Quick decoration tips by experts

1. Determine Your Style
How do you want a space to feel? Here’s a trick to help you hone in on your style: take a look at your closet. Do you prefer tailored pieces or do you prefer looser and more comfortable items? Do you gravitate toward certain colors or patterns? Another way to help you determine your style is to think of key words that define how you want a space to feel. Traditional, formal, elegant? Playful, humorous, inviting? Monochromatic, streamlined, modern?

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Take note of design inspirations in every facet of life. I often use these as a starting point to discuss with clients when I’m hired to help them design the interiors of their homes. Recall a hotel in which you’ve stayed or restaurant in which you’ve dined that particularly struck your fancy. Perhaps it was a minimal interior from your trip to Japan or a clubby bar in New York furnished with worn leather chairs.

2. Figure Out What You Don’t Like
It is a lot easier for people to express what they do not like. By putting dislikes into the equation, we can eliminate some things and narrow in on others. For example, a bold large-scale print might remind you of something in your childhood that you do not want to see in your own space. Or a wingback chair might bring back memories of being sent to time-outs for pulling your sister’s hair. Likewise, a certain color might evoke feelings of a past design trend that you aren’t eager to repeat. These memories and reactions are very personal and individual, but also define our tastes.

lighting ideas for living room with no ceiling light - https://www.justdiydecor.com/livingroom-decor-ideas/top-3-lighting-ideas-for-living-room-with-no-ceiling-light

3. Build Around Your Space

Space planning, which impacts scale, is essential. People often use furniture that is too large or too small for a space. I like to blame a certain retail company for the large-scale furnishings that saturate interiors today. Build around the furniture that you actually have space for. Think about the balance of a space. For larger rooms, consider establishing zones for different activities: a seating area that is conducive to conversation; another area for television viewing; a work area with a desk or table for projects or games. Even though I love symmetry, you can make things feel too contrived when you make everything symmetrical. Think about the visual weight and distribution to balance out a space. Proportion and scale are key to any design.


4. Sample Your Paint
Paint selection is one of the most important and cost-effective decisions you can make. Proper paint choices harmoniously connect spaces. Consider the house as a whole. You risk creating disjointed rooms if you paint one room at time. Take into account how colors affect our mood. Some colors make people feel happy, calm or even agitated. I have been known to paint interior doors a bold black for a contrast against crisp white walls.

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Sample actual paint colors on your walls when looking at options. Observe them in natural light, morning light and at night. Often a go-to color that worked well for one project will not work for another. What might work at your friend’s home might not work at your home. The chips at the paint store are a helpful starting point, but what looks good on paper might not translate into your interior. With white paints, try a handful of different hues on the wall and pay special attention to the undertones. They can have touches of pinks, blues or yellows. The outside surroundings strongly affect the temperature of the light. The vegetation and the sky can create reflections of greens and blues on your interior walls.


5. Mix High and Low Price Points
Pedigree doesn’t necessarily mean better (whether it be art, furniture or dogs). Consider an “unknown” artist or designer and buy based on shape, comfort and how the art or furniture works for you and your needs. The most humble objects can have the most soul and be the most beautiful thing in a room. Do not be afraid to mix high and low price points. Not everything must be precious to be important. The opposite can be said with splurging on something that you really love.

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6. Start From the Ground Up
Design can be overwhelming. People often want to know where exactly to start. For any room, I usually suggest that you begin from the ground up: Decide on the floor covering. It doesn’t matter if you want or have hardwood floors, area rugs, tile, stone or wall-to-wall carpeting. Thinking about your floor first will dictate how other pieces are layered in the space. If you select a neutral tone or natural fiber without a lot of pattern or color, you have more options with colors or upholstery. If you start with an antique rug, you can draw colors from the rug to formulate a color palette. It is important to plan these things in tandem, otherwise you end up with the circus effect: too many things going on without the space as a whole functioning in unison. Starting with a sofa or upholstered chairs limits your style immediately. There is more flexibility with something like an area rug with dozens or even hundreds of possibilities. This is where you have options and can then start to layer pieces. It is a much easier approach to make your final floor covering decision first, and then layer.

