How did you get the hang of making your house nice?

[smellysmellycat]

We’re buying our first house in our 40s. We’re used to renting and being unable to decorate beyond adding our own curtains, lampshades, soft furnishings etc. And our furniture is mostly whatever was cheapest in Argos and Ikea.

Now we’ll have a whole house where we can choose everything from the floor to the light fittings. We want to do the place up gradually, and I’m just wondering how to get the hang of really thinking about all these things we can now control. I want to make things look really nice. What helped you get good at this?

The "Mad about the House" books by Kate Watson-Smyth are a great starting point!

www.amazon.co.uk/Mad-about-House-decorate-style/dp/1911595423/ref=nodl_?dplnkId=6d0b6246-b2a1-4023-a1b8-48fdb683dd77

https://www.ballarddesigns.com/howtodecorate/2015/09/how-to-use-the-color-wheel-for-decorating/

We went for a triad colour scheme, but stuck to the set throughout the house. Some of the rooms are quite bold, but by sticking to the colour wheel there is no clashing and it feels cohesive/everything flows.

Thanks so much everyone

I already started this thread?!

Every professional designer starts with measuring and drawing. Draw a floor plan and all the walls (elevations) of your room to scale. You can then draw in to scale your furniture and play around with the lay out. Once you are sure about where you want stuff, and that it will fit properly, you can draw in the sockets and light points for your electrician. Think about where you want light for reading, tv point etc. Also focus on architectural details first: skirting boards, cornice, traditional mouldings or rustic shiplap or tongue and groove for a modern scandi look transform a room. Think about whether there are any features you could expose or add (fireplace, ceiling beams, built in wardrobes/shelving, joinery to hide anything ugly, like pipes). You basically want to get 'model bones' before you put any lipstick/clothes on. You can then colour in your elevations (your wall drawings) to find the right cololur scheme/try out combinations of colours for ceiling, woodwork, walls. Some designers start with a favourite 'hero' piece, like a rug or curtain fabric that gives them the colours for the room. My favourite way is to start a coloursceme with the view, if you have a nice one, and try and choose colours that are harmonious with or complement the outside.

We lived in our house for a year before we started our extension. So glad we did as we changed our minds on several things in that time. What I’m saying is don’t rush into it.