Home Decorating

These are basic design principles that both can apply.

Since most people are overwhelmed with the task at hand, I would offer this bit of advice…start with one room at a time. Even if you have a brand new house and you’re starting from scratch, this can still apply. You will have all rooms to consider, this I understand, but you can still focus on one room at a time.

Let’s start with considering what I like to call the seven layers of design:

- Layer 1: Shell of the room – Walls, floors, ceilings, windows, fireplaces, focal point.

- Layer 2: Flooring – carpet, hardwood, tile, linoleum.

- Layer 3: Upholstered pieces – sofa, chairs, recliners, and ottomans.

- Layer 4: Case-goods- cocktail table, end tables, console tables.

- Layer 5: Lighting- general, task, accent.

- Layer 6: Window Treatments – hard treatments like blinds or shutters/ soft like curtains and drapery.

- Layer 7: Accessories – area rugs, oriental rugs, artwork, sculptures, accent plants, decorative pillows, blankets and throws, candles, pictures, posters, etc.

By breaking it down this way I’ve just given you a substantial game plan that you can begin to take action on.

First, you must decide on your personal design style and color scheme you will utilize in the space. Remember, start with one room.

Let’s start with giving you a bit of information on color.

Did you know that color can excite you, make you feel happy, comfortable, relaxed, anxious and even sad? Color affects your moods and feelings and can make or break any design project.

Here are some tips to remember:

- To make a room look larger – use light, cool colors.

- To make a room cozier and inviting, use warm colors.

- To make a ceiling look higher, use white or light colors.

- To drop the ceiling and make lower, use darker colors.

Some say the best all-time rule to follow is this:

Your primary areas – floors, walls, and ceilings, should receive neutralized colors in a range of values. Make the floor the darkest surface, the walls medium, and the ceiling the lightest value.

Now on to Personal Style. What do you really like when it comes to your personal decorating style? Do you know? Is it traditional or contemporary? Casual or elegant?

If you’re not sure, simply visit a few furniture showcases. Furniture stores always display their furniture in groups called “vignettes”.

These vignettes will display groupings from living rooms to kitchens. As you visit these displays ask yourself, “What do I feel most comfortable in?”

In decorating, your personal style is a reflection of you. I always say it’s an expression of who you are, your life’s experiences, your education, your travels, and so forth.

If you are constantly being asked for your interior design ideas, this could be an incredible opportunity for you. All you need to do is make a few decisions and love to create beautiful home interiors.

The first thing to decide is if you want to be an interior designer or just do interior decorating. It may not seem like a big difference, but it actually is. An Interior Designer has to graduate from an accredited Interior Design program, and in many States, the person must take an exam and are licensed. However, if you don’t want to attend school right now or ever, you can opt to be an interior decorator instead.

Before selling your interior decorating services, you must practice. Learn some of the tricks to decorating on a budget, and get ideas about what services you want to provide to your customers. Try these services out in your own home, and offer them for free in the homes of your family and friends. It is great practice and can help to build your portfolio.

To build your portfolio take before and after pictures of each project you do, whether it is large or small. You should have fifteen to twenty pictures in your portfolio and letters of recommendation from happy clients. It is also a good practice to create design boards for each project, and keep them with your portfolio.

Once you have decided on opening an interior decorating business, you should call around to different competitors to get an idea of the services they provide and the fees they charge for their services. This is a great way to decide on how to charge your clients.

There are several ways to price your interior decorating services. They include using a flat fee, hourly fee, percentage fee, cost plus, retail cost or per square foot fee. Most interior decorating businesses use the cost plus method for their fees.

To use the cost plus method, you must contact wholesalers and retailers who offer interior decorating businesses discounts. This way you purchase everything for the project from paint to furniture. You then, sell the products and your services to the client for your cost of the products plus the twenty percent going rate.

Now that you have decided what services you will provide and the cost for each, it is time to advertise. Since you have contacted suppliers, ask them if you can leave interior decorating flyers and business cards at their locations. If these suppliers have seen your work, and make sure they do, they may also refer their customers to you.

You should also contact realtors, new homebuilders, business offices, stores, hotels and just about anywhere that uses an interior that needs to be decorated. Send each a letter announcing the opening of your business, make sure there is a name on the letter and envelope, and not a generic “Business Owner” opening. Follow up with a phone call and try to get an appointment to present them with information about you and your interior decorating business. Even if they are not interested right now, they will be in the future, and you want to make sure they remember you.

My cousin lives in a beautiful modern log home only a short drive from a big city. She enjoys the look of her natural log walls and open beamed ceilings every day. Even though she has all modern appliances, she wouldn’t think of decorating with anything but primitive home décor.

If you are handy with carpentry tools, you can build some of your own tables and benches for primitive home décor. Be sure to leave some natural wood blemishes intact. You can also find great deals on end tables and coffee tables that bring the outdoor life inside. Many like to use antlers or carvings of wildlife figures for table legs or for artwork both on the wall and as natural statues.

Plush and cozy sofas and deep chairs with wood accents compliment primitive home décor. Display nature’s beauty with real (or fake) fur rugs, wall hangings, or blankets. They add warmth to your rustic cabin décor.

The brick fireplace mantle is a perfect place to display some of nature’s tchotchkes. A huge selection is available online or in many stores specializing in natural home décor today. You can also find outdoor wood scenes as wall art for your primitive home décor.

My sister-in-law loves her moose-theme bathroom linens in her modern home on the river. She found her primitive home décor items at a nearby department store. I added to her collection at Christmas with a moose candle holder and liquid soap dispenser. She already had a fake moose head hanging over the toilet!

You can choose from many designs for primitive home décor for bedroom linens too. Wildlife themes abound with moose and bear being the most popular. If fishing is your game, you can find several great fish themes too.

Even when you have the convenience of a modern kitchen, you can still display some primitive home décor by selecting from the many wildlife designs for dishes and tableware. Add some placemats, napkins, or tablecloths designed from nature to bring primitive home décor to every meal.

When you travel, take some time to look in the souvenir shops to add to your collection. Displaying hand-carved wildlife scenes and crafty primitive home décor items from the places you visit are wonderful ways to remember your trip.

My cousin found a chainsaw carving of bears to set outside her front door. She named one of her golden retrievers “Bear” and just couldn’t resist adding the bear carving to display her primitive home décor front and center.