A new house means a clean slate for redecorating. Which is fun and exciting but can become quickly frustrating if you struggle to match the furniture in front of you to the vision in your head.
If you find that this happens the good news is that you are probably a lot closer to creating a beautiful, well-designed room than you think. It’s usually subtle touches that designers keep up their sleeves that make all the difference for a stylish room.
The first thing to keep in mind is that all furniture should be arranged to fit onto your area rug. If this isn’t the case or you don’t have an area rug, this is a worthy investment when you’re able to do so. If you love you’re existing area rug that is too small you can always layer it over a larger rug. This will add dimension and a designer touch, look at you go.
Keep furniture away from the wall. This also makes the above tip much easier to achieve. That’s right you don’t need to find a rug that will span the entire room. Keeping the furniture in the center of the room makes it feel bigger and more spacious. You’ll never look at your friend’s and family’s rooms the same!
Match the size of the artwork you hang up to the size of the furniture you hang it over. Aim for the frame to be at least ⅔ of the size of what it is over and hang it mid-eye level. If you have a gallery wall design it to be so that it still covers a large enough amount of wall space. And smaller artwork can always be creatively reframed.
Take your family’s traffic patterns and activities into consideration when arranging. Blocking main routes with a piece of furniture is awkward and cumbersome. And designing a room that doesn’t accommodate your family’s lifestyle can create chaos and even discord. Make space for toys, video games and homework stations for example.
Take advantage of different levels of lighting. Combining overhead lighting with table and floor lamps create a well-lit comfortable room. It also allows for more control over the ambiance of the room whether it’s time to wind down at night or you’re having friends over for the game.
Add enough tables to the room. A large coffee table is an anchor to the room and allows for drinks to rest, snacks to be laid out and feet to be kicked up. You also want side tables in reach of all sitting positions, and as a place for those table lamps, we mentioned earlier.
And last but not least the secret detail few homeowners include is greenery. Lots of greenery throughout a room makes it feel pulled-together and “right”. It can be via potted plants, fresh-cut flowers or both! If you don’t have a green-thumb there are lots of low-maintenance plants that can survive the most destitute of conditions. Visit a local greenhouse to get an expert opinion on what will fit your level of experience and the lighting conditions of your room. Hint: it’s a good idea to know which direction your windows are facing i.e. North, NorthWest, West etc.
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