Source: time.com/5360413/decorate-remodel-home-tips

Interior Design Tricks to Transform Your Home

Whether you’ve just moved or are looking for a quick, little home pick-me-up, or perhaps something more significant, there are some well-known interior design tricks that designers employ that you too can easily do with minimal effort and cost.  Sometimes the smallest things make the greatest impact. It could be the addition of a mirror, a painting, a lamp or even a plant. Maybe you want to soften your walls, brighten a room, or add some warmth to your living space. Take a look at these clever design tips and see how they can inspire you! Check here Melissa's blog on DIY decor

1. Paint smaller rooms in softer, lighter colors to help make the room feel larger.
The living room above is a great example of how to maximize a small living space. A room of this size has the tendency to seem cramped, but the large windows, light colored walls and ample use of mirrors not only reflect the natural light pouring in from the doors and the windows but the use of mirrors also gives the optical illusion of space, making the room seem larger than it actually is. Conversely, darker colors will make a room feel smaller. Even with the abundance of natural light and the strategic placement of the mirrors, this room in a darker shade would have a more boxed-in feel to it.

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2. Use decorative mirrors to add instant light to your living space.
As seen above, mirrors can also be used to make a small space feel larger. For larger rooms, or any room with a more limited amount of natural light, mirrors placed directly across from the windows, will add instant light. Decorative mirrors can also be used in lieu of art to fill empty wall space. Large or small, mirrors add light and dimension to your living space.

3. Mix it up. Mix up patterns and textures. Mix up old and new, expensive and inexpensive.
There’s nothing wrong with placing family heirlooms alongside your modern couch. All good interior decorators will tell you that the most important aspect to decorating your home is that it reflects who you are, your personality and your style. The antique Chippendale desk that was your grandfather’s tells a story. It tells the story of your past. The modern couch you fell in love with and simply had to purchase also tells a story, your present story, and there is no reason why the present and past can’t co-exist beautifully together. The same can be said for art. Now you might not want to place a painting by Salvador Dali on the same wall next to a Monet, but there’s no reason why they can’t be in the same room together. With fabrics whether it be furniture, rugs or pillows, varied colors and patterns can bring warmth and texture into your living space.

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4. Slip into something a little more comfortable!
Slip covers often get a bad rap but they are truly wonderful things. They can serve as a  means of changing your furniture’s look to reflect the seasons. These easily removed coverings allow you to have a sophisticated look without constantly worrying about people dirtying or spilling on your furniture. Slip covers are ideal for rooms used frequently by children. Above the white slip-covered couches gives the air of a casual, comfortable, easy yet sophisticated elegance.

5. Wicker baskets
Wicker baskets are an economical and elegant way to add storage to any room. Baskets can be used to store and display books, architectural and decor magazines, toys, towels and blankets to name a few. Place a couple of small wicker baskets on the counter-tops in your kitchen to beautifully display and store your fruit and vegetables.

6. Use what you already have to decorate.

We all have items in our possession, probably packed up in boxes somewhere and haven’t given them a second glance. Your home needs some accessories. Instead of running to the store, take a good look at what you already have. Trays, wooden, acrylic, metal or silver can be placed on top of luggage racks, tea carts, trunks, bedside tables and coffee tables for extra texture and dimension. Arrange candles on them, frames or pile books on top of them. Plates can be hung to create wonderful wall art. Art from children’s books can be framed and hung in nurseries, children’s rooms or their bathrooms. You will be amazed at what you can do with what you already have!

breakfast bar ideas for small kitchens - https://www.justdiydecor.com/kitchen-decor-ideas/4-easy-and-affordable-breakfast-bar-ideas-for-small-kitchens

7. Add a hanging pot holder to your kitchen.
Kitchens are meant to be warm and inviting. We spend much of our time in them whether it be for preparing meals, serving meals or entertaining. A hanging pot rack is useful elegance. Kitchens are meant to feel as though they are in constant use and a hanging pot rack certainly makes one feel this way. In addition to looking so wonderful, (there are many sizes and styles available) additional cupboard space below is now freed up to store other items. Seldom has anyone complained of having too much storage.

