It can be overwhelming deciding where to start when redecorating your home, or moving into a house that needs some work. Here is our guide to getting started.
Planning
This is the most important stage, so don’t be tempted to skip it. Make sure you have measured each room properly. Then create floor plans for the rooms that you want to redecorate, or the whole house if its a complete redo.
There are apps available to help with this if you don’t want to do a traditional paper floor plan. Look online for some planning resources and make lists of things you think of as you go along.
When you have each room of the house that you will be decorating laid out on your floor plan, you can start thinking about the furniture you want or have, and where it will go.
Some layouts may be dictated by where the children spend time, where you want to relax or where you would like to entertain guests. This is your chance to maximise the space that you have and really stamp your personality on the rooms.
If you need to actually see how the finished room will look, you can always use painters tape to mark furniture etc out on the floor. This way you can actually walk around the space and see how it will feel.
An important element of planning is of course the budget; make sure you know how much you have/are willing to spend and keep it in mind throughout. If you want to delay some of the rooms until there is more to spend, decide which you can simply shut the door on and leave for a while if that’s an option, like guest bedrooms and second living rooms.
See original image here…
Inspiration
There are so many places to look for inspiration these days if you need help deciding on layouts and decor. Have a look at your favourite commercial spaces like hotels or restaurants, interior designs magazines, pinterest and designers and places on instagram. Identify the styles you like; formal or casual, country home or sleek minimalism,
and the colours that you like best.
Most people won’t be starting completely from scratch so if you already have some furniture and decorations, focus on the pieces you like and start from there. You may also need to put some thought into how to hide or downplay the ones that you don’t like but are stuck with!
It’s really helpful to decide on your colour palette. Nature is great for inspiration, or perhaps you have furniture or accessories in a colour you love. Colours need to complement each other but this doesn’t necessarily mean matching. Use a colour wheel (they are easy to find online) to see which colours will go with each other and use shades and neutrals to bring it all together.
Remember the whole house doesn’t need to be the exact same colours or style – it’s your space and each room should be tailored to what you want and need. It should also reflect your personality so you feel at home. If you want a sense of flow throughout the house, just use one particular colour in some way in each room, or decor items that match the architectural style of the house.
See original image here…
Getting started
If you are going to be redecorating your home completely, it is best to go one room at a time. Decide on two or three rooms which are most important to you, perhaps the living room, a bathroom and a bedroom.
Then when you have planned in full, start to decorate one a time. By breaking the decorating down into parts and smaller parts, it proves a lot less overwhelming and gives you more of a sense of control over a large project.
This could be the time to call the experts in to do the decorating for you, or you may decide to paint or wallpaper yourself. If you need to remove paint before you start, see our handy guide here and we also have one for removing wallpaper.
See original image here…
Painting
It its easiest to chose the paint colours towards the end, when you know what your furniture will be and the general decor. Paint is available in pretty much every colour under the sun, so you can choose whatever colour and shade you need for the perfect fit.
Make sure you have the right type of paint for each room, for example gloss for kitchen cabinets and satin for the bathroom.
See original image here…
Herts Decorators provide high quality and professional decorating services to our clients across Hertfordshire, book a free estimate with our team today!
