We recently went through a full fledged home redesign. We made some upgrades like changing the wall paint, changing the kitchen cabinet colors and making the space more open. And we got rid of most of our existing old furniture in favor of bringing in more modern chic pieces. Here are a few things we realized as we went through the process. So, before you go start buying bunch of stuff for your home make sure you do these:
1. Use Houzz.com as much as you can: Most of us don't really know what really our style is. We think we do, but in reality we don't :) Try to browse through room pictures on Houzz.com and see what style you relate with the most and why. Keep adding those to your ideabook. Then, start browsing individual furniture pieces that you see in those ideabook room pictures . Houzz does a good job telling you where you can buy those pieces from, and I think that's a good reference point to start with. The last thing you want is wrongly combining too many styles and colors. Finding a balance is always the crux of interior design.
2. Don't rush into buying everything at once: The urge to get the entire home re-designed before that big house warming party is a difficult one to avoid. Trust me, rushing into buying everything before doing a good research on the material, prices and exact specifications will definitely lead to unwanted surprises. If you are buying things like bed, sofa, draperies, ordering the fabric swatches is always a good idea. That way you know the exact color and texture of the fabric. We ordered our sofa from Joybird and thought their Free swatch program was pretty efficient.
You can order Free Swatches from our site for your Barn & Willow draperies as well.
3. Always buy the paint samples to test the color: Believe it or not, selecting the right paint color is the most tedious of all jobs. You would think white is an easy one to pick because you know exactly what kind of a white you want. But it turns into a nightmare when you are shown hundred different shades of white. Benjamin Moore's Pure White, Super White, Decorator's White, Chantilly Lace...all are shades of white but applying it on the wall will create a totally different look. So make sure you buy the samples or the quarts (each are about $5) before you invest in the gallon.
Here are some great tips by Adrienne of Apartment Therapy on 10 Common Color Mistakes You Should Stop Making
Apply at least 2 coats in small areas on 2-3 different walls. Light will make a whole lot of difference so make sure you apply the paint on walls that get a lot of light and some that don't.
Here's another great article by Adrienne on Apartment Therapy on 5 ways to avoid decorating mistakes in a new home
