How To Get Started - 12 Point Checklist

Here's a How To 12 point checklist to help you get started on your Home Decorating project journey -

1. Look through home decorating magazines and books and see what inspires you and what things you respond to and resonate with you. Collect ideas you like about color combinations, furniture and fabrics.

Develop your style, your eye, your taste - If you don't think you’re clear just quite yet, or you feel you haven’t developed your own style, your eye, your taste, start going about learning and looking around you.

2. Go to the color swatch display area of your paint store or hardware store and look through colors and color ranges, and note what you gravitate towards and what pleases you the most.

3. What colors do you love?

• If you love pastel tones, then mix and match their delicate palette hues in overlays of their wonderful soothing, relaxing, merging colors.

• If you love earthy colors, surround yourself with the earth tones and textures of nature, the autumnal colors, the greens, olives, burnished browns, oranges and yellows.

• If you are bold, use bold colors and accessories – in reds, dark blues, greens, purples, browns and blacks – try the wonderful decorator color aubergine.

4. Think of textures you love – grainy, coarse, robust, or smooth and velvety. Take note of these things about your preferences.

5. Note what clothes you wear – they can be inspiration to your home decorating - your favorite clothes or accessories can be anchors or features for your home decorating.

6. What are you passionate about? Home decorating can be a story of how your passions can transform your home … It may be artifacts and collectibles from your travels, or whatever takes your fancy ...

7. Your hobby or hobbies – do your hobbies lend themselves to being expressed in your home decorating? As talking pieces, or blended into the environment. Whether you love art, music, sports, movie memorabilia, cartoons, comic books, collecting seashells and coral, pets, and other things ...

8. Your Collectibles can play a featuring role in your home decorating, with great style and panache.

Surround yourself with the beautiful things you love. Honor your home by decorating it as a way to express who you are from your inner core.

9. Go and visit home decorating stores - even if you can't afford to shop at the best stores, go there to see what it's all about. Don't slavishly follow everything, but develop your sense of what looks good.

10. Are there any Home Decorating styles that you like, or that you tend to gravitate towards that can give you a general direction? Perhaps its Contemporary or Modern, or Country, or perhaps Classical or Traditional, or Tuscan or Mediterranean, Mexican, Asian, or Rustic, or a combination of a number of styles? Which do you or would you feel most comfortable with every day?

Now, I’m certainly not advocating that you slavishly follow a particular style. Remember, the focus here at my website is helping you develop your own individual style and your intuitive knowingness and confidence about what is you and what is right for you. This is about you and only you. We’ve spent quite a bit of focus on the importance of developing your own style – one that really expresses who you are.

Now that may be based on one or more or a combination of the styles, that is your choice. The most important thing is that it is you and expresses who you are and your loves and creative expression!

If you would like to go with one of the styles then do so. It’s your choice. Research it. Plan it out. It’s what inspires you to move forward that’s important here.

11. Avoid following the latest 'hottest' trends or fads – It’s best to steer clear of predictions about what’s 'hot' or the next 'big trend', unless you’re OK with finding yourself in the position of having to change your home decorating every year or two, or as often as you change your wardrobe.

Most importantly, the more your home decorating reflects who you are and the things you love, the longer you will be happy with it for an extended period of time, and the longer it will last and you'll get great mileage out of it and truly enjoy it.

Remember that the more understated and elegant the interior the longer it will stand the test of time and last.

12. Be Multi Sensory - Go for it!
Home decorating is not only about designing and arranging your home. It’s also about stimulating your mind and 'physical' experience of your surroundings. And, beyond that, its also about feeding your inner self, your soul ...

Create an atmosphere – Lighting is a fabulous mood creator. Create a focus with a lamp in a corner, or particular spot for accent. Light scented candles, light up your fireplace for an incredible effect and surround your room with further candles. WOW, what an atmosphere you'll create ...

Listen to music you love, use soaps that are creamy, luxurious, lathery and smell great. Go for the multi sensory approach.

For more information, go to http://www.home-decorating-ideas-for-you.com/

Happy Home Decorating!

Kathy Baker
http://www.home-decorating-ideas-for-you.com