Suppose you’re not born with the ability to envision an entire room, including furniture arrangements, wall hangings, rugs, and accent options. In that case, you may find it a difficult question how can I learn how to decorate my house? But you can learn and refine this over time. You can start by learning the fundamentals of decorating your home, including design concepts, styles, and solutions for common decorating challenges.
Interior Design vs. Interior Decorating
Interio design and decorating are often confused, but they’re not entirely the same. Interior design requires specialized education and training, covering aspects like furniture design, space planning, and architecture. On the other hand, interior decorators don’t need formal education. They focus on the aesthetics and appearance of a space.
Whether to hire a designer or decorator depends on whether you need construction work, space planning, or just help styling the decor.
Elements of Decor
The first step in decorating is choosing a design style for your home. This helps create harmony and consistency, considering the entire home as a cohesive theme. Your style could be as simple as shabby chic, contemporary, traditional, or even specific styles like French country or Victorian.
Another principle is balance—distributing visual weight evenly in a room. This can be achieved symmetrically, which is common in traditional interiors, or asymmetrically, often seen in informal spaces. Every room needs a focal point, such as a fireplace or a piece of artwork. This central area stands out in terms of size, color, and texture.
Variation and contrast create visual interest, while rhythm comes from repeated elements like color, texture, or pattern, as well as gradual progressions in size or color.
Color
Choosing a color scheme is a key aspect of interior design. While each room might have a different color scheme, it’s important to connect all spaces in your home to create a unified flow. Consider how colors work in small and large spaces.
Patterns
Mixing patterns can be one of the most complex aspects of interior design. Patterns don’t need to be identical, but they should work together. This harmony is achieved by considering their size, color, and scale.
The Principles of Interior Design
The principles of interior design are guidelines used to create visually pleasing and functional spaces. The seven key principles are: harmony, balance, rhythm, proportion, scale, accent, and contrast. These principles apply to all areas of your home.
The 60-30-10 Rule
An important rule in interior design is the 60-30-10 rule. It dictates that 60% of the space should feature a primary color, 30% a secondary color, and 10% an accent color. While color is a personal choice, this rule helps create balance and harmony.
Unity and Harmony
Unity is an important aspect of home design. Each furniture, style, and decor element must be integrated to form a cohesive unit.
The cohesion and unity of the elements make your interior design a beautiful look. Always be aware that patterns, hues, and texture must have a seamless flow throughout your project. If they don’t, the different elements in the room will conflict and appear odd.
Harmon is the coherence of objects and colors within the space to create the impression of harmony and design. Harmony is when the various elements in a space are unified on a common theme or style.
Harmony can be created by different methods, like arranging furniture using similar textures and colors or creating a focal area. When harmony is utilized for interior designs, it creates an inviting and unified space. The most important thing in achieving harmony is to discover the perfect balance between every element.
Dress Your Windows
For the best appearance, curtains should hang all the way to the floor. If they are too short, the room can feel unbalanced. Extending the curtains beyond the edges of the window creates the illusion of a larger window. Stretching curtains from floor to ceiling creates a more luxurious feel.
Contrast
There are numerous ways to bring contrast into the room. One of the easiest is to use colors. Combining dark and light or cool and warm colors can produce an impressive result. You can also employ contrast in terms of patterns, texture, and scale.
When using contrast, it’s essential to remember that less is often more. Too much contrast could be too overwhelming and cause a space to appear chaotic. It is important to strike the right balance that creates a pleasant and peaceful space.
Contrast creates visual interest and helps create a sense of space. It can help make a space appear lively and thrilling if done well.
Once you’ve learned something about contrast, go through your home to see how to create an element of contrast to bring out the visual. A few strategically placed accessories can make a huge impression on a space. Therefore, be creative and have fun!
Create a Layered Lighting Scheme
Lighting is one of the most powerful elements in home decor. It serves both functional and decorative purposes, providing a finishing touch that ties everything together. For a balanced effect, a layered lighting scheme should include ceiling lights, spotlights, table lamps, and floor lamps.
Select the Right Artwork
Artwork adds personality and character to a room. It can infuse humor, color, or pattern into the space. When choosing art, it should resonate with your personally, either reminding you of something meaningful or simply being something you enjoy looking at.
Make the Most of Small Spaces
Treat the space carefully in smaller rooms by designing the layout with furniture placement in mind.
