Have you been looking around your home lately and realized that you haven’t re-decorated since the “retro look” was a brand new futuristic concept? Do you have more holes in your upholstery than you have children to strategically place to cover them up! What do you do? Where do you start? It all seems so overwhelming.
Re-designing your home can really be a fun project… if you approach it with the right attitude. Sit down, take a deep breath, have a drink if you like, and make a game plan.

Forget about Perfection

Your style should reflect how you and everyone in your home use your living spaces every day. Fill your rooms with personality, not sterile expressions of “ideal” designs. Give your imagination and intuition free range and don’t be afraid to get rid of things that no longer work in your life or no longer appeal to you. Indulge in the tastes that tempt you and experiment with decorating techniques that delight you. Build your home around the beautiful and beloved things that you already have, and splurge on the one gorgeous thing that perfectly captures what you love.

But Where and How Do I Begin?

OK; you’ve psyched yourself up. You are strong; you are invincible; you are .ready to tackle this project. .. where do you start? There are several “homework” assignments that you must fulfill before you can begin. (No, you won’t get graded, but the kids will LOVE the idea that YOU HAVE HOMEWORK!) This is not an easy task, and should take more than just one day’s thought process to finish. However, it will prove to be invaluable in the long run.

Steps to Success (and less stress!)

1. Make a reference notebook of your house, room-by-room
(There are several great books on the market to help you with this, or you can follow these easy steps and make your own.)

• Make a section for each individual room of the house. (Later on this becomes a very useful tool when you are out shopping or, if necessary, for insurance purposes.)
• If you have a builder’s set of plans, take them to a photocopy store and copy each room individually (to scale ¼ “ = 1 ‘ ). If you do NOT have access to plans, you can measure and draw each room individually. Do not give the measurements of just the floor area, i.e.; 8’ x 10’. Instead, you will need to go around the periphery of the room along the walls, and indicate the location and size- of doors, windows, fireplaces, built-ins, and any other important features that would interfere with furniture arrangements or hanging pictures, etc. Draw these measurements on ¼” graph paper.
• Take individual pictures of the furniture in each room and label them with the dimensions of each piece. If you can, indicate on your plan where each piece sits within the room.
• Keep a list or a sample of the paint colors used in each area. (You can take a white index-type of card and dip it into the can of paint you used, then label the card as to company, color, finish, and where the paint was used.)

2. Take notes as to what you want to accomplish in each room
You need to walk around with a pad of paper on many different occasions and let your mind do some “free association”. These notes can be as specific as “I need this room to be a dual purpose home-office/guest bedroom” or as esoteric as “l want this to be a “Happy” room.

3. Cut Pictures from Magazines
I know, you’ve all done this and you have PAGES of them. But do you remember WHY you cut them out? You need to mark on each page what inspired you or repulsed you about the picture. After a while, you should see a repetition of a certain style or look that you want to achieve.

4. Make Three Lists
This is the most difficult of all your assignments!  Look (not only with your eyes, but with your heart) at everything you own: pictures, accessories, furniture, etc., and categorize them into three lists:

• “These are the items that I MUST use, no questions asked.”
• “These are the items I would like to use if I can, but my heart will not be broken if I can’t find a home for them.”
• “I got this as a gift from years ago, and I’ve always HATED it! Let’s not use it!” In other words, things you can discard.

What this exercise does for you is to prioritize what you will be working with and designing around, and give you permission to get rid of the things that you don’t need. (For example: Great Aunt Bessie’s dresser that she brought over from the old country ... you’ve always hated it but guilt kept you from discarding it. Find someone else in the family that would LOVE to give it a home!)

Simple “Rules” to Follow!

Just remember, no matter what your style, or budget, there are a few simple “rules” to follow:

Develop an Overall Design Plan -

Even if it cannot be executed in its entirety immediately, an overall plan provides direction that can be completed in stages, which will result in a cohesive look.

Use Different Patterns and Textures -

By mixing these two elements, you can avoid a boring design concept.

Mix Different Styles Together -

Nothing is more refreshing in design than an element of surprise! Mix antique furniture with contemporary paintings and accessories.

Try to use accessories in “odd” numbers and arrange in “triangular” patterns -

• Odd numbers and different heights add yet another layer to the overall design concept.
• Symmetry isn’t always best…try to achieve “visual” balance. No, you DON’T have to have the same vase with the same floral arrangement on either side of the mantle! Try putting the vase on one side and balance the other side with a statue or a grouping of accessories that give a “visual” symmetry with the use of scale and volume.

Don’t forget to “look up!” -

Try painting or even wallpapering your ceiling!

And don’t forget the most important rule of all -

There are NO rules! Have Fun!