Shopping And Decorating With Your New Purchases!

 THE DO'S THE DON'TS  THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY

VIA

Before I begin this post I have to say this is my opinion, it is not in cement. I realize that all design is subjective. I am only here to give you guidance, and you can take what I have to say for what it is worth to you.

 

 VIA

This post is not to make you afraid to ever buy anything again, but to empower you to be more selective and to curate your purchases beautifully in your homes.

VIA

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If you have been following my blog for awhile you have noticed I tend to be a less is more gal. Not a minimalist, but I like my home to feel open and airy, and especially uncluttered.

Clutter tends to make me feel nervous inside and I strive for a calm, peaceful atmosphere to surround me. In fact that is one of the compliments I love the most when someone offers up a compliment about my home.

 

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While I was shopping in Homegoods the other day I took a look in several ladies carts and wanted so badly to help them out. They had sooooo many little this and that's and pillows and wall hangings in their carts, and none of good design or quality.

HAPPINESS IS RELATIVE!

You name it they had it in their cart, BUT then I looked at their faces, they were grinning from ear to ear. 

What they had in their carts made them happy, and after all isn't that what decorating our homes is  all about, to make us, and those who enter our homes, happy and content. 

I only hope they were happy when they went home and tried to place all their new purchases in their rooms. I had my doubts.

I am only telling you this because I am about to tell you WHY your carts should not be full of this and that, nor your homes.

If you are still with me and have read the above and looked at the pictures I chose to show  well curated rooms then let's begin......

#1 DON'T DECORATE EVERY SURFACE AND WALL IN YOUR HOME

First I have to tell you not every table, or wall HAS to have something on it!! I use to tell my clients, if you want someone to stop and look at that wall, put something on it. However if you want them to pass by, DON'T !!!! This is a good guideline for hallways or areas you just pass by.

Remember the eye needs a place to rest in every room!!

#2 CHOOSE A FOCAL POINT IN YOUR ROOM!

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A good guideline is to choose one focal point in your room, and maybe two supporting areas as well to address. 

I like to think of your room as a stage with actors and there should be one star and a couple of supporting actors.

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Most rooms have a natural focal point, a main wall, fireplace, or a bank of lovely windows. If your room has neither, notice the main wall you view as you enter the room, you can mark that as your focal wall.

#3 Choose larger elements

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Try to choose larger pieces to decorate with and only a few smaller elements. If you have a bunch of smalls they get lost on stage and no one even notices them

 When adding elements to your room always start with your base pieces first, furniture, lighting, artwork. 

 After the main pieces are placed add your larger accessories first, then fill in with the smalls, wherever you need a touch of interest such as texture, or color.

#4 MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A PLACE FOR YOUR NEW PURCHASES

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There will be many that will disagree with me on this count and this is something that is not in cement so take it for what it is worth......

 I have found for me personally, that if I am attracted to something I have to be able to place it somewhere in my home in my minds eye. If I can not think of where I will use it, then I do NOT purchase it.

 

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That does not mean I don't have extra accessories in my cabinets and garage, trust me I do. However, I do NOT put them all out at one time. I rotate my accessories. In fact I just did that when I brought out my summer pillows and accessories.

I find that if you purchase something you will feel compelled to put it out in your room whether it adds a cluttered look or not.  

WE all have to justify our purchases to ourselves, and others if we live with someone that has us on a budget, if you know what I mean!!

 #5 Make sure you vary your textures in your rooms.

Every well decorated room will have a variation of textures in the room. By textures I mean elements that have smooth, shiny or rough textures.

 

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Sometimes you will see a pretty room and you know it is pretty but it is lacking something and you can not pinpoint what the problem is. 9 out of 10 times it is lack of textures so keep that in mind when you do your accessorizing.

I have found it helpful to make a list of elements that can add textures to my rooms that I will like.  

This is an area where I see people adding more and more elements of the same textures because they sense that their room needs something. When in fact it is not that it needs more, it just needs different.

#6 Make sure you allow for enough lighting in your rooms and buy the correct size.

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I would say 8 out of 10 rooms are lacking the proper lighting. Make sure you have overhead, wall and surface lighting in your rooms. 

If you have table lamps make sure they are large enough. I so often see lamps that are way too small for a table or a room. There is nothing that can cheapen the look of your room more than poor  lighting that is also the wrong proportion for the room.

HERE is an article that gives some good guidelines for how to choose the proper size of table lamp

 (Just click on the above sentence to go to article.) 

I see so many people choose the candlestick lighting as a table lamp and it is just too small, those need to be on the ends of a mantle or narrow console table, not on a table by a reading chair. Just keep that in mind next time you need a new lamp or see a bargain. Pass it up!! It is not a bargain if it makes your room look like there is no rhyme or reason to it.

Another thing to think about when adding any lighting to your room, whenever possible have all lights on dimmer switches.

Here is a little formula to know how much lighting to add to your size of room.....

#7 When making new purchases for your room choose the least available element first.

This probably sounds a bit confusing, let me give you a for instance. If you want a colorful or patterned rug in your room choose it first. There will be less rugs that you will like than maybe a sofa or chair. Of course this is just a guideline, each room will dictate what is needed first.

 

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Let's just say choose the most patterned, colorful piece of furniture, or rug first and work the other elements around that. You can always add solids or neutrals in the other pieces.

#8 CHOOSE YOUR PAINT COLOR LAST!!

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This is the one area that a lot of people want to start with first and then work their room around a wall color. 

Don't do it!! 

Let's use a bedroom as our example. Many people change out there bed coverings more often than any other change in their home. It is the least expensive area to change and it truly makes a huge change. Let's face it, our beds take up most of the space in our bedrooms so whatever we put on them to dress them up says a lot!!!

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You should choose your bed coverings first!! The paint world is a bottomless pit and you can always have a custom color mixed so the colors to choose from are endless.

#9 Keep your collections together

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If you have a collection of pictures, or even special figurines, or any collection for that matter, group them together, DO NOT scatter them around the room.

#10 Buyer Beware!! 

 Have you ever been in a  room that looks as if there should be price tags on all the elements they have sitting around. 

I am not talking about true antiques or genuine collections, but I am referring to the obvious new purchased items that are sitting everywhere.

Since we all have a local Homegoods stores around us it is a real pitfall to go there and fill our carts up with lots and lots of goodies. Don't do it! You don't want your home to look as if everything came from Homegoods. 

Be selective and make your purchases carefully, making sure they fit into your home and add to the richness of the room. 

 #11 BE BRUTALLY HONEST

Step back and evaluate your room ask yourself a few questions....

• Does this room reflect ME?

• Do I LOVE this room?

• Does my room look like a boutique rather than a home?

• Does my eye flow gently around the room without any jolts on the eye due to  use of colors or elements

• Does this room say Welcome Home?

• How does this room make me feel happy, content, relaxed?

• Does this room have character and a story it could tell?

Remember these are only guidelines that I have learned in my years of working with clients and issues I ran across many, many times.