The Do’s and Don’ts of Decorating Your Home

Decorating your home can be difficult. You’ll no doubt look at trends on interior design websites and want to copy them, but you also need a space that reflects your personality and is somewhere you can feel comfortable. Whether you’re planning to redecorate one of your rooms or want to renovate your entire property, here are some do’s and don’ts to get you started.

Do…

Think About How You Use the Space
While it’s nice to have a home that’s beautiful, it needs to be practical, too, or you’re likely to get frustrated and need to decorate again. Think about how you use rooms such as the kitchen and bathroom, whether you have children or pets, and whether you entertain a lot or prefer nights in with your family. This will help you make decisions and prioritise tasks.

Pick Things That Work with Your Home’s Décor
Nothing is stopping you from choosing a vintage theme for a new build, or putting a high gloss kitchen in a Victorian terrace, but will it really work with the space? You no doubt picked your home because you liked the architecture, so try to choose designs that will complement the house, as they are more likely to look right. Of course, mixing old and new can be just as effective. Accent pieces such as vintage chairs or antique candlesticks can add character to a room if it’s too modern, and soft sofas and cushions help avoid creating overly sharp rooms.

Create A Mood Board
Mood boards can help you gather all your ideas together, so you can come up with a design that’s both practical and beautiful. Online mood boards such as Pinterest are great, but it’s nice to be able to lay out photos and move things around while you come up with the right look.

Remember the Mantra ‘Less Is More’
A few subtle accessories and accent pieces will be much more tasteful than trying to fill a room with things in the same colour or print. Once things are starting to look cluttered, stop filling the room, or add some storage space to keep things neatly kept out of sight.

Make A Budget
It’s easy to get carried away when you’re trying to decorate your home, especially if you’ve got guests coming or are hosting for Christmas. Make a budget and stick to it, deciding which elements are most important and which things you can do without.

Don’t…

Get Obsessed with Matching Things
Look at some interior design stores, and you’ll notice that in their bedroom ranges, you can get a matching duvet, rug, curtains, and even a headboard. While it’s tempting to buy lots of things in the same range, being matchy-matchy is quite a dated concept, so look for items that complement each other instead.

Try to Do It All at Once
When you move into a new home, it’s tempting to try and decorate from top to bottom immediately. Unfortunately, this can lead to rushed decisions that you regret down the line and means you’ll be redecorating in a couple of years. Prioritise which rooms need to be done first and focus on them. You’ll also avoid overextending yourself financially.

Be Tempted to Follow Trends
While you don’t want your home to look dated, following trends for the sake of it and not because you like them is a sure-fire way to take the personality out of your home. While terracotta tones and jewel colours might be big right now, in a couple of years, they won’t be at the cutting edge of interior design, so unless you love them on a personal level, don’t bow to trends.

Buy Cheap Furniture
Cheap furniture might look good when you first assemble it and may even stand up to a few months of use, but it tends to break easily and look awful once there’s wear and tear. Remember the saying, if you buy cheap, you buy twice, so consider splashing out for key items such as your sofa and bed. Can’t afford expensive furniture? Consider buying second-hand items or even renovating some vintage furniture yourself.

Decorating your home doesn’t have to be stressful. Ultimately, you should see interior design trends and websites as a guide, not a template, and rely on your own personality and intuition to design your property. This will ensure you get a space that’s liveable as well as stylish and avoid the decorators’ regret that can sometimes set in after renovation.

For no-obligation advice on buying or selling a home in Cardiff please contact our expert property team at Fortis on 02920561111 or call in and see us. We look forward to seeing you.