12 Steps to Design A Perfect Room

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1.  Find your style.

Before I figured out what was really “us” in the home, I felt completely lost about how to decorate an empty rooms. There were too many great ideas out there and a million possible different directions. There was a big process involved to sort through your identity crisis, but once you figured out “your style”, everything fell into place.

You can learn more about the whole process by finding your own style. Sometimes all it takes is a peek in your closet. Use 2-3 adjectives to describe how you want your home/client to feel- peaceful, cozy, vibrant, lively, warm, moody, airy, formal, casual, beachy, glam? Whatever they are, write them down and stick to them.

2. Decide on the room’s functional needs I. E the functionality of the room

Ask yourself  what the room is currently lacking that would make it function better for the family. What are some storage solutions you could find? If you have very limited space, what are some pieces of furniture that could serve a dual purpose? How do you use the space day-to-day and what are some changes to the room that could make your routine easier?

3. Keep in mind who will use the space.

We always prefer soft textiles, easy-to-clean pieces, distressed tables that can take a beating. As pretty as “unplugged” living rooms are  a movie-loving space so I know any room with a couch ultimately will need a TV. And we are all hot-natured and live in a hot climate, so ceiling fans are a must.

"The way you will design for an old man/woman is different from the way you will design for children likewise adult too"

4.  Create an inspiration board.

Any time you want to design a room for a Client always give them “homework” to pin some of their favorite ideas on Pinterest or any other design inspiration site. Keep Interior Design inspiration ideas for every room you want to work on; whenever you feel uninspire.

5. Take measurements and plan a layout.

Always eyeball everything in a room and always end up in a pickle and make your jottings about what needs replacement and what is not suppose to be there; and most importantly what your client want.

If you can sketch out a general layout plan on paper goes a long way so you are not stuck with lots of furniture crammed into a tight space or take picture of the space(if you don't know how to sketch) 

6. Hash out a hard budget.

Get real with the numbers down to the Kobo(Nigeria) and don’t forget to include project supplies like paint brushes, drop cloths, nails, and the little things that add up. I like to keep a spreadsheet along with all of the links to items I plan to use, so I have all of my resources in one place. Try to leave a little wiggle room in the budget to help with unexpected expenses or projects that go awry. (Not that any project has ever gone wrong around here.)  Here is a more in-depth post to help with budgeting for a room makeover.

7. Think about the rest of the house.

Try to keep a general flow going from one room to the next (knowing your style makes it easy to do after a while). You don’t have to paint one room bright red and one room calm blue and one room sunny yellow, unless you want to rock the bold look like that. Keeping your scheme flowing from room to room makes the home feel larger and not smaller. Bighter/lighter colour makes a room larger while darker colour makes a room small. 

8. Make a plan with fabrics, flooring, tile, fixture finishes, and paint. Always choose your fabrics before anything else. It is much easier to find a paint color to coordinate with a fabric pattern than the other way round. After fabric and paint, decide on furniture and fixture finishes, always keeping in mind your 3 adjectives you chose for defining “your style”. Look at all of your colors and patterns and textures all together to see if all of the elements are cohesive and adjust as you need.

10. Design a mood board.

 I guess you don’t have to do this, but this is important. Sometimes you can’t really decide if you are happy with the room inside of your head unless you spill it all out into a mood board. If you can see the room pulled together on a mood board and end up not liking it, you won’t have to pay the price of a bad decision.

11. Go shopping and keep swatches handy.

When you visit decor stores or antique shops, put your paint and fabric swatches/Catalogue along with room measurements handy. It takes out the guess work.

12. Go trendy in the accessories.

Keep furniture more classic and let the trendy flag fly with accents instead. It is easier and inexpensive to change up later when trends fade. But, hey, if you have a more daring style, go nuts! Just ignore this one, seriously.