Unique Decorating Ideas

There is much more to furniture design than matching color, pattern, and form. The size and placement of large pieces is likely to affect the feel of the room more than any accessory. Think of their layout as the foundation on which all of the flashy finishing elements will be laid. Without a good foundation, your whole room can turn into a disaster, so pay close attention to what you are doing with furniture.

Start with a Plan
It may be tempting to run off the the furniture store, but hasty decisions can often lead to buyer’s remorse. Consider the function of the space and make mental notes about seating, table space, and traffic. Before you start moving furniture in, it helps to plot things out on paper. A detailed sketch will help you visualize the room and allow you to play around with the footprint of each space without doing any heavy lifting. There are even many types of design software available for those of us who are not gifted with artistic talent.

The most important part of your planning should be making sure that the space is usable. You may have the most beautiful furnishings in the world, but they are useless if they are all crammed into a small area. It’s always a good idea to look at magazines and home design programs to find arrangements that keep things livable .

Balance it Out
Keep in mind that each piece placed in a room creates a visual weight. A good decorator should position things so that the room is balanced. For instance, large couches in living rooms are often placed opposite armoires or fireplaces. This assures that every section of the rooms feels filled. (Don’t confuse balance for focal points. Both are essential for good design.)

Finding a balance also involves selecting furnishings that are the correct size and similar in style. You should be able to calculate the ideal dimensions for each piece of furniture from your finished plan. When picking out your new appointments, make sure that each of them holds a similar visual weight.

Make it Work
So you’ve sketched your sketches, furnished your furnishings, and arranged your appointments, but it doesn’t work. Last minute changes are commonplace for even the most experienced designer, so don’t fret. Keep your receipts and get ready to change your mind.

Many of the most distressing furniture setbacks have simple solutions. Too crowded? Get rid of something. Too sparse? Go shopping. Tricky layouts? Rearrange until you find the perfect fit. Sooner or later, you’ll be ready to move on to the easy stuff.

We’ve already discussed how to turn your home into a tasteful rustic getaway . In doing so, we saw lots of fabulous accessories that would arouse anyone’s interest. There are many ways to decorate a cabin home with these natural accessories and wildlife decor, but they can also soften up a more modern space. Here are a few tips on how to give your room natural influences without switching styles:

• Think simple. The quickest way to keep things from feeling artificial is to add a live plant to the room. Flora is great for creating height, adding color, and improving mood. Aquariums and fish bowls may not be quite as easy, but they offer many of the same benefits.

• Choose patterns, materials, and colors that subtly recall nature. This technique is especially useful for warming up stark, slick palettes. Try throwing some leafy-green throw pillows on furniture that looks too stiff or working a high contrast floral fabric in with metallics and clean lines. The right mix of wildlife home decor and sophisticated fair can make the space surprising, yet homey. These details suggest the outdoors without overdoing it.

• Pay attention to what’s on your doorstep. One of the most effective ways to brighten a home is to draw in its surroundings. If you live on the beach, don’t be afraid to go tropical or nautical. Have a home perched in the mountains? Embrace the cabin lifestyle with some wildlife furniture. Trying to ignore the context and original style of a house is one of the easiest ways to miss the design mark. When you begin planning your room, open up the shades and think about the best way to bring in what you see outside the window.

• As always, personalize. Think about some of your favorite plants, animals, and places. Try to translate what you like about those things (lushness, exoticness, fragility, etc.) into a few items. Import stores are a great place to peruse for ideas. They often have tribal art and decor items made of unprocessed materials. An empty wall is the perfect place to add a piece of wildlife scene etched glass or framed pictures from your last hiking trip.

•Use renewable, recycled, and sustainable products. There might not be anything intrinsically pastoral about an earth-friendly fabric or piece of furniture, but they are still good for the environment.

Bringing a little bit of the outdoors inside is a great way to get rid of the decorating doldrums. A few strategically placed items can even take your beautiful space to the next level.