Re-Designing Tips for Your Home

You may or may not know what your decorating style is or what appeals to you. All you know is that you want a change. The first thing to do is to buy or borrow a variety of decorating magazines. Go through the magazines and cut out the pictures that appeal to you. Keep the selected pictures in a folder. As you review all the pictures do you seem to pick the same type or style of décor? If the answer is yes, you now know what your decorating style is. If you find that you like many different styles of décor you will need to consult me or another decorator to help you determine what style is most comfortable for you and your family. A professional decorator will also prevent you from making costly mistakes.  A decorator will help you to stay focused on your look or on one decorating style.

Usually when you think of redesign you think that you always must move furniture around from one room to another.  That is not always true. It does happen many times but there is more to redesign than just moving furniture. Paint color can change the mood of a room. Pictures, window treatments, accessories and centerpieces can help you change your décor style.

If you decide to rearrange furniture, then I suggest you purchase the round circle
“furniture movers” that are inserted under the feet of the furniture. Your furniture will move much easier. One style of movers is for hardwood floors
and one style is to be used on carpet.

Many times with the re-design concept you can use your current furniture, area rugs, pictures, window treatments, accessories and greenery. Sometimes you want to purchase new pictures or area rugs. Evaluate what you have within
each room of your house. You can take one picture or piece of furniture from one room and place it in another. Before you move any furniture or pictures
think about what look or atmosphere you are trying to achieve within that
room. What kind of change are you looking for? If you are going to redesign the whole house then start with the “common rooms." The common rooms are the
living room, dining room, kitchen, family room and keeping room. You will want those rooms to look the best. The common rooms are what you, your family and friends see every day.

I had a client who wanted a unified look for her kitchen and family room.  She also wanted her family room and kitchen to look larger. When we started the redesign process the kitchen was painted red. At that time she loved the bold color. The red paint in the kitchen gave a visual illusion of a beautiful boldness and created a visual separation from the kitchen and the family room. Now, my client would like a quieter, unified and more toned down atmosphere. I told her to paint the kitchen yellow. The family room and hallway were already yellow.  Painting the entire area yellow created the look I was looking for to start our redesign. The yellow paint throughout the kitchen and family room unified and toned down the atmosphere of the two rooms. It also gave the illusion of more square footage.

Now, I needed a dramatic splash of color to add to our décor style. I used her existing pictures, window treatments and area rug in the eating area. I added a lemon and cherry centerpiece to the table. The lemon and cherry colors helped me accentuate my color palette. I added greenery, plates, empty wine bottles
and grapes in an arrangement to add a dramatic but non-intrusive touch of color
to the top of the cupboards. This technique helped me add color, dimension, texture and personality to the kitchen. You might want to use a different color to help you unify your rooms and make your rooms look larger. Check your color
palate to determine what color works best for your home. The color of paint you select for your walls can really impact the "feeling" you are looking for within your room.