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Home Decorating and Interior Design Ideas
Decorating Tips:
PLANNING
Decide on the function of your room
Planning is essential for your dream interior. First of all, make a list of the primary functions of the room so it will meet your needs once it has been fully designed.
A floorplan is essential
Create a floor plan to scale that marks light sources and positions of electrical sockets – both existing and proposed. Use this floor plan to decide on the position of major furniture.
Using a mood board
Create a mood board to help you make decisions on how to combine colors, textures and furniture effectively. This will also give you an idea of how the room will eventually look.
Putting a mood board together
When creating your scheme remember that the floors and the walls will make up the biggest areas of color or pattern in the room and should therefore be represented in proportion on the mood board.
Create a flexible scheme
Consider a flexible scheme that will change with the seasons – for example, in a living room, changing cushions covers from linen to velvet will alter the feel dramatically, and in a bedroom, replace heavy curtains with voile.
Evolve your scheme
Always keep referring back to your mood board to remind yourself of the various elements of the scheme. But don't be afraid of allowing the scheme to evolve throughout the planning stage.
LIGHTING
Lighting schemes
The best schemes combine three different sorts of light: ambient light (recessed spotlights, ceiling or wall lights, or lamps that switch on at the door); task light for reading, writing, working, drawing, sewing and so on (table, desk and floor lamps, fitted with dimmer switches) and accent light for highlighting paintings, objects and textured walls (recessed or ceiling-mounted eyeball spotlights, framing projectors and down- and up lighters, also on dimmers).
Creating an effect
Using central ceiling lights as your only light source is not an effective way of lighting a room. Instead, use a variety of different sources, such as lamps, for a more gentle effect. The best lighting schemes emulate the many moods of daylight. Varying effects can easily be achieved with dimmer switches.
Mixing lighting
Don't mix fluorescent and tungsten lighting in the same room. Tungsten creates a more pleasant golden light. Fluorescent lighting has improved dramatically in recent years and is cheaper to run, but is still prone to flickering.
Buying light fittings
Buy light fixtures for what they do as much as for how they look. Although it is difficult to put lights through their paces in a well-lit lighting showroom, assistants should find a dark place for you to test lights if asked.
Creating a mood
Don't forget how romantic firelight and candlelight can be. For those who complain about the dimness, combine mellow flickering candle light with gentle pools of lamplight in the corners of a room.
Enough choices
Lighting can be used to manipulate the look of a room – it's always best to provide as many options as possible to ensure you have the appropriate choice for different scenarios.
WALLS & CEILINGS
Order of painting
Don't forget to paint in the right order. Start with the ceilings. Then do details such as dados, cornices and moldings, followed by shelves, doors and windows. Finish with the walls to give a neat line between the walls and the woodwork.
Architectural features
Make the most of any architectural details in your home. Carefully highlighting the bottom edge of a cornice in a contrasting color, for example, can give a room a subtle but distinctive look.
Alternative finishes
Don't forget the alternatives to paint: fabric can be stretched over battens, clipped into frames or simply stuck on to walls. Some fabrics, such as Hessian and felt, are available paper-backed for easier application.
Painting the ceiling
Be imaginative when decorating ceilings. Throughout history people have delighted in decorative ceilings; consider adding a painted or paper border, a cornice or a moulding.
Adding furniture
Don't ignore the differences furniture and accessories can make. A wall hung with mirrors will have the effect of enlarging and lightening a space and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves will add architectural character.
Protecting your walls
Do keep your walls looking as pristine as possible by applying a final coat of sealant, glaze or eggshell polyurethane. It makes paper finishes look nicely mellow and makes both paper and paint surfaces much easier to keep clean.
WINDOWS
Curtains and blinds
Remember that curtains and blinds are not just decorative. They insulate a room from sound, light and noise, so consider them carefully – for instance if you want to ensure a room is as dark as possible use blackout lining.
Measuring up
Make sure that you measure windows accurately. This is especially important if you are installing blinds that are to be fitted inside a window frame.
Invest in lining
Do consider investing in curtains that are interlined as well as lined. This will create a fuller look, hang much better, last longer and offer greater insulation.
Shutters
Don't forget about shutters when choosing a window treatment. They give a clean-lined feel to a room and are also practical in strong sunlight.
Points to consider
Consider whether windows open in or out when choosing fittings. For example, inward-opening windows need curtains fixed well above the architrave.
Keep it simple
Don't use elaborate curtains in a low-ceilinged modern room - it will look overbearing and bring the walls in, making the space appear smaller.
Consider a window seat
Try to make the most of window seats. Not only are they an efficient use of space but if installed under a short window they will make it appear longer.
Keeping it plain
Don't feel you have to dress windows. If, for example, you have a beautiful view, why not just treat the window like a painting and pick out the frame?
FLOORING
Installing a wooden floor
Make sure that any new wood for floors is left to rest in the appropriate room for at least a week or so before installation. This allows it to become accustomed to the atmosphere and temperature, preventing subsequent shrinkage.
Where to lay rugs
Don't lay rugs on top of either a carpet or a hard floor unless they are well secured, ideally with sticky meshed underlay. Without this underlay, rugs on top of carpets will creep and rock up, and on top of hard floors they will slip.
Selecting tiles
Pick the right sort of tiles for hard floor areas. For example, if choosing ceramic floor tiles, make sure that they are non-slip, especially in kitchens, bathrooms and cloakrooms, where spilt water can make tiles dangerously slippery.
Working between rooms
Adjoining rooms can often be seen when doors are left open. This means that floor coverings should meld together as much as possible. Small spaces seem much larger if one color is used throughout. In areas where different flooring meets at doorways, insert a metal or wooden threshold strip.
Choosing the right floor
Be careful to choose flooring according to the function of the room. Kitchens, halls and stairs need the most durable surfaces, bathrooms require waterproof flooring, while bedrooms are subjected to the least wear and tear so the choice of floor covering here doesn't have to be so hard wearing.
Caring for carpets
Don't neglect maintenance of carpets. Vacuum at least once a week, shampoo once or twice a year and try to have stains spot-cleaned as soon as they occur. This isn't simply for the sake of appearances; all carpets, whatever they are made of, will last longer if kept clean.
There are many different types of home decor that you will need when decorating you home.
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