Let’s start by making sure you know where you are! Yes, we are a painting company and this is the blog for our painting company. Just because we chose paint as our trade doesn’t mean we aren’t exhilarated by beautiful design. We like to think we are the icing on the cake for a room remodel, after all, paint saturates a space with its individual personality, but we have also learned a lot about design, floor layout and furniture staging over the years. Beautiful design makes our jaws drop and we love watching designers work through their cycle of creativity and bring a space to life. If you are looking to re-design a space in your home, here are a few tips we have learned along the way and hope that they help you too!
All Your Spaces Should Reflect You
Before we dive in to any more design suggestions, let’s be very clear about something: your space is YOUR space. Every element of your decision-making, we feel, should reflect you, your family, and the functionality of your home. You may make a decision here or there that is a design ‘faux pas’, but if it illuminates joy within your home, we support your decision. Don’t forget to push some of your limits as you reflect on your style and see if new ideas strike your fancy; order samples to get visual ideas, go visit showrooms and push yourself to explore options, but most importantly-pick items that make you happy.
Function Before Form
A quintessential factor in planning a space and ensuring the longevity of forthcoming purchases is to know how you intend to use the space. Are you making a formal seating area to sip cocktails with adult comrades, or are you creating a teenage crash pad where flopping on the furniture and tossing pillows aside is perfectly acceptable? Nothing will run you from a space faster than it never meeting the function you need. Take a minute to daydream about you happily using your new space; once you see the vision, draft your potential floor layout and list out furniture that will be needed to achieve the vision.
Who Will Use the Space?
While your space should reflect you and your family (if it is your home), or you and your brand (if it is your business), it should also be inviting, approachable and relatable to those who will share in the use of the space with you. Consider who may be guests, customers or clients to the space and try to view your decisions through their eyes. Is it clear what they are to do in the room? Is there ample seating for the amount of people you plan to host? Do your furniture/color/texture selections convey the mood you want for guests? Go out of your way in the decision-making process to make sure all enjoy the space afterwards.
Transitional Pieces
Let’s be honest for a second-there are a ton of trendy concepts being designed all of the time. New, bold and never-before-seen patterns begin adorning our rugs, walls, textiles, wallpapers, and tiles shortly after these ideas hit the mainstream. Don’t get us wrong-we love new things! A fresh and modern space is always cool, but the word ‘classic’ exists for a reason. Unless you want to be overhauling your space each time a new fad surfaces, we recommend using pieces that can transition through many re-designs with you.
Pick big-ticket items, likes sofas, tables, cabinets and countertops, that fit your overarching design preferences, such as: simplistic, straight lined, ornate, light in color, natural wood, etc.., then allow your risks and trends to show up in rugs, paint color, accessories, wall art, and even wallpaper. Nothing is worse than depleting your budget on pieces that are costly to replace and lose your interest quickly.
NOTE: another fun way of supporting a space that doesn’t feel overly trendy is to mix in vintage pieces with new elements. Raid your grandparents’ collections or a local antique store for treasures that you can blend in with your new design plan.
Let Nature In
No, no, no, we are not saying to open your windows and let bugs swoop in for some tea over lunch. What we are saying is gather inspiration from your natural surroundings..go outside and look!!
Nature inspired color combinations, textures, and materials have a way of making a space feel livable. Nature tends to be a place of comfort, serenity, diversity and familiarity-all words we think work to enhance just about any space. You could take this tip in many directions, here are just a few ideas:
- If you prefer lots of metal and ‘industrial’ elements, mix in pieces of natural wood to balance with warmth.
- Take your color palette directly out of nature. Think of the outdoor place you most love and pull up a picture of it. Look closely for 2-3 colors that most speak to you and find ways to incorporate them together within your space.
- Place greenery around your space (although you must be prepared to care for the plants after decorating!)
- In a more literal sense, let light in! Natural light can be one of the best features a space has. Tailor your window treatments around the ability to let light in.
Designing a space, making your environment perfectly ‘you’, and exercising your creativity are wonderfully fulfilling experiences. We hope these tips help support your inner designer and challenge you to tackle a space to re-design.
If you have designed a space, or are considering a room makeover, we would love to hear about it and feature you on our blog. Please email us at info@nodrip-new.bwpsites.com
Happy Painting!
