Are the Details Blurry?
How do you get started decorating a room in your home? How do you focus your design inspiration? Just like any other goal, you should start with the end in mind and reverse engineer it. (You can read HERE about how I reverse engineer party planning). You usually already know the purpose of the room, dining, baby, bath, etc. so you’ll start by considering the practicalities of its purpose. After that making all the smaller decisions like color scheme, style, and all the other design details, it probably gets blurry.
Getting Focus
To get it in focus, I usually start with a decor inspiration piece. It may not end up being the focal piece of the room, but it might. For my kitchen it was this demitasse set. I knew I wanted navy blue and white so the kitchen would flow with the attached family room. I also wanted it to be cheerful. Along with navy blue and white, the green, light blue and tiny bit of yellow in the cups have become the colors for my kitchen. This tiny china set is not the focal piece, but their color and pattern are the inspiration to the fabric I bought for recovering the kitchen chairs and other accessories.
For another room I had picked colors before we even bought this house. I found a pillow at target that became my decor inspiration piece. Once I had the color scheme I started buying accessories and furniture to go with it. For our bedroom I found the perfect bedding set first; they can be so expensive, so starting there and building around that seemed penny-wise! For our guest room, the focal piece had to be the room divider that is now a headboard. For our powder room it was a couple of vases I found on clearance at Kohls.
Where to Look
You might find an inspiration piece that has the color scheme you know you want but might not be the decor style that fits the space, it’s purpose or your family. If it’s something small, buy it and keep it for inspiration until you find the exact focal piece for your design. Having a decor inspiration piece makes it easy to stick with the right color scheme. If it’s also a piece that you love, or that has sentimental value, it will make other design decisions that much easier.
Once in a while I do get stumped on what I want the inspiration piece to be. I just keep looking, every where, including at things I already have in my home, thrift stores, Pinterest, magazines, your garden, etc. for inspiration, until it hits. When it does, I know it and then I know I can move forward on planning.
What inspires you to redesign your space? Share your inspiration in the comment section below this post. Inquiring minds want to know!
Blessings,
Lauree
…keep dancing the dream
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Honestly, I don’t know if I have a set decor style to stick to just one piece. I tend to like multiple things that span different styles. I often thought about just picking up items I love even if they don’t fit together and just create mix of things, but I’m afraid it will look crazy.
I know what you mean! Most of my rooms are a mixture of several styles. I think it’s what makes our homes uniquely ours. Thanks for reading!