The Basics to Decorating a Room

How to get started with an empty space and build it into the room of your dreams

What do you want the room to be?
Always think about the functionality and use of the room you’re setting out to make. You may know that it’s a bedroom or a living room or a dinning space but that isn’t enough. You shouldn’t buy furniture based on the general purpose of the room. Let’s say you like a nice bookrack and think it’ll look good in a bedroom but there’s a possibility that the book might never be used. It will depend entirely on the person who uses the room. Just buying pretty furniture will never help create a functional room. It’s more likely that the furniture will take up useful space instead of giving the room the look you want.

Make an outline … and stick to it
Decide in advance what you plan on getting for the room. This means you decide if you want paint or wall paper, a carpet or a rug. Decide the color scheme before you go out to buy furniture. The color scheme shouldn’t be based on the furniture available in store but rather on the size and amount of light in the room as well as the purpose of the room and the person who’s going to be using it.

Will you need to add something and are there any constraints?
If you’re renting a space (as opposed to living in your own home/ apartment) you might be faced with some restrictions to the improvement you can make to the apartment. You may not be able to put up more shelves and things like. If your rooms lack storage you’ll need to buy furniture to make up for it. You might also be restricted from changing the flooring and if you choose not to have a carpet put it, you’re floor will influence the room’s color scheme. If you need to put shelves up make sure that you keep in mind how much space they’ll take up (it’s better that you put them up first).

Can it be a multipurpose room?
Is there a chance that the room will serve multiple purposes? A lot of people combine the kitchen and the eating space or a spare bedroom with a sitting room so you need to take in to account if the room can be used for more than one purpose. There’s never anything wrong with using a room for more than one function, most interior designers try and give rooms maximum functionality and buy furniture specifically for it.

What do you need?
Once you’ve got this all mapped out, you need to make a list of some basic furniture that you’ll absolutely need, like a bed in a bedroom and sofas in a living room. Decide what size of furniture will work for the room. If your spaces are small, don’t buy big furniture, it’ll make the room look overcrowded and claustrophobic.

You’re ready to shop furniture!
Now that you’ve got this basic outline in your head, you can start shopping for furniture. If you want a better idea of what your room should look like go online and look for ideas that fit your room. Never worry about not finding the furniture you need in the right color, colors are always out there you just need to hunt for it.