Source: freshome.com/2012/10/11/10-clever-interior-design-tricks-to-transform-your-home/

Popular Decor Tips From Home Staging Experts

If you watch a lot of HGTV (or have seen the Amy Adams rom-com “Leap Year”), chances are you’ve seen the magic that home stagers can work on a place. These experts can transform spaces and make even the most unsellable houses sell.

So naturally, they are full of great home decorating advice. HuffPost asked a number of professional home stagers for their top decor tips ― from accent walls to tabletop design ― for everyday non-experts just looking to make our spaces feel more inviting. More from this blog

Here’s what they shared:

1. Make your bed a sanctuary.
“Making your bed can be a chore, whether dwelling or selling. The key to making it feel luxurious and hotel-like is simple when using crisp white linens and plump bedding and pillows. Plump, fresh white bedding is easy to find at most major home goods stores (can be a bed in a bag or a comforter and duvet and crisp sheets) and then simply layering in two or three of the same accent pillows in front, which is easy to change seasonally.” ― Karen Otto, chief staging officer at HomeStar Staging

“In the master bedroom, create a magazine look using a comforter or duvet in a solid color or subtle pattern; put coordinated pillow shams on the bed pillows and add another decorative pillow or two for an updated look.” ― Maureen Bray, owner of Room Solutions Staging

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2. Scent matters.
“Splurge on a great scented candle. This isn’t where you can go cheap ― scent is everything. Done right, they make a room feel warm and inviting.” ― Joni Rentz, co-founder and design director of StylHaus

3. Mirrors make a difference.
“Brighten and amplify the light in a room with mirrors on walls opposing light sources. I love mirrors because they double the visual square footage of any room. Hang a series of three or four mirrors opposite a window to reflect the incoming light as well as the view.” ― Cheryl Eisen, founder and CEO of Interior Marketing Group

4. Don’t forget the lights.
“To set the right mood, add dimmers on all of your lights. Bright isn’t always right.” ― Rentz

“Lighting ― table lamps, chandeliers, etc. ― brings a lot of style into a room! Go BIG vs. smaller table lamps!” ―Kathy Burke, founder of Sensational Home Staging

“Replace dated light fixtures in the main rooms of your home to make it feel more inviting; use high-wattage bulbs in lamps and light fixtures for maximum effect.” ― Bray

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5. Think about texture.
“Layer and mix textures to create visual interest. For instance, add textured pillows and a fur throw to create an inviting sofa.” ― Rentz

6. Go big with your art.
“Bigger is better when it comes to art. Large canvases add a statement to any room and can even make wall space appear larger.” ― Eisen

“Paint an accent wall. It not only adds a focal point to a room but can function as a great backdrop for artwork.” ― Rentz

“Wondering where’s the best place to hang art or other wall decor? Center it above whatever furniture is below it (sofa, sideboard, fireplace mantle, dresser, or console table) and make sure that the midpoint of the art is about 60 inches from the floor.” ― Bray

7. Drapes can create an illusion of height.
“Create the illusion of higher ceilings with simple floor-ceiling drapes. Plain, white sheers can go a long way on a budget, but make sure they’re hung properly. Drapes should start all the way at the ceiling and just kiss the floor.” ― Eisen

8. Don’t overlook bathrooms.
“Add beautifully folded fluffy white towels, eucalyptus, a chunky bar of soap and a few, well chosen, decorative items to create a spa atmosphere.” ― Rentz

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9. Try something quirky.
“Find a unique piece of furniture and make it a ‘corner quirk moment.’ For example, a Danish, mid-century wood chair with a fur pelt draped over it adds a level of authenticity to a design. You don’t want your space to look like a ‘set’ or a furniture showroom.” ― Eisen

10. Less is more.
“De-clutter and de-stress. Too many items on coffee tables, pillows on chairs and art pieces on walls make a space feel cramped. Stick to a few statement pieces and oversize art to give your room a clean, modern look.” ― Eisen

“Less is always more! In other words, showcase your personality and style through thoughtfully placed accessories and art, and avoid unnecessary clutter.” ― Florence Attinger, head of the San Francisco staging and design team at Studio D

11. Consider color.
“To add new life to your seating areas, use some new throw pillows in colors that complement the art or wall decor on nearby walls.” ― Bray

“Trying to get a pop of color in your space and it never feels quite right?  Try using one color accent three times in the room! The eye naturally travels in a space and when you carry a color through the room, whether it be in the rug, art, pillows or décor accents, it almost always works and feels right.” ― Otto

Source: huffingtonpost.in/entry/decor-tips-from-home-staging-experts_n_5aba703ce4b0decad04e8295

Tips for Decorating Your Home

1. A Futon. "Futons are le worst! The older you get the squishier your bed should be," says designer, potter and author, Jonathan Adler.


