Planning Your Styling Project
So you’ve finally decided on a design concept! Once you know how you want to design your space, most people think that the next step is jumping right in and starting shopping. However, this isn’t necessarily the case. There are some essential steps that are often overlooked between the concept stage and the decorating stage. Without stepping back and planning, you may find you have to stop your project partway through to address some unexpected difficulties and challenges that may arise.
To help you avoid such a situation, here are some steps that you can follow:
Put Your Plan to Paper
So you’ve got your Pinterest board or mood board ready to go. However, this only serves as your personal inspiration. Now that you’re getting prepared to actually start the decorating process, you will have to communicate your desires with other people, including various vendors. To make sure that your wishes are clear, create a written plan for your design concept, including the color scheme, theme, and any other ideas you have.
Create a Budget
Having a budget set out is essential. The last thing you want is to be forced to stop midway through the design process because you cannot afford to complete the space.
However, even if they have a budget, many people find it challenging to stick to it. To reduce this risk, create an itemized budget. This should include not only the costs of each piece you want to invest in for your space but also any additional costs you might have, like hiring a handyman, etc. If you do not have all your items picked out yet, you may need to estimate costs to start with. This will help ensure that you stick to your price range when making choices.
Decide on Your Priorities
Even with a detailed budget, you should be prepared for the unexpected to happen.
You may suddenly have to slash your budget in half. You may fall in love with an art piece that is out of your price range and decide to invest in it, regardless of the cost.
To plan for such situations, one important thing you should do is decide on your priorities. What parts of the space are you unwilling to compromise on? Which elements would you be okay spending less on?
Once you have answers to these questions, you will find it easier to adjust your budget if the need arises.
Measure the Space
Before you get started shopping, you need to be confident that the pieces that you buy will fit your space. Make sure you know the measurements of your room.
This will help ensure that the pieces that you pick will not only look good in the catalog and in the shop but in the final design as well. Furthermore, you should also check that your purchases can be moved into the space – while an item may look attractive, it may be too large to go through the doorway, for example.
Order Samples
This is particularly important if you are making choices from a catalog instead of shopping in person. Make sure you have samples of everything ranging from wallpapers and paints to fabrics. These will not look the same in person as they do on paper or on a computer screen, and you want to feel confident before making the final purchase.
However, even if you are looking at these in the shop, it is always a good idea to bring samples home before making a purchase. Shop lights are calibrated to ensure that colors look their best and most vibrant. In your home, however, they may look completely different. Also, you may wish to match samples with previously purchased pieces and see how well they work together before making a final purchase.
Once you are satisfied with your choices and have checked your budget, you can start making purchases and decorating your room.
