Decor - Let's Stay Home

Sep 26, 2016William Robinson

A beautifully decorated interior not only functions well, but it creates a mood or a feeling that shows off the personality of the family or person that lives there. Attention to three key design ingredients — function, mood and personality — ensure self-expressing decorative success.

Before painting and rearranging, spend some time thinking about you or your family and how you live. Look through magazines for inspiration and pull out ideas or rooms that appeal to you. Gather things from around the house that make you feel good and study them carefully for color cues and perhaps a clue to the mood you're looking for in your home. This is the beginning of a well-planned and decorated living area.

Now, let's start with function;

The focal point: Sometimes rooms have natural focal points (places the eyes travel to immediately upon entering a room) — a fireplace, a bay window with a view, maybe even a built-in bookcase. If the room doesn't have a natural focal point, create one with a dynamic piece of art or a colorful area rug.

The furniture: Determine whether the furniture satisfies the functions you've planned for the room. If a piece isn't working or if it's too large or too small for the size of the room, try re-finishing it with a stain or chalk paint.

The lighting: Lighting should be selected for the functions of the room as well as for visual appeal. Every task will require either direct lighting from a lamp or indirect lights that simply brighten the room for conversation or TV-watching

Mood

The mood or feeling of a room is created by your choice of colors, the style of furnishings, the amount of texture and pattern you choose along with any accessories.

The inspirational piece: The easiest way by far to decorate is to start with some source of inspiration. A decorative pillow, a favorite scarf and even a magazine photo are good places to begin. Select your inspiration piece wisely, and be sure it makes you feel good when you look at it.

Theme: Analyze your inspiration piece and develop a theme name for it. For instance, a needlepoint pillow with a botanical design on a black background may inspire a title like "formal botanical garden." Be descriptive with your theme name and all sorts of supporting ideas will come to mind. Botanical prints, striped walls, greens and floral colors, formal fabrics and furniture, dark woods and black accents all fit this particular theme.

Patterns: Stripes, checks, florals and plaids are just a few of the patterns to consider as you continue supporting your theme. It's all right to mix patterns as long as you do three things:

Keep the background color the same.
Make sure all patterns share the same colors.
Vary the scale or sizes of the patterns.

Texture: Too many smooth, shiny objects or too much nubby, rustic texture becomes tiresome. Use variety to keep the room interesting. Even a pattern can be used as texture. Many prints look dimensional and therefore add depth to a decorating scheme.

Personality

Here's your chance to put your personal stamp on a well-planned room. Here are some strategies:

Accessorizing: Pictures, vases, pillows and area rugs are all integral parts of a great decorating plan. Generally, they should support your theme, but allow more flexibility here; an antique picture frame could add wonderful variety to a contemporary room. Accessories are located on walls, mantels, furniture, tabletops and floors; they can be paintings and photos or pillows.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you to Nicole for sharing your warm and welcoming home with us.

What is your favorite room and in the house and why?
"My favorite room in my house has to be my bedroom. It's filled with natural light, and is the biggest blank space for me to decorate."

How do you decide how you want to decorate a room?

"There's so much potential I haven't even scratched the surface yet. I chose my decorations based on earthy/romantic bohemian vibes. I want my house to feel like art and make you feel loved. Woods, stones, natural elements, a lot of plants to really make a space come alive."

Whats the best advice you can give to women around the world?

"My best advice for women would be to take it easy on yourself. Love yourself, love the earth and spread your positive vibes to everyone around you, you are worth watering, allow yourself to grow."