Are you wanting to refresh your home or maybe just a room and you don’t know where to start? Sometimes if just needs a fresh pair of eyes to look at a space to see the potential by making just small changes. It may be changing the layout of the furniture, changing the colour of the walls and adding texture with soft furnishings and accessories.

What do you like?

I was reading about a design studio that only takes on whole house refurbishments as they believe designing an entire property is the only way to achieve the right flow and feel.
Obviously if you have taken on a wreck or a house that needs a lot of work doing to it then chances are you will be tackling every room and it makes sense to look at the whole house in terms of the aesthetic so you create a cohesive look. However not everyone can afford ( or in fact want to ) change everything in their home and in a lot of cases people approach a room/space one at a time. The downside of this is that it can then be difficult to create a cohesive look ( It’s a bit like looking at a website that has a different font on each page – it can be jarring).

Often when reading about changing the look of a room different types of interior design styles are mentioned such as Farmhouse, Modern, Traditional, Scandinavian etc but if you are not immersed in the world of interior design, you may be not that sure what your style is or even if you have a style. Many of us accumulate things gradually – an impulse buy because it was a bargain, an item of furniture which looked great in the showroom but somehow doesn’t work in your room, items you may have inherited/been given but not to your taste and suddenly you have a room that does not give you joy when you enter. A good place to start is list what you like about the room – it may be a bright sunny room that feels spacious, or it may a room that doesn’t get a lot of light but feels cosy in the evening. You may like a particular piece of furniture or a picture that holds special memories or a rug which has your favourite colours – the list could be endless or in fact have just one thing you like.

What don’t you like?

Sometimes the things you don’t like about a room is because it is being used for the wrong purpose. Not everyone is in the position of having lots of rooms to choose from to decide what they will be used for but there may be opportunities to change things round. For example, in a flat you may be able to swap the living area and bedroom around, do you have a dining room that is never used and is more suited to be a family/playroom/tv room and then your living room could be a more relaxing grownup space. It maybe you have an item of furniture that is too big/small for the room – can it go elsewhere in the home. You may feel it’s too dark, but you like the style – can you paint it? and if you really don’t like it try and sell it or give it away to a new home.

How do you want the room to feel?

So now you have decided what your room is to be used for, what you like and dislike about it you now need to decide what you want it to feel. Some people love a lived-in look with lots of accessories, colour etc others may want a minimalist or more formal vibe – there’s no right or wrong but the key is to have a cohesive look. Hopefully when you answered these questions, you’re on the right track to get started.