Buying your first home is a big deal. So, your home should be a warm and welcoming place that shows who YOU are. And you deserve more than a cookie-cutter approach to decorating your space.
A new home allows you to start over and create a place where you can make memories. It’s a lot of fun! Still, it can be expensive and hard to do.
7 Decorating Tips
Here are some things to keep in mind regarding the interior design of your home. Home decorating for beginners.
1. Take Your Time Decorating
It makes sense to want everything done before you move in. But you don’t have to work yourself to death. There’s no need to do it all at once. And when people are in a hurry, the results aren’t always great. (I’m saying this from my own experience.) Slow down and start with what you need.
Then, once you’ve moved in, finish one room at a time. I like to spend the living room first because that’s where I relax and hang out with guests. My bedroom is one of the last rooms I’ll finish decorating. But it all depends on how you live and what you want.
2. Prioritize
You’re going somewhere new. It’s okay to get rid of things you don’t need anymore. You owe it to yourself to do so. If your space is messy, your mind will be too. Think about the purpose, quality, and size of each thing you own and how it will fit your new home. Then put things in the rooms where they will go. If you can’t place something, it’s probably time to get rid of it.
3. Get Inspired
Spend some time reading books, magazines, or articles on the web to get ideas. And Pinterest or Instagram is great for more specific ideas. I have lived in a Cape Cod-style house since the 1940s, and while browsing Instagram, I found some great ideas for decorating small bathrooms. No matter how you like to get ideas, have fun reading, cutting out, and saving references for later. Once you’ve found pictures you like, look at the details to get a better idea of what you want the space to look like.
4. Make a Plan
Think about where you are. What are you going to do with it? How do you want it to sound? What do you want the feeling to be? Is there a lot of light from the outside? Is it a big room or a small one? All of these things will affect the decisions you make about how to decorate your home.
Also, this is an excellent time to think about what needs to be done. Will you refinish floors or drywall? If that’s the case, you might not want to put furniture in the room until those projects are done.
Once you know what kind of space you want to make, the paint store is the best place to start. This makes sure that you can use color to tie everything together. Then think about what you need for furniture and lighting.
It’s also essential to look over your floor plan carefully and measure the space. A floor plan of the house should come with your home appraisal. This is an excellent place to start. Then, walk around the room and measure where you want things to go. Take measurements of your ceiling height, windows, and wall space and keep them with you while you shop. This will let you choose furniture pieces that are the right size for the rooms they will live in. You don’t want your furniture to be too big or too small for the room, like Goldilocks.
Planning your space doesn’t require you to know how to use software for interior design. Many paint stores, like Benjamin Moore, offer free online services that let you see how colors would look in different rooms. You can also save images to Pinterest and make presentations in PowerPoint. Before I bought many things for my house, I shopped in stores and online and put pictures of what I liked into a PPT to see how it would all look. Already? Maybe. But I don’t have much money, and I value my home a lot. I’m much happier with the results when I have a clear plan.
5. Don’t Overspend
Never, ever, ever spend more than you have. You don’t want to depend on credit cards to buy things when decorating your home. The enemy is this high-interest debt. Trust me. Done that, been there. Even though you should get rid of your grandma’s old, broken couch in your apartment, you should also keep in mind that your style will change as you do. So why spend a lot of money on furniture you might not like or need in a few years?
No matter what you need for your space, making a budget is essential. So make a list of your needs and wants room by room on an Excel or Google spreadsheet. Then make a list of what you need most. You can go back to the list as you get more money to pay for the things you want.
6. Personalize the Space
I think it’s essential to make your space feel like you. It will make your home stand out. And having the things you love around you will make you enjoy being in your space even more. When I look for art, I try to find pieces related to my interests and values. There are many great ways to decorate your home with art and accents that won’t break the bank. (Do you need some ideas for cheap wall art?
7. Little Things Matter
Small details can go a long way toward finishing off your rooms. Pillows, throw blankets, and poufs can make your space feel cozier. They are also pricey but a great way to add some color and personality to a room. Also, these are easy to change when you want to give your room a new look.
Conclusion
Overall, remember to have fun! Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it takes time to decorate your home. Spend your money wisely, take your time, and enjoy the process of making your home a reflection of the things you love.