Catherine's Do's & Don'ts of Home Decorating
You've read magazines. Watched home decorating shows. Spent countless hours looking at Pinterest for inspiration. Now what?
Decorating a home can be a daunting and time-consuming process. If you're looking to revamp an entire home or simply spruce up a room, here's a great place to start...some useful do's and don'ts to make it easier, quicker and enjoyable for you!
DO take into account the architecture and positioning of your home.
That’s not to say you should be constrained to a particular style necessarily, but certain colour palettes and scale of patterns work better in homes with lower ceilings or smaller windows and other palettes and scales in homes with large windows or higher ceilings.
Our northern light asks for a depth of tone, colour and responds well to lots of lovely natural textures.
DON'T limit yourself to a neutral palette.
Even if you’re not using colour for larger pieces like sofas or walls, don’t rule out the addition of pops of colour in fabrics for cushions or in lamps and artwork.
It will give the space so much more personality and joy.
DO make sure there are various levels of lighting.
Don’t depend on the big light for anything other than if you’ve lost something under the sofa or if you’re cleaning in corners. Do consider wall lights, floor lamps and table lamps on side tables…several, not just one table lamp for the whole room. This adds ambient relaxation to the home.
If you’re only wallpapering one wall, DO consider placing a mirror on the opposite wall to bring the design and colour as reflection onto that opposing wall. Really effective tip.
DON'T forget about the smallest room.
Create quirky spaces of downstairs toilets or upstairs bathrooms. We don’t (usually) spend huge amounts of theme in these rooms so we can go all out and make a statement. So worth it!
DO be intentional about what storage looks like.
Tidy is good, but ugly cupboards can be the ruination of a lovely room. Equally, well thought out storage can be the making of a great scheme - like matching recessed shelving on either side of a fireplace or a large footstool with storage space for toys!
