If you love interior design and want to undertake a decorating project on your own, goodness knows there are tools available to help you do everything under the sun. But despite our best intentions DIY home decorating jobs frequently get waylaid — sometimes for months or even years at a time. Stay on course with these nine suggestions, covering everything from budgeting to purchasing.
Brad Ford ID
1. List specific, measurable goals for your project. One of the first things an interior designer does is define the parameters of the project. When doing your own decorating, it’s easy to justify bypassing this thing — but nailing down your goals now is vital to a successful project.
Answer these questions before you begin:
Which room or rooms will be decorating?When do I need to get this project completed? What’s my timeline?What is that my budget?How do I need this room to look, feel and operate when the project is done?Are there any particular issues I want to address in this space?Who will be creating the decorating decisions: only me, or will I’m cooperating with a spouse or housemate?Might I actually need a pro to help?Written aims will keep you on course — no veering off from your living room project to accessorize your kitchen!
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2. Draw an budget up. Sticking to your budget is a science and an art, and it won’t occur without some careful planning on your part. Begin with making a master list of all the items that you intend to buy for your room, such as paint, jobs for a professional and so on. Initially you won’t have everything chosen so you will need to estimate prices.
Think about the choices for each item — for dining table seats, for example, you may locate a mismatched set in a yard sale and paint them yourself for a hundred bucks, you could go to Target or Ikea and invest a couple hundred, or you could tack onto a designer collection. Establish your priorities and think about which items will be your splurge items and where it is possible to pinch a few pennies.
Lucy Call
3. Be realistic about your lifestyle. A fantastic breeder would steer you away from purchasing silk or velvet upholstery in case you have kids or furry friends — do yourself a favor and do a reality check for each design choice before committing. There’s always an option that will work together with your strategy as well (if not better than) your original option. And you will thank yourself later!
Lauren Liess Interiors
4. Order samples. During your primary shopping explorations, order samples of everything and anything you can that you’re considering. Having fabrics, paint and wallpaper samples in hand can make those final decisions more likely to be a success. You cannot expect the colors on your computer screen!
Megan Buchanan
5. Go shopping. Once you have completed the preparation — and only then — is it time to begin laying down your cash. Make sure you check the return policies on everything before buying. If you aren’t sure about something, snap a photo of it to look at on your area.
6. A little of this, a little of that … It is important to take a breather midway through your decorating project to reassess. How are the things you have bought so far looking in your own space? Because you envisioned is it coming, or do you need to rethink some parts of your strategy? Are you sticking to your budget?
7. Anticipate setbacks. Every decorating project has its openings — the important thing would be to adjust to them, instead of steamrolling on regardless of what. If, as an instance, you spent far more than you intended on the light, start looking for ways to lower costs elsewhere.
Evens Architects
8. Stay. The results of all your hard work are on their way — make use of the downtime to finish some dull but necessary tasks that will help your final space look its best. Send out area rugs for cleanup, polish your wood floors, clean windows inside and out, clean window coverings and paint, and touch up trim. This point in the practice is also a fantastic time to sell or donate your unwanted furniture and accessories.
Holly Marder
9. Do not settle. From the time your furnishings actually arrive, you could be so tired of working on your project that you’re tempted to allow less-than-perfect products stay, rather than expend the energy required to deal with them.
Do not do this. Mistakes happen, even to the pros, but a pro would never allow a piece that just does not work stay in the area. Muster your strength and send the piece back — the sooner, the better.
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