Interior Decorating | Foolproof decoration and design success

Interior design and interior decoration have reached new levels in contemporary homes. New homeowners are more sophisticated than those from past generations and are always seeking new home interior design ideas. The pressure on many young people today to have it all straight away is enormous. The result of this can be, besides personal debt, a tendency for contemporary homes to all look the same - sometimes at the price of individuality and uniqueness.

In many ways, interior decorating has become easier. However, the sheer volume of products available can still make it difficult for casual interior decoration aficionados. A few years ago, I worked out an easy, foolproof way to stay on track when decorating. The participants of the workshop to whom I disclosed my simple method found the idea most helpful.

When interior decorating,the first thing to do is work out what you like. Look through magazines, books and display homes for ideas for interior design rooms. Cut out images from magazines that you like and dislike. Quickly make your decision. At this stage, it works best when you go with your first reaction. Do I like this? If yes, put it aside with other images you like. If you really dislike something put it in another pile. It can be helpful to know what you dislike.

When you have a number of images, go through them slowly. Again, ask yourself questions. What in this image do I like? Is it the colors, style, textures or patterns? Or what do I dislike so much in this image?

It can be a great surprise to discover what themes keep coming up again and again. Many years ago, when my husband and I did this exercise when buying our first home, we discovered all the images we liked had pot plants and pale or white backgrounds. It pays to take your time and really think things through. Sometimes we do not allow ourselves the luxury of taking time. Also, look around your current home. What items do you love? What items do you dislike? You may have a treasured piece, a fabric, a painting or any item. This could be your starting point. Or you may need to find a new starting point by finding a fabric or painting to use as a beginning of your interior decoration scheme.

This is the easiest way that I have found to help others with their interior decorating projects. Select a fabric or artwork that you really like. The style, colors and textures will be influenced by what you discovered in this first step. The fabric could be a liberty print, abstract in design or with oriental patterns. This method works best if the fabric or art work has at least three colors. You can use an item with fewer colors and use different tones and tints of the same color to create your interior design scheme.

The item selected will usually indicate a style: traditional, ethnic or modern. If you’re starting from scratch, you can select your furniture in the style you like. If you have to work with what you have, you could use the information that you’ve gathered about your likes to select accessories in the style in which you would like to redecorate.

When you have worked out the interior decorating style, you can work out a color scheme. You can do this by using the lightest or background (if not too dark) color in the fabric or artwork for the broadest areas of color: the walls.

Then select another color (mid range) from the fabric as the color for upholstery or bench tops and cabinet doors. You could also do a feature wall in this color.

The lightest, brightest color in the fabric or artwork can be used for some accessories to add impact to the room. When you follow this method of creating an interior design scheme for your home, you know it will work. The textiles designers who created the fabric and the artist who created the art work understand the principles of color and design. If the design is successful on a small scale, you know that it can work in large scale home interior decoration.