Most people struggle when it comes to home decorating ideas. If you have no idea on how to bring the best look and feel for your home, whether you need ideas, color suggestions, right finishes, or instructions on how to do things then learning the basics of Interior Decorating will be a great tool to start decorating.
For some artist, things do come naturally like drawing or designing, they just have an eye for even the simple things. The rest would simply need to work a little harder to develop their sense of style and creativity.
Find Inspiration
Even popular designers turn to design galleries or flipping magazines to find a little designing inspiration. The world of interior designing holds a wide-range of probable sources. Whether you are looking for a vernacular architecture or a modern minimalism, surely you will find something that perfectly suits your project. Take your time to collect ideas like furniture arrangements or compare color schemes from walls to its draperies.
Learn to Blend Colors and Neutrals
Colors are a great factor that reflects your personality and portrays the mood of the room. Colors do not just refer to paint but to fabrics as well. As stated by Mark McCauley, ASID, author of Interior Design for Idiots, “Choose a palette of sharper colors as opposed to duller ones. Sharp as in bright chintzes mixed with colorful plaids or really hot reds and electric blues, yellows and greens (with plenty of air between the pieces). Color combinations with negative space in between will enhance the space’s clarity and openness.”
Colors are divided into two groups, mainly the warm and cool. Cool colors offers a relaxing and calming effect making it perfect in areas where you spend your time relaxing such as the bedroom and bathroom. On the other hand, warm colors give the effect of increasing adrenaline, raising your blood pressure, increasing your heart rate, and increasing your temperature. Warm colors are suitable in areas where there should be activity and interaction like the kitchen and living room. Cool colors include blue, green, and violet while warm colors are yellow, red, and orange.
Neutrals such as white, black, gray, brown, and beige is also a welcoming color, making your home comfortable and inviting. Although many people look at neutral as a boring color, with the right combination of textures, patterns, material and finishes, these neutral color palettes could be more interesting. A neutral colored wall should be complemented with a layered textile with varying shades of the same color or a contrasting neutral tone. Neutrals paired with distinctive texture is perfect in adding dimension to a room. Look for different textures such as rich hardwoods, wood or slate flooring, metal such as nickel, copper and chrome, stone accent walls.
Balance
In interior designing, balance is characterized as the equal distribution of visual weight in a room. Various elements such as irregular or contrasting shapes, bright colors, contrasting textures, large dimensions and unusual proportions, and other elaborate details are found in many interior spaces. Each of these elements should be balanced in order to achieve the perfect look and feel you wanted in a room. Generally, interiors are three dimensional that is why balance is categorized by three kinds. The three kinds of balance are:
Symmetrical Balance
Symmetrical balance is also known as the formal balance. This kind of balance is easy to achieve and gives a sense of formality and stability in a room but overdoing it could be too monotonous and boring. Symmetrical balance is creates a mirror image by placing identical elements in the same position on either side of a central point. For instance, placing two chairs on either side of a coffee table, or putting matching nightstands on either side of a bed.
Asymmetrical Balance
Asymmetrical balance or informal balance is the complete opposite of symmetrical. It can be more complex as it requires finding objects that are not only varied and interesting but also compatible with each other. To achieve an asymmetrical balance, you can either use lighter elements in a larger size, or place the lighter elements at a greater distance.
Radial Balance
Radial balance is typically based on a circle. It is achieved when there is a central focal point with other elements radiating from it or around it. An example of this is chairs surrounding a round table or the concentric circles in a chandelier.
Focal Point
A focal point is an integral part of interior designing as it makes a room more inviting and balanced. A focal point is the area to which the eyes always return. A focal point is anything that draws too much attention to the area like a fireplace, a picture window, piece of furniture, a bookcase, stunning artwork, or a contrasting color in one area. There are many ways to emphasize the focal point in a room. For instance, you can paint a contrasting color to your fireplace or you can simply place a large stunning framed mirror above it. To accentuate a picture window, you can hang a striking curtains or drapes. If you want a bookcase to be the focal point, then you can simply place a combination of books and favorite objects while ensuring to leave spaces around the books and objects.
Scale and Proportion
Scale and proportion are very common terms in interior designing. Scale refers to the size of an object compared with the size of the room. Large furniture works perfectly in a large room while a large sofa in a small room may look wimpy or bulky. A small room should use a smaller pattern and prints. Proportion on the other hand refers to the shapes, forms, and dimensions of an object and how it relates to the other things found in the room. Proportion is also known as the golden ratio, golden mean, golden number, golden proportion, divine proportion, and divine section. A perfectly scaled and proportioned room can be achieved by rearranging, removing or replacing some objects that simply doesn’t fit in the area.