Home Decorating Tips You Need to Know

We all like to make our homes look as nice and stylish as possible, which means that we will need to decorate and redecorate from time to time. However, as much as we like the end results that come with decorating the process can be a time-consuming one, and one that not all of us are good at whether in terms of using the right techniques or making the right decorating choices. 

The good news is, it is totally possible to learn how to decorate smarter and better, and below you will find some of the best home decorating tips to help you do just that:

1. Move your stuff out

One of the best decorating tips that too few people employ when painting and decorating, is to move all of the stuff in the room you are doing up out of that room. This might seem like it will take you more time and effort because you need to move everything in and out, but actually, the reverse is true because it will enable you to move around the room more freely and you won’t have to worry about splashing paint on your things. 

If you don’t have anywhere to store your stuff, then renting a secure self storage unit for the duration of your renovations is a good way to keep your things safe while also keeping them out of the way. When the time comes to bring them back into your home, you might find that you come to realise what items you do and do not need, so it’s a good way to get some serious decluttering done too.

2. Think about how you use the room

Before you undertake any decorating project, it is a good idea to take some time to think about the ways you and your family use the room. When you know that you like to sit by the fire and read or that you like to keep the TV far enough away from the reading nook that the kids can watch cartoons without you being disturbed, it will be far easier for you to plan the layout for your furniture and the flow of the room so that it works for you all. So many people jump into decorating without really thinking about how the space is used and it means that they end up with a room that looks great but is not necessarily the most functional for the family to use. Don’t make this mistake and have a plan in place.

3. Prep the walls

If you are going to be repainting your home, then it is a really good idea to prep the walls by washing them and removing any dirt and debris and then applying a primer. This, again, may sound like it will take you more time, but actually, that is unlikely to be the case because it means your paint will be applied more smoothly and evenly, so you will probably be able to get away with fewer coats, and even more importantly, the finish will look much more impressive than if you paint onto dirty unprepared walls. Alternatively, you could hire a professional house painter instead of painting your walls by yourself.

4. Don’t have one focal point

Many people think that having one focus point that the eye can focus on is the best way to make their rooms look stylish and sophisticated but this is not actually the case. You want your rooms to be interesting from any vantage point, which means you should make an effort to build in lots of different focal points that the eye can rest on at any time.

For example, as well as having a feature wall with beautiful botanical wallpaper or an amazingly rich colour of paint, you could have an impressive plant in one corner, a beautiful work of art in another, and so on. The more points of interest there are, the more interesting your decor will be as a whole it really is that simple.

5. Take small steps

If you want to get your redecoration job done as swiftly and effectively as possible, it is a good idea to break it down into small steps with regular breaks built in. For example, you can focus on painting the feature wall, after which you take a break and move on to the next wall, and so on. Or you could start by laying the carpet before moving on to build in the future and so on with lots of little breaks in between.

Why do this? By focusing in one task at a time, you really can focus and power through, and by taking lots of regular breaks, you do not get overtired and start making sloppy mistakes that will need to be corrected at a later date, which will make it far easier for you to get through the process of decorating overall.

6. Work with textures

If you want your home to look stylish sophisticated and well-designed, then you do not just need to think about colour palettes, you also need to factor texture into the picture too. A room that is filled with lots of different textures, as well as great furniture and a well-thought-out colour scheme, will immediately look more put together than a room that has very little texture at all.

How do you add more texture in to the space? Start by adding area rugs and then think about cushions curtains, hanging tapestries, throws and anything else that has new textures, and ideally different patterns too. They should all fit your theme, but they should have enough difference to make things as interesting as possible at the same time too. 

7. Think about floating furniture

If you are updating your furniture when you decorate, you really should think about looking at pieces which are raised off the floor. Why? Simply because it gives you more floor space to play with, which means your family will have more room to do whatever it is you love doing the most in each room whether that be playing, relaxing or something else entirely. It also means you can fit in more storage space if that is a particular area where you could do better. 

8. Try out samples

So many people do not bother with picking up paint samples and testing them out in their homes, relying on what the colours look like in the brochures or on the side of the paint piots instead. This is not very wise because paint often dries differently and the condition of your walls and the lighting in your home can make the colours look vastly different in your home than they do elsewhere. That is why it is always worth paying the small fee for samples, and actually putting them up on the walls and waiting for them to dry. It’s also a good way to test out which colours work well together and which are most in keeping with your own personal style.

9. Spraypaint fixtures

If you are looking for a cheap way to make fixtures and fittings like door handles and draw pulls look more luxe, then buy some silver, gold or bronze spray paint and in a few minutes, you can give them an impressive new sheen that will look much more expensive than it really is without you having to go to the expense of buying upgrades or the time or removing the old ones and reattaching the new ones. Just make sure you use masking tape to keep the paint off the furniture the fixtures and fittings are attached to.

10. Don’t be afraid to clash

So many people end up feeling underwhelmed with their decor because they are afraid to take risks but you need to remember that it is your home and you can do whatever you want in there. A good way to make your home look more interesting, for example, is to clash colours that would not usually be seen together or mix different patterns, like putting leopard print and botanical prints together in the same room, for example. Obviously, there are more subtle ways of doing this, but the point is to make the room more interesting by doing the unexpected.

11. Keep furniture off the walls

When putting your furniture back in place, do not be tempted to push it right against the walls. Sure, it might free up a small amount of extra space, but it will also quickly scuff the paintwork or wallpaper you have just spent so much time applying, and it can make the room seem less inviting than it would otherwise be too, Even just pulling it out a few centimetres will make a huge difference.

You may already know some of these great decorating hacks and all of them may not be applicable to you and your home, but if you take what you can use, you can be sure that decorating will become a whole lot simpler, more effective, and produce more stunning results for you and your home, than ever before.