If you’re thinking it’s time to do some updating in the family room or master suite, sometimes trendy isn’t always best, some experts say. Finding the right mix of function, scale and your personal style is the right mix.
It seems you can never have enough advice on improving your interior living space–whether it is a sprawling mansion or cozy apartment.
With that in mind, Vanessa Pereira an Interior Design Consultant at Mid-Atlantic Builders (midatlanticbuilders.com) offers these tips about planning for interior design projects that can work in any living space.
Before investing your time and money on the interior design of a room, Pereira suggests evaluating the following:
Function – Decide the purpose of the room up front. As an example, a family room should have furniture that is both durable and comfortable, as you will likely spend a lot of time in that room. The function of the space will help determine fabrics, furniture placement, lighting and what color scheme to use.
Scale – Fitting properly sized pieces into the appropriate space helps to bring out naturally beautiful features of your home like floor to ceiling windows and fireplaces in the family rooms. A room that is designed with scale in mind will have the right size furniture and a fitting amount of wall treatments with a noticeable focal point.
In rooms with natural focal points, the furniture should be oriented in a way so as to accentuate those features. Pereira says there should be enough room for traffic to navigate between the furniture.
Avoid placing many small pieces of furniture in an oversized room. Instead use two larger pieces complemented with a few smaller pieces such as side tables or accent chairs.
Pereira also says each room should be a reflection of your individuality. The mood of a room comes together by the color scheme, style of furnishings, fabric textures, patterns and accessories.
An inspiration piece such as an antique sofa or painting can lead the way for the rest of the room’s design. To make it easy, Pereira suggests you make sure all the fabric patterns in a room have at least one color in common.
And resist the urge to be trendy – everyone else has already done that and seen that. Since trends come and go, your best bet is always going with an overall plan to fit your personality or your lifestyle.