Devine Decorating Results for Your Interior

Two sofas

The room above:   Two sofas is another great arrangement!  Again, the fireplace is the focal point.           

Above:  Again two sofas around a fireplace, but also situated for television viewing, and notice the clever way the television can be hidden .          

Above:  There is no fireplace.  Conversation and television viewing are the primary functions of  the room.  The armoire creates an attractive TV wall that can be hidden away for company.          

Multi Functions

 Above:  Always plan for other functions the room needs to have as well.  Notice the little dining area, and how the focal point of the room is the doors opening up to a beautiful yard.  The fireplace is secondary in this room.          

2.  Game Plan          

Be sure to have a game plan (design plan) before you start purchasing and/or painting…  I frequently run into people who begin purchasing items or painting without a plan, and end up wasting money and time unnecessarily!   The most important elements in your game plan are the color scheme, design style, and floor plan arrangement.   (More details on these plan elements below.)          

 Above:   We used the existing picture as our starting point, and then found an area rug, and window treatment fabric to coordinate.  The style of the furniture was based on the era of the house as well as the existing decor style elsewhere in the home.          

4.  When to Paint          

Whatever you do, don’t start painting until you have your game plan figured out.  For example, the client below went ahead and chose a bright accent wall color for every major room in their brand new house when it was being painted.  They did not have a design plan in place yet, and now have the very difficult task of trying to match furnishings with some hard-to-match paint colors.  It is an extremely time consuming task, while on the other hand it’s very easy to match paint colors to furnishings, and just paint one accent wall after a plan is in place…          

5.  Where to put color          

It is more cost effective to have your major purchase items in neutral colors, such as your wall-to-wall carpeting, and sofa.  Then you can add the color in your accessories, art, throw pillows, draperies, area rug.  This also makes it much more cost effective to change the look of your room when you get tired of it, or even change the look with the seasons, i.e. change from light sheer draperies in the summer to heavier velvet draperies in the winter.  Also paint is a great way to add color… painting is one of the least expensive ways to decorate… if you do it yourself!          

Before

Above:  A clearly outdated living room.  The floral sofas of the 80’s quickly became dated!  Not a good item to go trendy with if you don’t want to have to update it in a few short years.          

After

 Above:  The sofa is now a neutral color.  Obviously these people tired of having a color over kill, but the splash of color was added in the side chairs.   And there is nothing wrong with having a lot of neutral colors, as long as it’s done right.          

Cost effective color

 Above:   If you hate to paint, there is nothing wrong with neutral walls.  Here the color was added in the area rug, throw pillows, draperies, and accessories.  Great example!          

Not as cost effective

 In the example above, it will be more expensive to change out the orange color in this room, since it was added through the two custom upholstered chaise lounges and a custom cornice box on the window.  If you have a small budget,  add the color with paint and accessories.          

6.  Dealing with trends          

There is nothing wrong with going trendy in your decor, just be prepared to change it out in a few years, or it will look dated very fast.  Also apply the same  principles I mentioned above on where to put color, i.e. invest in trends for the lower cost items such as the throw pillows, area rug, accessories.   It’s very expensive to replace wall to wall carpeting so it’s better to keep it and other flooring types in neutral colors.          

Before

  Above:  The decade of this room decor stands out like a sore thumb!   Teal-green carpeting, mauve sofa, florals, and more florals!  Looks pretty dated now doesn’t it?   And they probably put off updating the room because of the cost to replace the big ticket items.          

After

  Above:  Ahhh, this is so much better, and so much more soothing and relaxing with these calming colors!