Decorating a room is one of the most exciting parts of moving into a new home. After all the boxes of big and small clutter have been stowed away, you can move on to your next project: planning the aesthetic and functional design of your room. The Painting Specialist, a company of painters and decorators in London, has shared some details on the most essential elements of room decor to be aware of before you get started.
Understand the Psychology of Room Décor
Did you know that how you decorate your room, your choice of colors, its lighting and such can influence your mood and behavior? An article published on Apartment Therapy explains how we experience a room in five ways:
- Through our senses—sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste
- Through time and by movement through space
- Through reasoning or thought, memory or imagination
- Through emotions
- Through anticipation or expectation
Decorating a room is more than just picking out paint, furniture, drapes and accents; it also entails an understanding of how these elements play together and its effects in your daily life.
Plan Your Room Color
Our sense of sight plays a vital role in how a room affects our mood. Color is a dominant element of room design, so when picking out a color, it is important to decide on which feeling you most want to highlight when you enter a room. In an article posted on Color Meanings entitled “Psychological Effects of Color in Interior Design”, author Jacob Olesen explains that each person responds to a particular color differently, which is something to consider when decorating a room.
When planning the color of your room, think of what emotion you would want to evoke. If it’s passion, go for red; warmth, go for yellow; fun and energy, go for orange; tranquility, go for blue; freshness, go for white. Don’t hesitate to color each room differently, as every room has a purpose and must have its own character. In common places such as the kitchen and living room, it is ideal to pick out a color that envokes a neutral feeling among all family members.
Plan Your Furniture
Planning your furniture works hand in hand with planning your room color. Determine what vibe you want in your room, and from there, work out a color scheme. Having a color scheme does not mean color-matching your decor, but having a color palette that works together to give the vibe that you desire.
When you’re done working out your color scheme, you can move on to choosing the pieces of furniture. A common mistake that homeowners make is buying furniture without any solid plan on where to place it and, even worse, not having measured the room and its spaces. Before you make a trip to the furniture store, plan the layout of your room by assigning purposes to spaces and their allotted measurements.
Let Your Personality Shine
As you begin to decorate your room, here’s a thought to ponder: you will spend about 1/3 of your life in your room sleeping, and a little more time doing some “you stuff”. That is a lot of time, so you better be comfortable and satisfied with how you decorate your room. Online lifestyle magazine Bustle recommends personalizing your room by adding artwork, memorabilia, and other small trinkets that evoke happy feelings and reflect your personality.
Decide Whether to DIY or Hire a Professional Decorator
Both going the DIY route and hiring a professional decorator have their advantages; choosing between the two will mostly depend on your decorating skills, budget, and how far you are willing to go for the room of your dreams
Going DIY is much easier these days, thanks to the infinitely deep well of the Internet and sites such as Pinterest and Etsy. Online, you can scout inspiration and source furniture pieces from as far as the other side of the globe. The great thing about DIY is that you get to move at a pace you can afford. You can shell out cash for an antique leather chair today and then wait for the next payday to get those covers you’ve been eyeing.
People still subscribe to the idea that hiring a professional decorator is only for the rich and famous, but the truth is that it’s for the practical homemaker who wishes to save time and effort in achieving his/her desired room. A professional decorator will help you decorate your room impeccably, without having to waste money on mismatched furniture and pieces.
A professional decorator, especially one who has already established his/her network in the home industry, will know where to source materials at the best prices, can steer you to the store with pieces that match your personality, and will let you know if you’re committing a home décor faux pas. Hiring a professional decorator can also increase the value of your home, which could potentially offset or even exceed the cost of hiring one in the first place.
