Interior Decorating Ideas

Home decorating is always a work in progress. As we change and grow in our lives through relationships, career, and pastimes, we sometimes need to change our surroundings to reflect the new person we have become or want to be. When we surround ourselves with things we love, reminders of where we have been and where we want to go, it can become easier for us to stay on course and achieve our goals.

Thus decorating interior space becomes a means to an end and not the end in itself. We can become better people by using the creativity and ingenuity often needed to turn our dreams and desires into our surroundings. We manifest the reality we want by making little changes over time and eventually we are living in the home we have long imagined. As we transform our living space we transform our lives. This is the power and the beauty of decorating our homes.

Home Decorating Tips

All home decorators have their personal preferences for what looks good such as what colors or patterns go well together; what styles of furniture, window dressings, wall coverings, floor coverings and general decor blend well. When you are decorating interiors of your home, no matter it's size, shape, location, or the size of your budget the only people you really have to please are the people living in your home. No one else's opinion should make a difference to you.

People pay me to come into their homes and tell them how to make it look like something they think it should represent. Often they have large budgets and much larger egos but they know they want something that makes a statement about them they are unable to make on their own for whatever reason. Maybe they don't have time to really sit and think about what they really want but generally these clients of mine depend on my ideas of good taste rather than their own.

The best interior decorating tips I can give you right now is to think about what you really want, who you are and what your home should say about you to anyone who walks in the door. What kind of things does a home say about a person? Here are some of the basic elements that speak volumes:

Is your house clean?
Is your house well maintained and functional?
Is your home tidy and well organized?
Do you have any hobbies or interests?
Do you enjoy art or music?
Do you have noticeable pets?
Are you casual or sophisticated?
Does your family really live in your home?
Do you have more stuff than house?
Do you have more house than stuff?
Do you prefer space or clutter?
What are your priorities?

Your home tells many things about you whether you realize it or not. The above list barely scratches the surface of what is being said in every nook and cranny of your living space and astute visitors do pick up on these things. Home decorating, for me, is not about showing off or giving the illusion of something. The way we decorate our homes says who we are and what we think of ourselves, our family, and our place in the universe. Not everyone has acquired the skill of putting rooms together well with the dichotomy and/or diversity inherent in family groups living under one roof. This is where the professional interior decorator comes into the picture.

Interior Decor

Just remember when you think of interior decor it's not all about the colors, fabrics, furniture, blinds, lighting and mirrors and etcetera. It's about you and your idea of who you are and what aspects of yourself you want to express to others when they visit your living space. The things we use to decorate with are, of course, a statement in themselves but they are not the most important thing to me when I am helping a client with interior decorating ideas.

The buttery softness of a leather chair, for example, can also be a statement about the person who uses it if that person has a softness and charm that corresponds to the chair. It's not how much money something costs, or how well crafted something is that makes it perfect for you. It's how well that something fits you and your life that makes it an imporant addition to your interior decor.

What color represents your best days? Or your most calm state of mind? These are the types of basic questions I ask my clients when they lack interior decorating ideas to fulfill their dreams. If you can visualize what a perfect space would look like for you in any area of your home and understand why it would make you feel good about yourself, then you have begun to grasp how I establish an interior decor for my clients. It isn't all done in a day and in fact often takes months or years to reach the point where all the goals of the client have been achieved.