2. Temporary furniture. "Often I see people waiting to move into the 'forever home' before they begin to decorate, and until then, simply buy whatever is on sale to fill up the space," says designer Scot Meacham Wood. "But, by the age of 30, you should really be living intentionally—invest in some classic pieces that you can carry with you, but stop waiting."


3. TV Stands. "Be gone, TV stands that were purchased with your TV!" says Lauren Buxbaum and Sasha Adler, Design Directors at Nate Berkus Associates. "It's time to do something a little less functional and a little more decorative."

4. Art or posters taped to the wall without frames. "By 30 you should invest in custom framing," says designer Nicole Gibbons.


5. Florescent floor lamps. "They can be very unflattering," warns Buxbaum and Adler. "Incandescent and soft lighting floor lamps are just as accessible, but they're easier on the eyes, prettier in the space and do wonders for your complexion."


6. Bare wood floors and postage stamp size area rugs. Rugs ground a room and bring so much warmth and life to a space. "Instead of reaching for the quickest solution, reach for a rug that adds texture, color or pattern—in the largest size your room can handle!" advise Buxbaum and Adler. "It's amazing how it can elevate the whole look of a room."

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Marketing Ideas for your Interior Designing Business

A marketing plan is a written guide for business owners to plan and follow in regards to promoting a business and building loyal customers. An interior decorating business needs a marketing plan that determines how to find clients who need interior decorating services, how the business can meet the needs and wants of the clients it is pursuing, and to guide the interior business toward profitability.


Modular Workstations 


Identification of Target Market

Essential to a marketing plan is the knowledge of the target audience. An interior decorating business most likely targets females with an interest in home décor. Based on the style and types of products you offer, the target age and income level may vary. Based on the area where you are operating the interior design business, conduct demographic research to determine what the breakdown of the population in the area is. For example, if there is a high concentration of corporations operating in the area, targeting business clients may be your focus over residential homes. Choosing a target market helps you identify with your audience and then craft marketing messages, services and products that attract and land the clients you are seeking.

Develop Image

Once you know who your ideal clients are for your interior design business, the next part of marketing plan is to work on creating an image for your business that draws in customers from your general target audience. The creation of an image is branding the interior decorating business. It is the image of the business that you want to portray—how you want clients to think and feel when they see your business name and logo, for example. Ideally, you want them to think interior decorating services as soon as people hear your business name.

Most interior decorators desire to display their skills in design, and their willingness to listen and interpret the needs of the client. Part of this image carries through with general services your company provides, whether it is in providing in-home consultations or keeping extended hours for your showroom that are convenient for your clients. Whatever image you create is projected in any marketing and promotional materials.


Create Goals 

The interior design marketing plan should have, at its center, well-defined goals and avenues through which those goals are reachable. This portion of the plan details the avenues to be used in the promotion and advertising of the interior decorating business.

For most interior designers, a goal is to assist the client in creating an atmosphere in their home or office. To accomplish this goal, the marketing plan should list the ways in which you can reach your target audience to display the interior environments you can help clients create. For example, if your goal is to land one new corporate office or business client per month, then you may place a print advertisement in the local business journal that is read by most business executives in your local area.

If your marketing goal is to form joint ventures with complementary businesses, then you may join a LinkedIn or Facebook group that caters to your industry where you can find architects, contractors and real estate agents that you can work with to refer business to one another.

Evaluate Competition 

At some point in the marketing plan of an interior decorating business, you must identify the main sources of competition. Direct sources of competition are other interior decorators. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your competition. Visit the website of your competitors and gather as much information about them as you can. Determine what creates their loyal customers by evaluating how they speak to clients in their marketing materials, what services they offer, what prices they charge and whom they are targeting for their services.

