While the experts usually know best, not everyone has the money or desire to hire a professional interior designer. Luckily - there's a lot you can do on your own terms, especially if you're prepared to get organised, mix things up, and embrace innovation. By stepping out of your comfort zone and learning to think like an interior designer, you can make your home surpass your wildest expectations.
Get inspired
Before you can improve your home, you need to get inspired. Good intentions and organisation are only useful when they're based on solid feelings, so why not take some time to dream before you sketch out plans and make decisions. While inspiration comes easy to some, others may need a little helping hand. By looking at home improvement magazines and design blogs, you can get some great ideas for your own space. Good design is not just about how things look, it's about how they feel as well. By dreaming your creation into being at the outset of the process, you are much more likely to create a coherent and personal space.
Organise and ask questions
Organisation is key when it comes to most things in life, and interior design is certainly no exception. While inspiration is very important, it needs to be followed up by detailed planning and execution. By asking yourself the right questions and coming up with a detailed plan from the get-go, you can avoid many of the pitfalls made by amateur designers. It's important to differentiate between the different phases of the process, with inspiration and design followed by budgeting, renovating, purchasing, and moving things around.
Tackle the big jobs first
Once you've dreamt up a design and formulated a workable plan, it's time to swing into action. While most people want to get started on the glamorous jobs right away, it's important to grow your design from the bottom up by tackling the big jobs first. Painting the walls and ripping up the carpet may not seem like fun, but they are often the foundations of the entire design. By getting the most expensive and time-intensive tasks out of the way first, you are laying the groundwork for the rest of the process.
Step out of your comfort zone
People are creatures of habit, whether they know it or not. One of the main reasons why people employ interior designers is to access a fresh pair of eyes and a new set of expectations. It's all too easy to fall back into old habits, especially when it comes to your own home. When going it alone, it's important to stretch your style and take risks when appropriate - with accent pieces, new colour combinations, and theme mixing. While it takes time to get all the little details right, it's important to be brave and follow your intuition.
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