furniture decorating design plan space room

Decorating your home is a highly personal activity. Whether working alone or with a designer, several factors are essential to a successful decorating scheme.

Key words in today’s furniture arrangement are multi functional, efficient and harmonious. Beauty and style are important but comfort and convenience are essential. Priority needs to be given to personality and lifestyle. 

Economic standards, trends in architecture, furniture styles, and family or individual activities influence the use of space throughout the house. Current building costs put space and its distribution at a premium. In many ways furniture arrangement and space planning are the keys to a good looking home that offers comfort while optimizing space. 

To put your personal imprint on a room, you must determine a style that you’re comfortable with and apply that style to a plan that reflects your individual interests and tastes. With a plan, you’ll be able to move your style preferences into a unique expression of yourself.

Determine the variety of needs the space will have to accommodate. Explore the interests of everyone who will be involved in the use of the area. Then remove learned labels and uses for furnishings and their location. Reorganize your thinking to allow a fresh approach and a spark of surprise. One of your most valuable decorating tools is restraint. Know when to mix, when to match and when to stop. If you leave floor and wall space open, you will be better able to appreciate the shapes, colors and textures you finally use. 

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of any decorating venture is devising a plan that will tie together all design elements. Without such a plan, coordinating your space can become overwhelming. A decorating plan is nothing more than a point-by-point method for giving shape to your newly discovered self-expression. Sit back, relax and fully consider the space you plan to decorate. Keep in mind the importance of establishing focal points. Determine the spaces assets and limitations. Make notes and collect pictures of rooms that appeal to you. Browse through fabric, wallpaper and furniture stores for more ideas. Find a common thread that appeals to you. Do intimate rooms or wide-open space lure you? Do you like traditional rooms with strategically placed heirlooms or are you drawn to less complicated, sophisticated clean line styling? Are you attracted to a formal or an informal look?  

Start by planning on paper. List all the furniture that you have or wish to purchase for use in the room to be decorated. Measure the length, width and height and depth of each piece. The next step in your plan is to measure the room. Then start a diagram similar to the floor plan shown.
 

Draw your plan on graph paper; indicate all doors, windows, vents, and electrical outlets, then add furniture cutouts, which represent the furniture that you are planning to use. Templates can be purchased at art supply stores if you want to draw a more elaborate version of your final plan. Most templates for interior home planning are ¼ inch scale. The floor plan should be drawn so that ¼ inch equals one foot.

Here are some further guidelines:

• Plan each room with purpose in mind. Decide what the room will be used for and by whom.
• Use furniture in keeping with the scale of the room. The overall dimensions and the architectural background should determine the size and general feeling of the furnishings.
• Provide space for traffic. Doorways and major traffic lanes must be unobstructed by furniture.
• Arrange furnishings to give the room a sense of equilibrium. This sense of balance is achieved through furniture placements, color use, and accessories.
• Achieve a good balance of high and low, angular and rounded furniture.
• Consider architectural and electrical features.
• Do not overcrowd a room. It is always better to under furnish than over furnish. Breathing space enhances the entire design.
• Large pieces of furniture should be placed creatively to the walls. Try to avoid placing all the furniture against the wall.
• Arrange the heaviest furniture grouping along the highest wall in rooms that have slanted ceilings.

By thinking your project through, trends and fads won’t distract you. You will have taken the time to design a one-of-a-kind room that reflects your tastes, interests and creativity.

Copyright Charlotte Iseldyke