I'm a decorating reject - help me!

[DawgHouse]

I am discouraged by the fact that I have NO decorating ability at all. I have some really nice things around the house, but when I decorate a room I am a complete and utter failure. It seems some people have a knack for pulling a room together. I don't even know where to start.

When you are decorating a room, what are the first things to consider? I assume that wall color, floors and window treatments come first. But, how do you know about spatial things, like furnishings and accessories? Is this relationship something that can be taught or I doomed? Unfortunately, I can't exactly start from scratch because I do have an investment in furniture that I have to use.

Anyway, the point of this post is mostly to whine and secondly to have some understanding of how those of you with the "knack" got it. Were you born with it or did it come from experience? Is it something I can learn or must I bring in a professional?

I'm looking for tips for the novice decorator, maybe some books or websites that will teach me the basic things.

[NashVegas]

1. Proportion is Everything

Not just in size, but color & even texture.

If you don't trust you own instincts, start by looking into the golden mean. It's basic and will never steer you wrong.

You can also peek at something like this:

http://www.seemydesign.com/livingroom/designaroom/layout/index.htm

[DawgHouse]

2. Thanks for the link

That is exactly what I am talking about and specifically addresses my failings. I did a search on "golden mean" and I don't know if my brain can wrap around that. Baby steps, baby steps!!! :)

[all.of.me]

5. what a cool link! thanks!

[Longhorn]

3. You should also check out HGTV and the DIY network.

They show nonstop decorating shows and most are geared toward simple, inexpensive steps you can take on your own to spruce up a room, a house, or even a landscape.

Some of my favorite shows on HGTV are:

Designing for the Sexes
Decorating Cents
Designers' Challenge
Design on a Dime
Designed to Sell
Design Remix

I've always considered my mother pretty good at design but she said it was after watching those shows that she got the courage to paint her living room walls a deep, almost tan, yellow. She had used wallpaper to liven things up before but never paint. It really looks great, too! Paint is a cheap yet highly effective way to really liven up a room and if you don't like it, it's so easy and cheap to just paint over it with something else.

Have fun! :D

[DemBones DemBones]

4. You CAN learn! First you have to figure out what style

you like. If you had tons of money, what would you go for? EDIT: You need to THINK BIG, as if money were no object. Later, when you know what you like, you figure out how to get that look on your budget.

English Country? (floral chintz and/or leather upholstery, Persian rugs, silver tea sets, bone china on display) Americana/ Early American? (pine furniture, plaids and calicoes, little antique things on display everywhere) Contemporary? (NO clutter, lots of sleek lines, abstract art, lots of glass, chrome, leather) Oriental? (simple furniture, maybe tatami mats, futons, floor pillows, scrolls hung on the walls, little jade figurines)

Those are some basic styles. There's also French Provincial, French Country, Italian Country, etc., so you may need to look around, read some books. Many people don't stick strictly to one style but are a bit more eclectic, which is great. Too eclectic looks like a mess, though. You probably like something about all of them but what style do you want to live with? Also, do you need to entertain? (As opposed to just liking to have people over.) If you need to entertain for business or personal reasons, if your home has to impress people, then you have to think about staying in sync with other homes in your area. Or be willing to be a maverick. ;-)

Let's hope your furniture fits with the style you really like but it can work even if it's not a perfect match. Once I finally nailed down the style I liked best (and I was a bit surprised at what it was!), it became much easier to work with what I had and we got some new pieces, too. I learned from books and from watching HGTV decorating shows for a few months. I'm sure not everyone likes my home but we do and I get a lot of compliments, too.

[sandnsea]

6. I guess I go backwards

Because I always build rooms around little heirlooms or trinkets. Something I just really like or got really cheap. I got a dining room table for ten bucks. It screamed "paint me white & sage", so I have a white, sage, pink rose dining room. I had some 40's & 50's stuff, and a 50's dresser, so that's my bedroom. I go slow, do lots of garage sale shopping, etc. But even if I had a bunch of money, I would probably still decorate that way. Starting with colors is just too, empty or something, I guess. I have to be surrounded with stuff that is personal to me.

[BamaGirl]

7. That's how I do it.

My bedroom furniture was my great grandmother's--American Art Deco. My kitchen stuff was my grandmother's...50's Americana. Etc. I'm getting ready to tackle my living room. Right now I have a wall of cheap tacky bookcases that I want to replace with black metal floor to ceiling ones, and a very cool Deco framed signed pic of Jean Harlow my parents gave me for my birthday this year. My "new" living room will end up designed around those two things and probably end up contemporary or Deco. I love Deco lol.

[LWolf]

8. I call my mom and let her do it.

When she visits, she goes around the house shifting things, making suggestions, and straightening whatever is hanging on the walls. Once I hang something on the wall, I never see it again, so I just don't register that it's "crooked." Or it doesn't bother me, or something.

[NMDemDist2]

9. i can never pull it off until I land on an "inspiration" piece.

it could be a piece of art, a knick knack, a rug or whatever

my kitchen was on hold until I found an awesome teapot. I took the colors from it and the kitchen has come together nicely

as for room layouts, think how you use the room (or would like to)

don't get stuck thinking the furniture all should go against the walls either, but think wide "traffic flow" areas. look at traffic flow thru the room and then start thinking of furniture placement. Flow doesn't have to be a straight shortest line either, it can "wind" through a space.

think balance too, have things that draw your eye up and also "ground" the room. this is usually done with bits of color or texture. be sure that the "heavy" pieces aren't all on one wall, they need to be spaced around so the room isn't "lopsided"

another poster mentioned scale and that's part of balance too. you can't have a spindly little delicate chair with a HUGE heavy side table generally speaking. You want to keep the scale of the furniture balanced for the size of the room. a big room can handle big pieces, a small room needs smaller scaled furniture

Less is more. most folks put tooo much in a room. the space between things is as important as the things themselves. a beautiful piece needs space to "show" effectively

if you have HGTV, they have several shows geared to help you see your space in a new light "Design Remix", "Decorating Cents" has a segment in every show where the designers just re-arrange a room that will give you great tips on what to look for.

the HGTV website is pretty cool too, with lots of good info

www.hgtv.com


hope that helped :)

[EmmaP]

10. Themes

I'm a theme decorator. My living is safari, my bathroom is in the process of becoming Caribbean, and my kitchen is an homage to Woody Jackson (the artist who did the Ben & Jerry's cows). My bedroom is probably going to be zen-esque, and the office and second floor are yet to be determined.

I definitely need a theme to get me going...and then there's no stopping me.

Here's a picture of the mural I did in my kitchen...