Buying and moving into your first home is equal parts exciting and intimidating. And for many homeowners, the biggest challenge is tastefully decorating and personalizing their new spaces. But have no fear! You don’t need any professional design experience or complex techniques to make your home look great.
6 Simple Design Tips
First-time homeowners often make decorating more difficult than it has to be. In reality, it should be simple and effortless. Here are a few tips to help you in this pursuit:
- Less is More
The more you’re exposed to Pinterest, Houzz, design magazines, and interior design blogs, the more ideas you have. And while there’s nothing wrong with inspiration, too much of it can cause you to do too much.
The number one secret to amateur interior design is to keep things simple. Less is always more. Assuming you choose the right pieces, a simple, minimalistic approach will put the focus on your carefully curated items. It’ll also make rooms feel bigger, more airy, and less cluttered.
- Select Focal Points
In order for your “less is more” approach to work, each room needs a focal point. It’s up to you to decide what that focal point will be, but don’t neglect the importance of having one. It could be a coffee table in the living room, an overhead fixture in the dining room, an accent wall in the kitchen, or a unique piece of art in the bedroom. Find something that gets you excited and design the room around that piece.
- Use Room Collections
If you’re moving from a one-bedroom apartment into a three- or four-bedroom house, you suddenly find yourself with additional rooms that need furniture and decor. Make life easy on yourself by purchasing room collections.
According to Furniture Outlet, “Room collections – which include all of the major furniture pieces you need for an entire room – allow you to achieve a sleek and attractive look that’s already been carefully curated by professional interior designers. It also saves you money.”
- Buy Secondhand
There’s no need to buy every furniture piece brand new. While you may want to go new on things like bedroom furniture, living room sofas, and other items that you’ll use a lot, other decor can be purchased secondhand.
“This is not just about saving money, it’s also about how your style will change as you learn what you like and don’t like,” design blogger Abby Stone writes. “Don’t spend a lot on a piece by justifying that it’s a piece you’ve always wanted and an investment in your future. The likelihood is that your style will go through three or four metamorphoses before it settles into something that’s you.”
- Spend on Lighting
“Whether you prefer a cool modernist creation or a grand traditional chandelier, an eye-catching light fixture can be enjoyed from many angles, and it becomes a natural focal point that really makes a statement, even when the rest of the furnishings are kept simple,” interior designer Yanic Simard writes.
It’s also important to do some research on lighting design. There are three basic types of lighting: general, task, and accent. Properly selecting and layering each will help you achieve a luxurious look.
- Take Your Time
You don’t have to move all of your stuff in and have the house decorated to perfection within the first week, month, or even year. Homeowners who rush to decorate everything right away often miss the opportunity to engage with the house on its terms.
By waiting to finalize your decor, you’re able to experience the house firsthand. You’ll learn how the floor plan flows, what day-to-day life is like in each space, what unique quirks the house has, and just how practical each room is. With this intel, you can finish finalizing the decor and land on a design that’s reflective of the home’s personality.
Make Your House a Home
Ultimately, it isn’t the paint colors or furniture that makes your house a special place – it’s the people and the experiences you have with them. As you move into your first home, try not to get so caught up in the details of making everything perfect that you miss out on the chances you have to grow closer with family and friends.
By shifting your focus to the people you’re with, you’ll find it easy to make your house into a home.
Leave a Reply