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THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF DECORATING
1. Thou
shalt NOT
ignore the
architecture of a room – Don’t ignore the “bones” of a
room. When everything is removed from the room what built in
features remain? Is there a fireplace? Is there a built in
bookshelf? How about a wonderful view out a picture window? Once
you look at the room empty, use that information to determine your
focal point and build your room around that. What if there is no
focal point? Make your own!
2. Thou
shalt NOT start decorating
without an inspiration piece – Many items can become your
inspiration. Your sofa, an area rug, or even a piece of artwork.
Use your inspiration to make other decisions when decorating your
room, such as colors, style of accessories, or textures to use.
3. Thou
shalt NOT eliminate color from your decorating plan –
Our lives are filled with color and it affects our moods. Colors can
be used to cool a room or make a room feel warmer. Choose a color
from your inspiration piece as your primary color for the room.
This color can be used on the walls or largest piece of upholstered
furniture such as your sofa. Don’t automatically paint your walls
WHITE!!
4. Thou
shalt NOT forget to create cozy intimate areas with furniture
placement – Try to remember not to place all your
furniture around the walls of your room. Bring your sofa into the
room and add your love seat and accent chairs to create an “L” or
“U” shape grouping. Make sure your family and guests can have an
intimate conversation while sitting in the room. Consider more than
one function in the room. For example, create a small reading area
on an unused wall or in a corner.
5. Thou
shalt NOT forget your secondary and accent colors when
decorating – Besides your primary color, every room needs
at least 2 additional colors that compliment each other and are
found in your inspiration. Your secondary color can be used on
smaller pieces of furniture or in an area rug. Your accent color
should be used 3 times in the room. (such as on a throw pillow, a
lamp shade, candle, or a picture frame).
6. Thou
shalt NOT hang artwork too high – Most of us hang
artwork too high. WHY? Because that’s the way our mothers taught
us! Artwork should relate to the piece of furniture it is hanging
above. And when you are sitting down you want to enjoy it. A rule
of thumb for hanging artwork is 6-8” above the sofa, table or other
furniture piece.
7. Thou
shalt NOT ignore your lighting – There are 3 types of
lighting. General lighting – usually the overhead light in the
center of the room. Task lighting –lamps placed around the room
used for working and reading comfortably; and Accent lighting –
usually used for added ambiance or to highlight artwork, plants or
dark corners. Each room should have 3 sources of lighting,
preferably placed throughout the room in a triangle.
8. Thou
shalt NOT forget to include greenery in every room and PLEASE
don’t keep those tired floral’s – Geenery is one of the
most important accessories for your room. It adds life and color and
helps to bring an element of the outdoors inside. Use greenery to
soften the hard lines of an entertainment center or for filling in
those empty corners of a room.
9. Thou
shalt NOT use accessories in old ways – Unless you
are decorating a formal room, try to avoid too much symmetry. When
using matching lamps and end tables, lift the lamp on the left with
books for a more relaxed feel. Do not automatically hang a mirror
over a fireplace. It usually will reflect the ceiling, which is not
what you want to focus on when seated. Always be aware of what a
mirror reflects. Don’t line up accessories in a row like little
soldiers. Use odd numbers for more interest.
10. Last, but
not least, Thou shalt NOT start your next decorating project
without hiring TIME TO REDESIGN!
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