Feature: Make a success of DIY design
Home makeover programmes have inspired millions of people to become a little more creative with their interiors. You can now choose from endless paint shades, rolls of designer wallpapers, floor coverings, furniture styles and accessories. It is piecing them all together that is the hard bit.
While choice is always good, too much choice can make it difficult to get things right first time. Coordinating interiors doesn’t necessarily mean matching everything, but there does need to be a sense of unity within every aspect of a room. Interior designers make this look easy, but most people find out the hard way that it can be anything but easy to get it right.
Whether you want to create a romantic master bedroom, welcoming guest room, cosy lounge or a functional family room, redesigning an interior space requires thought and attention to detail.
You, like any interior designer, should have the aim of making the room both functional and stylish. While working around your family’s needs and interests may be difficult, it is essential if you want to have a room that is usable and can take what your family has to throw at it.
Take a good look at the space you have available: if the room is small, don’t try to cram too much into it. Less is usually more when it comes to the amount of furniture in a room. Using the right amount of furniture and furniture in the correct proportions for the room will use the space available more efficiently and make the room feel more spacious. If the room is large, don’t necessarily line-up all the furniture along the walls, which can lead to a boring layout and a waste of space. Consider dividing up a large room into smaller functional spaces using room dividers like screens and open bookcases.
Before you start, think about budget. This is always an interior designer’s first consideration and will help them decide all aspects of the project. It’s no good splashing out on designer wallpaper costing £45 a roll if you’re going to have to skimp and scrape for everything else in the room. However, it will pay off to have one splurge item to set everything off, if you can afford to spent a decent amount on the basics.
Once you figure out how the room will be used, what space is available and how much money you have for the transformation, it’s time to take inspiration from the experts. Create a file of magazine clippings of the styles, colours and accessories you would like to use in your home. When you have a good collection of clippings, you will have a clearer mind of what you want to create and what does and doesn’t work together.
When it comes to actually decorating, if you can’t do the job properly yourself, ask someone nicely to help or pay a professional if you have to. Nothing is worse than a job half done badly, especially if you’ve paid £45 for a roll of wallpaper.