Compare your strengths and weakness to those of your competitors to see what you can offer that is different from what your competition is. Use the information from the competition to develop your image, maximizing your strengths and emphasizing the areas that you can improve on the competition’s efforts. For example, maybe your competition specializes in Victorian style decorating, but you specialize in modern style decorating.

Budget 

Without a firm budget set, a marketing plan is simply a piece of paper. To accomplish the goals set forth in the plan, the interior design business needs to allocate a certain percentage of sales to marketing. The marketing portion of an interior decorating business budget can reach up to 20 percent, but on average takes up to 5 percent to 10 percent. New interior decorating businesses typically spend more on marketing in the first few years in business to establish themselves in the community. This budget should adequately cover print advertisements (newspaper, magazine), newsletter and postcard printing and mailing, printed promotional materials (brochures, business cards), website marketing and professional organization memberships.

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Ideas to Start a Interior Design Business

There's a good reason why cable TV networks like HGTV, The Learning Channel and DIY Network have such a huge following from coast to coast: The home design and improvement industry is hot, hot, hot and is showing no signs of cooling off. There may be no better time than the present to tool up your skills and fire up your enthusiasm for a career in this creative and fulfilling field.

What's Inside

Introduction

More on Interior Design

More on Preservation/Restoration
A Name to Remember
Home Design Service Resources
Opportunities Abound
But while Americans are keenly interested in home improvement and home design and have made household names out of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition's" Ty Pennington, professional organizer Peter Walsh from "Clean Sweep" and other home design show hosts, the fact is many don't have the time, talent or inclination to undertake such projects themselves. Or they enthusiastically take up a paintbrush, rearrange the furniture or make a stab at organizing their lives, then toss up their hands in defeat when they realize it's not as easy as it looks. (They don't put those disclaimers about contacting a professional for help at the end of shows like "Weekend Warriors" for nothing.)

All this means there are plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs like you to start what we are broadly calling a home design business. In Home Design Services Start-Up Guide, we'll give you the advice you need to start five different home design services: interior design, interior redesign, professional organizing, building preservation/restoration, and faux painting. Read on for a closer look at starting these businesses:

Interior Design

If you have a knack for planning spaces and coordinating furnishings and accessories, then this is the field for you. Interior designers (aka decorators, if they don't hold a degree from an accredited university or college) beautify, improve and update the appearance and functionality of interior spaces in both residential and business settings. Many specialize in a particular type of design, like kitchen design or lighting solutions, and many augment their income by selling decorative products like accessories and furniture.

According to the 2004-05 Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), there are approximately 60,000 interior designers in the United States, one-third of whom are self-employed. This is the only design field regulated by the government-nearly half the states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and seven Canadian provinces require licensing for interior designers. To become licensed, designers must pass a rigorous certification exam, which they can only take after they've accumulated six years of experience in the field and a college degree. But this is not to say that you can't become a designer if you don't have these qualifications. Rather, if you live in one of the jurisdictions where licensing is required, you can call yourself a decorator instead and do all the same things a designer does and still be in compliance with local laws.

Employment prospects for designers are excellent, according to the OOH, which says, "Overall employment of designers is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations through the year 2012." So if this is your preferred trade, now is the time to launch a business.

Interior Redesign

Imagine taking stock of a person's furnishings and decorative accessories, then rearranging or "repurposing" them in the same space. That's the function of the interior redesigner, who uses design skills similar to those of the interior designer to work his or her magic. There are actually two career paths in interior redesign. The first is in residential or commercial redesign; the second is in real estate staging, in which the redesigner sizes up a home for sale and makes improvement and updating suggestions that can help the home sell faster.

Although the notion of interior redesign has been around for the past 20 years, the concept has only just caught on and become mainstream in the past five to seven years. As a result, there is no hard data or statistics to suggest exactly how many redesigners there are. But thanks to the efforts of a handful of people who blazed a trail in the field, redesign is now heating up. Shows like HGTV's "Designed to Sell" are helping to make redesigners even more sought after.

