If you are looking to home renovation, there is a mistake that you don’t want
to make- and it could cost you. You need to be careful of what type of flooring
material you choose for the entire house. This article will discuss why this should
be taken into consideration before making any decisions.
Before I became an Interior Designer, we renovated quite a few houses ourselves.
Although looking back our home was beautiful (see below), we would constantly
sit there and want to change it.
Have you ever bought a cushion or an ornament, to realise it doesn’t quite fit?
Maybe it is too big, or small, or not the right shade?
Some of us take the items back (which can be frustrating) and some of us
‘make-do!’… and we find more accessories we don’t absolutely love, but they
match the other mistake we made, so let’s put them together!
This is the perfect example of what not to do.
Have you ever heard your friends or family tell you that they are re-doing their
lounge? Or have decided to take on a big project and knock through two of their
rooms to make it bigger, after they have just had their kitchen done only a few
years ago?
You need to plan everything out and think about all the future home renovations you
might want in your home before committing any decisions that will cost you
more money down the line, or change how your house looks forever.
You are probably thinking, yeah yeah! But believe me, when I learnt how to plan a
room properly and consider everything through, not only am I able to create a
room that is timeless and cohesive – I know that I won’t need to re-do it years
down the line. Or months in some cases.
We get bored of our rooms and want to change them because we never properly
loved them in the first place. When you make considered decisions for your
home, that are well thought through before you make purchases, then you will
save yourself a lot of money.
Why not consider investment pieces for your home?
What is a good investment piece? I am talking about things that will last you for
years and are timeless. For example, something like an expensive cofee table
from the likes of Designers Guild would be considered an ‘investment’ if it lasts
longer than your other pieces because they’re made with quality materials and
artisan craftsmanship.
A sofa can also be an investment – but not always! Sometimes its worth
considering investing in a leather one to make sure it stays upholstered well as
time goes on (rather than having acrylic or vinyl). The important thing here to
note though is that if you’re buying any new furniture then get advice first before
making a purchase. Thinking about if you have children who may spill things (or if
they are anything like me, then I need stain-resistant fabric too!).
I always think of the big pieces for a room such as curtains, carpets and
upholstered pieces to be investments – so where possible I try to purchase in a
neutral colour palette, then use accessories to add pops of colour, unless I am
going for a monochrome look. That way, should you decide you want to change
your space. You can! At a fraction of the cost.
I have bought bright yellow chairs before. To realise after 1 year, they were too
bright. Then I end up flogging on ebay, for less than half of what I paid for them.
Designing a home is about creating spaces for yourself, not judging other
peoples’ preferences or tastes – at least as much as possible! However it’s always
good to think about what will suit your needs before deciding on any purchase – because if something doesn’t go together well with anything else then all the money spent has been wasted.
Here are my top 3 tips on how to design your dream space, by planning exactly
what you want to do, before you go ahead and do it!
Tip #1: – Create a Moodboard
Let’s be honest, it can take a lot of time to find the perfect piece for your design.
So instead of spending hours and days looking in store after store, I suggest you
create an inspiration board that will help you visualise what style is right for you
– this way when shopping online or browsing a showroom floor its much easier
to get what you want first time for home renovation! When creating my moodboard I used Pinterest as
well as magazines from around my home (I cut out pictures or pages that have
images I love).
Tip #2- Create Space Plans and Layouts
Before buying furniture pieces such as chairs and dining tables for home renovation, make sure they
are going into spaces where there is enough room. Draw out your room to scale,
then draw in the furniture you already have and then you can see what space
you have to play with. One little tip I have is, once you have drawn your layout,
get some coloured pieces of card and cut out the main pieces of furniture e.g.
the bed, a chair, or table and then anything you see online you can also cut out
(to scale) and play around with the layout… it is quite fun to do too!
Tip #3 – Draw up your ideas using Photoshop, or by creating a Montage
The fun thing about software like Photoshop is that you can create your own
design, and then use it to show what colours you want on the walls or how big
couches should be. If don’t have any experience using these tools, I recommend
going online for some tutorials so you know exactly how to work them before starting anything OR just get a big sheet of paper and cut and paste images from magazines. That way you can start to get a feel for the space and the
colours you have chosen. Putting it on paper can be a big eye-opener and we often find that our first initial ideas, don’t work. Imagine purchasing things for that amazing idea in your head?
It’s so easy to make a mistake, and then you have to go back to the store with
your receipt. How annoying! It’s also a waste of time.
This is why hiring an interior designer is important because they can save people
money on mistakes and help them for home renovation and get exactly what they want for their space
without any hassle or headache that designing it themselves entails.
If you need help with a home design project for home renovation, we are here to make your life easier.
We can work within any budget and focus on what YOU want for YOUR space.
Let us know if this sounds like something that might be of interest to you!
