QuickOverview

by Sarah E. White of The Complete Writer's Resource

The way you decorate your home says a lot about your personality. The furniture, art and paint colors used in your home can make you look like a fun-loving, energetic person or a traditional homebody. Following are some tips to keep in mind when decorating your home, whether you.re a first-time home buyer looking to put your stamp on a new place or just someone wanting to redecorate a tired old room.

What's Your Style?

The first question that must be answered when making decisions about home decor is what your individual decorating style is. Do you like traditional designs, clean lines, Art Deco or Mission style? Or do you prefer a more contemporary feel, with metal and glass, bold colors and simple designs?

You may not know the answers to these questions. You may simply know that you like the look of dark-stained wood, overstuffed furniture, leather and hardwood floors. Or that bright colors, sleek lines and something that will look great next to your 54-inch plasma television are your priorities. Or you might just know you don't want anything like your parents' house. All of these are legitimate starting points.

If you still don't know what you like and don't like, go to the bookstore and browse decorator magazines and books. You are sure to find some things that you like and others that repel you instantly. Look closely at the pictures you like and see if you can define what you like about them. Is there a color you are drawn to? Do you like the shape of a piece of furniture, the color of a rug, the frame around a mirror? Take notes and you will see that you are quickly developing your own sense of style. Armed with this knowledge you can begin to browse furniture stores and look at the sample rooms they have set up to give you even more ideas about the direction you might like to go with your room or rooms.

Color Schemes

Another important thing to consider before you begin picking furniture or working on a room design is the color scheme you might use. Do you prefer neutral colors like beige, cream and navy, or does your palate run to brighter colors? If you don't know, take a look at your wardrobe. What colors do you wear over and over? These are the colors you will most likely want to use in your home décor because they are the hues you are most comfortable around. Don't paint your living room purple if you never wear that color, for instance.

Of course neither a house nor everything in one room have to be all the same color. You can use a neutral color on the walls and have a bright colored couch, for instance, or use your strongest color on the walls and something less obvious for the furniture. You can also use different shades of the same color throughout a room (light blue walls with darker blue chairs, for instance) or use the color wheel to find complementary colors that will look great next to each other (such as burgundy walls and dark green couches).

When it comes to color, more is not necessarily better. If you want a colorful room but don't want your house to look like a circus exploded inside, consider using only two or three main colors in a room and jazzing it up with colorful artwork. A riot of color on a smaller scale will have a better impact than, say, painting each wall of your bathroom a different color.

In Perfect Harmony

This brings us to the issue of harmony, which should be the ideal in any room design. Harmony simply means that you want everything in each room to look like it belongs together. An example of a non-harmonious design would be a traditional leather chair with tufted buttons in a room with brass-and-glass tables. The tables are too modern for the chair. If brass-and-glass is your preference, you can buy a more modern-looking leather chair or couch to bring harmony back to your room. If you love the look of the traditional chair, try a wooden coffee table.

Harmony also has to do with the accessories you have in a room. If your design is quite modern you won't want your grandmother's antique candlestick collection in that room. Remember, though, that your whole house doesn't have to be in the same style. You can have an Asian-inspired living room and an African bedroom, a modern office and a traditional den. Your kitchen can be full of 1950s retro knick-knacks while your guest room is inspired by the sea. As long as each room is in harmony with itself, you.ve done a good job.

Shopping Time

Once you.ve decided the tone or theme of a room and the color scheme you would like to use, it is time to go shopping. Take your time to shop around and collect pieces you really love. It may take some time to be able to afford everything you want for a particular room, but don't be tempted to buy something cheap just because that's all you can afford. If you can't buy a whole room at once, start with whatever the centerpiece of the room is: a really great couch, dining room set or bed. Then you can add accessories and other pieces as you can afford them, remembering to keep the new furniture in harmony with the first pieces you bought.

As you shop around for pieces, you should consider some practical issues. These are rooms you will have to live in, so think about what you want to use the room for and what pieces of furniture or accessories you will need to reach that goal. Think about storage if you have a lot of books you need to house, collections you want to display or clutter you need to contain. Also think about durability, especially if you have children. That hardwood floor looks great when you first install it, but think about what it will look like after the kids have spent 10 years using it as a playground. If you want your floor to look beautiful forever, you might need to go with dark carpeting or allow the kids to play on a big area rug you don't care as much about.

A final warning about shopping: don't buy trendy things unless you love them and can afford to replace them if they look dated in a few years. Buying furniture such as couches, chairs, dining room sets and bedrooms sets is a long-term commitment, usually of 10 years or longer. If you buy high-quality, classic pieces you.ll be leaving them to your children. If you need convincing that what's cool today will soon be out of style, think about shag carpeting, glass-block windows and loud flower prints. All of these had their day, thankfully gone now. Think solids or subtle prints on major pieces of furniture so they can be kept even when you want to change the look of a room. If you buy classic pieces of furniture you can still change a room quickly by changing the accessories.

And don't underestimate the power of paint to give a room a new look when you.re embarking on a new design. As long as your old furniture doesn't clash with the new color, go ahead and paint as soon as you decide on a color. This will inspire you to pull the rest of the room together when you can. And you may just find that some of the things you already own look better in a room with a fresh coat of paint.

Final Thoughts

Remember that in design there are very few rules. Pick furniture that you like, in colors you enjoy, and don't worry too much about scale or what's cool or how your friends decorated their homes. You want your rooms to be comfortable for you to hang out in, to live in. If you are not happy with the design, you won't have people over as often to enjoy the rooms with you. So do some research into things you like, try not to clash in design or color, buy good-quality pieces and fun accessories, and you.ll enjoy your home with style for many years to come.

Related Sites

Find a Decorator at www.cooperlistings.com.

Sunland Home - The Specialty Decor Source - Thousands of themed home furnishings and decorating ideas in Western, country, lodge, nautical, seashore, and Southwest decor styles. Trusted online since 1997.

Mom's Break - Offers free printable projects and crafts. Find cards, invitations, iron-on transfers, scrapbooking, games, clipart and much more in categories ranging from holidays and special occasions to everyday.

Home Interiors - interior home decoration, decorating ideas, discount contemporary furniture
Shop trusted home interiors stores for home interior decorating ideas gifts. Find discount contemporary living room, office and bedroom furniture, slipcovers, bedding, bath fixtures, kitchen appliances, area rugs, housewares and housekeeping supplies.