In the same notebook, keep samples of existing paint colors, fabrics, room dimensions, etc that you want to match in case you see something that can work. Keeping photographs of your rooms handy is also beneficial.

Keep samples of existing paint colors and fabrics.

3.)  Before you do any work that requires major remodeling, get several quotes first. Skilled contractors can work with your ideas or suggest better ones. Even if you don’t do the work right away, you’ll have a game plan in place.

4.)  Try not to overwhelm yourself by getting opinions from all your friends, family, neighbors, and the mailman. This makes for more confusion because every opinion will differ. Stick with one or two people you trust, and a professional in the field.

5.)  Once you’ve tackled the first small project, you’ll start to feel a sense of accomplishment, and the others won’t seem so bad. The main thing to remember is that the entire house needs to flow, so even if you do one project at a time, everything must relate.