8 Steps to Perfect Home Decorating
Simple Home Decorating Hacks
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It’s easy to over complicate home decorating using these simple decorating hacks to keep your home looking like you have guests coming over! Keep reading to get the most out of these 8 steps. The first one is to declutter. If you have decluttered recently, scroll down to step 2.
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Breaking it down into 8 simple rules gives your home decorating some direction, making it easier to fill in the holes, if there are any.
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Step 1 – Learn How To Declutter
There are a lot of home organizational tips to help you declutter your home, including how to organize a closet, to the full ‘declutter your house’ bootcamp offered by professionals. Putting things away, or in many cases giving them away, helps you to clean the slate and see what you have left to work with. It simplifies home decorating by eliminating the stuff you don’t really love but have been hanging on to for one reason or another.
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How you declutter your house is personal. Some people purge, never taking their eye off the ball until every last bag or box has been removed. For others, breaking the task down into smaller bite size bits makes it less overwhelming.
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If the idea overwhelms you, choose a step by step process or hire a professional or coach for half a day to give you some pointers.
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If you need some guidace these decluttering tips from Becoming Minimalist and a 52 week declutter challenge from The Organized Housewife could help.
7 Easy Ways to Declutter
1. Do it Fast.. 5 minutes a day. It sounds simple but you can get a lot done in five minutes.
2. Give away one item each day. This works if scheduling time to declutter is difficult.
3. Fill trash bags. Label them Friends, Local Thrift store, Goodwill or Trash.
5. Make a list for bigger items. Walk room to room, listing areas, things or furniture to remove or declutter.
6. Take the 12-12-12 Challenge. Choose 12 items to throw away, 12 items to donate, and 12 items to be returned to their proper home.
7.The Four-Box Method; trash, give away, keep, or relocate. Similar to step 3 but every item in the room is placed into one of the four categories. No item is passed over! It’s thorough but takes longer.
This is a big step but now you can start decorating. Start with lighting.
Step 2 – Improved Lighting Fixtures
The American Lighting Association defines ambient as the main source of lighting. Currently the trend is for ceramic pendant shapes, metallic pendants and even simple bulb chandeliers with wood.
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Most rooms are instantly improved with additional or upgraded lighting. This can be as simple as adding 100 watt bulbs to some rooms or areas or highlighting corners to make rooms feel instantly bigger. Vary your lighting heights to even out your lighting sources and use a combination of ambient, task and accent lighting. This creates a flattering ambiance. Next is good task lighting.
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Quality task lighting is often the missing link in most home decorating. It can be beautiful as well as functional. Consider adding recessed lighting or and track lighting, pendant lighting and under cabinet lighting, more portable floor lamps or desk lamps.
Use them to highlight paintings, window treatments, wall decor or fireplace mantels.
LIGHTING TIP: Accent lighting should provide three times as much light on the focal point as your surrounding lighting.
Source: Becki Owens
For your living room, light three of the four corners using accent lighting to focus one light on a painting, chair or console table. To change your mood lighting put some lights on dimmers.
Add indirect lighting from small table lamps or wall sconces. They add mood and are flattering. Here are easy DIY lighting solutions to create.
Step 3 – Reinvent Spaces and Rooms
Home decorating is all about creating beautiful functional spaces. Corners, hallways, spare rooms can all be dead empty spaces but when done right, these can be the most beautiful and functional spaces. Adding shelving, hooks and baskets to this hallway has created a mudroom where none existed before.
Source: Creativity Exchange
Basement conversions are the perfect opportunity to create an office, yoga space, a bar, a music room or even a laundry room like this one below from No. 29 Design.
Spare rooms used purely for storage, once emptied become guest rooms, craft room, reading nook, offices, reading or music rooms. Make sure plumbing and electrics work.
Replace old, rusty, broken pipework in the bathroom, kitchen or exterior of the home. This makes a huge difference to the finished look.
If the underneath of your bathroom sink if on show, swap out that old moldy bottle trap under the sink for a new top of the range chrome plated bottle trap. Update your old waste or soil pipes that are on show for some new high quality 110mm soil pipe to add the finishing touch to the exterior of your home.
Like most things decorative options are available and it can be done easily and with a small budget.
Step 4 – Wall Decor
1 Mix up your wall decor. There are great ways you can create a photo wall gallery either using photos on canvas or wood, or frame your photos, group and place over a sofa as a one large piece of art.
Source: Katrina Chambers
2. Display things at different heights. Mix up the size and shape of frames, add mirrors, street signs, faux antlers or a clock to create wall decor that is memorable.
3. To make your ceilings appear higher, hang pieces well above eye level.
Step 5 – Use 3, 5, 7 Groupings
This is not a strict rule, but things grouped in odd numbers are interesting to the eye. Grouping things in three is the most common.
Source: Celia Walker Design
Group them by contrasting color, shape and texture. This is particularly true of cushions or throw pillows. Placing three differently colored cushions together is not enough.
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Step 6 – Paint
Use paint to update finishes. From updating, distressing or rejuvenating pieces of furniture to covering accent pieces. Here is a tutorial from Artsy Chicks Rule to upcycle an old chair by painting it with chalk paint. The results speaks for themselves.
Source: Artsy Chicks Rule
There are so many different paints, like chalk paint and milk paint to metallic paints or paints that can be used on vinyl, concrete and even plastic that there is no excuse not to look at paint to update your outdated furniture and finishings like these kitchen cabinets found on Hometalk.
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Step 7 – Color
Number 2 is all about color schemes. Neutrals in white, blue and gray are still very popular. Darker tones are used to create drama.
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Color can change a mood, make rooms feel cozy, larger, more dramatic or romantic. When you add color you can change the room by introducing colors that subdue or create bold, strong, vibrant statements.
If you are uncertain about new colors start small, experimenting with the color or tone you are considering. Consider the mood you want to create, the amount of natural light your room has, buy paint samples and test the colors on boards you can move around the room.
Step 8 – Accents
The final step can be the most fun. Use accents and accessories to create subdued or bold decorating schemes by layering accents. Accents add character and personality to your decorating; from throws, accent chairs, ottoman, cushions, mirrors and other decorative items. They can be functional, striking, unusual or fun.
Source: West Elm
There is always talk about where to spend your money, whether its on accent pieces or main pieces. Should you spend your home decorating dollars on high end pieces like a sofa or on curtains or accent pieces?
Remember: It’s often the accessories that get the spot light. To create a high end room, spend more time, effort and money on your home accent lighting, wall decor ideas and throw cushions. Accent lighting and accent furniture can bring your room together.
End tables should be below the height of the sofa’s arms. Small rugs look lost and out of place if a large room and its best to add more rugs or replace it with one that is bigger. Place large rugs about 18″ from the wall.
All these Steps can be broken but following these 8 Steps regularly will keep your home looking up to date and fresh.