Avoid placing all furniture against the walls, as this can make the room feel cramped. Let circulation flow naturally between pieces to keep the space feeling open and inviting. In small spaces, dark colors can work well by creating depth and hiding the room’s boundaries.
Choose a Statement Hero Piece
Every room requires a standout piece or statement piece, one that is sure to surprise or delight and create an impact on your space.
It could be an enormous piece of furniture in the most striking color, a stunning rug or work on display, or even a wall with a feature—something that people will be able to comment on as they walk into the room.
The piece you choose to have as your hero is made to grab the spotlight. It should be the piece you were captivated by when you first saw it and one that you’re willing to pay more for as a major sustainable furniture piece or an eye-catching feature wall color. If the piece you want to steal is a striking color, consider using some in other areas for a more cohesive design.’
Details
Attention to detail is crucial in interior design. A space without the right finishing touches can’t feel truly organized and individualized. These final elements allow you to express your personal style. Small details—like choosing the right throw pillows, decorative objects, and unique personal touches—can make a big difference in a room’s overall feel.
Create Layers
When designing a room, think of it as a series of layers. Start with one main fabric or feature, such as a rug or curtains, and then build upon it with smaller items like cushions, artwork, or plants. You can add depth, warmth, and personality to the space by layering different textures, colors, and patterns.
Emphasis
In interior design and architecture, emphasis is the application of accents in the space, like color, texture, or design, that draw the eye.
A space without a focal point will be boring. The principle of focus is to select one thing in the room to act as the focus of attention, around which all the other decor elements will be centered.
Radial balance is a good fit for this idea and assists in drawing attention to the focal area of focus in the space.
The focal point may be a feature that you already have and wish to emphasize, like fireplaces, an item of furniture, or artwork you would like to make the basis for designing your space. When you’ve chosen the focal point of your room, the rest of the space should be designed to match the focal point.
Color is among the most effective tools for highlighting its importance. Bold colors will immediately grab the attention of your viewers, and therefore, if you wish to draw attention to a specific region, painting it with a vibrant color is a great way to accomplish this. Patterns can also add the impression of a strong pattern.
A striking design will make a bold statement, while a less subtle design will draw attention without overpowering.
Fake Height
If your ceiling is low, consider using low-profile furniture, such as low sofas or coffee tables, to give the illusion of height. You can also mix low furniture with tall, slim pieces like bookcases to draw the eye upward.
Painting the walls, skirting boards, and ceiling in the same color can blur the lines between the floor and ceiling, making the room feel taller.
Tips for Getting Started with Your Decor
One common mistake beginners make is over-decorating. An experienced decorator knows when to edit—choosing the right items for the space and eliminating what isn’t necessary. For example, when it comes to pillows, less is often more. Avoid overloading furniture with too many pillows, as this can make it uncomfortable for guests.
When hanging artwork, place it at eye level for the best effect. Similarly, chandeliers should be hung at the right height. If a chandelier is too high, it won’t provide enough light and will go unnoticed.
Furniture is a significant part of any home’s decor. If you’re on a budget, it’s important to focus your spending on the key pieces you’ll use the most, like your bed and sofa. You can save money by choosing less expensive options for accessories like rugs, accent tables, or wall decor. Mixing high-end items with budget-friendly ones can help you achieve a stylish look without breaking the bank.
FAQs
What Are the 7 Fundamentals of Interior Design?
The seven fundamentals of interior design are balance, harmony, rhythm, contrast, proportion, scale, and emphasis. These principles work together to create a cohesive and aesthetically pleasing space.
What Are the Seven Elements of Interior Design?
The seven elements of interior design are lines, space, forms, shapes, light, color, texture, and pattern. Balancing these elements is essential for creating an aesthetically pleasing environment.
How Do You Apply the Principle of Three in Decorating?
The rule of three suggests that things grouped in odd numbers are more visually appealing and memorable. While three is ideal, five, seven, or even nine can work well too.
What Are the Three Basic Principles of Decorating?
The three main principles of decorating are function, mood, and personality. These ensure that your decor aligns with how you live and feel comfortable in your space.
How Can You Decorate Simply?
For beginners, focus on selecting a few striking pieces to anchor the room. Start with large furniture items like your bed or sofa and build the decor around them, gradually adding smaller pieces to complete the look.
