Interior Design Tips

An interior designer faces many of the same questions when faced with a residential client. Issues such as theme and fundamental style are not frequently an issue with the home client. But there will always be concerns about painting walls, the furniture currently inside the home, and of course the floors. There are tips to alleviate concerns and questions regarding these specific design problems.

One of the best ways to help eliminate concerns about paint choices is to purchase a sample of paint and do a test area on the wall. Then, there will be a true understanding of what the actual appearance of a color will be. However, many colors - especially darker ones - attain their true beauty from the look of the entire wall after being layered with several coats of paint.

Trust a color pallet and your interior designer, but also follow your intuition. A color that is difficult to stomach may settle eventually to delightful surprise, or it may lead to a horrible bellyache. Only cover a wall with your designer's color if you are comfortable with the selection, if not keep looking.

Should existing furniture be reupholstered to fit in with your new theme? Evaluate the furniture for style and value versus the cost of the reupholstering. An antique chair that fits the feeling of a formal living room that was purchased for many thousands of dollars would be an excellent candidate as long as replacing the original upholstery did not degrade its value or worth.

Decisions about floor designs should be based on a person's budget, the room's use, and personal preference. Certain floor treatments are incredibly expensive, such as hard oak floors, and they may not be practical in an area where stomping kids thrash through the interior. Carefully weigh options such as dying carpet or laying rugs over existing hard floors. It all comes down to a matter of personal preference.

Actually, all interior design should be a matter of personal preference. It’s just not worth it to put something in a home that will force you to cringe every time you look at it.