Professional Organizer

This is another field that's still in its infancy but growing fast. Professional organizers cut through the clutter in people's homes and businesses to help them live simpler, more organized lives. They also develop customized organizational plans using filing and storage systems that their clients can live with and maintain easily.

While there aren't any available statistics on the number of professional organizers practicing today, what is known is that the National Association of Professional Organizers, which was established in 1985, counts 3,200 people among its membership. There's also a similar organization in Canada. Because there are no educational requirements, few equipment/tool costs and no licensing issues, this is one of the easiest home design businesses to establish.

Restoration/Preservation
This is the field that Bob Vila single-handedly launched in the mid-'70s and is being perpetuated today by shows like "Restore America." Restoration/preservation professionals (also know as conservationists) may specialize in one type of home project, such as carpentry, or may act as general contractors and handle various types of projects on homes and businesses that were built before 1930. (Anything after that date is considered to be from the modern era.) You'll find these pros engaged in just about any home building activity related to electricity, plaster, masonry, stucco, woodworking, tile, tin ceilings, painting, post and beam construction, and the preservation/conservation of vintage elements like horsehair plaster, fresco, adobe and lime plaster, to name just a few. These professionals also use their skills to preserve and save objects like furniture and accessories. However, make no mistake: A restoration/preservation professional does not renovate. Rather, he or she either restores buildings or objects to their former state or preserves them in their current condition so there is no further deterioration.

And the work is definitely there. According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Street Approach program, called Historic Preservation Equals Economic Development, 96,283 building rehabilitations undertaken since 1980 in more than 1,700 communities have resulted in 244,543 jobs and 60,577 new businesses. So there's room for you, too.

Faux Painting

This purely decorative art form is usually practiced by true artists, although it is possible to achieve a certain level of competence through hands-on instruction. "The key to success is being able to follow step-by-step instructions and take your time," says faux painter Brian Bullard, who's also owner of The Decorative Arts Center in St. Louis. Faux painters apply decorative finishes to walls, ceilings, floors, furniture and accessories. They use paint, glazes and other media, and must be masters at mixing colors and applying them with just the right touch. Among the types of faux finishes popular today are marbling, precious stone, patina, trompe l'oeil and stenciling.

Bullard says that because of the specialty nature of the job and the technical skill involved, faux painters can earn $400 a day or more, or around $60 by the hour. Other faux painters say it's possible to earn up to $1,000 a day depending on the size and scope of a project as well as who's footing the bill.

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Decorate your Home with Proper Measurement Guide

How much paint do you need? How high do you hang that chandelier? Get your measurements right with this indispensable guide that has all the numbers you'll need.

1. Dining Room Table

A 36-inch-wide rectangular table is perfect for conversation. A round table with a diameter of 48 inches seats six; a 60-inch round will handle eight standard dining chairs or 10 ballroom chairs.


2. Light Fixtures

How big should an overhead light fixture be? Just add the length and width of the room in feet, and whatever number you come up with is, in inches, your guide for the fixture's diameter. So a 15-by-20-foot room would need a 35-inch-wide chandelier.


3. Paint Coverage

One gallon of paint will cover about 400 square feet of wall.

4. Curtain Height

Mount curtains as high as possible to give the room more height, and let them break 1½ inches on the floor.


5. Window Treatment Width

Curtains should be 2½ to 3 times the width of the window. So if you're doing two panels, each should be 1¼ to 1½ times the window width. Buy a rod that's 20 inches wider than your window so it extends 10 inches on either side. Your window will seem much wider than it really is.


6. Kitchen Island

A kitchen island should be about 38 inches high—a little taller than the countertops—to be comfortable for prep.


7. Dining-Room Chandelier

The bottom of a dining-room chandelier should hang 36 inches above the table.


8. Light Switches

Install light switches 36 inches above the floor and 1½ to 2 inches to the side of the door trim.


9. Fabric for a Sofa

For a standard 84-inch sofa with exposed legs and a tight back, you'll need 14 yards of plain 54-inch-wide fabric. Add two yards for a skirt.


10. The Golden Ratio

From classical times to today, the golden ratio has always been the perfect proportion: 1 to 1.62.

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