8 Things to Consider Before You Start Decorating Your Home

Regardless of your tastes, most would agree that a well-decorated home reflects the styles, tastes, personalities, and lifestyles of those who live in it. Whether it be finding a style, creating enough storage, choosing a color palette, or understanding what goes with what and where. Decorating can be daunting. To get started, here are a few questions to ask yourself and a few points to consider.

Whether you’re working with a blank canvas or simply updating an existing room, this crash course in home decorating will get you off on the right foot.

1. Budget

What is your budget? This is crucial to prioritizing what needs to be done because you don’t want to over-capitalize on a renovation.

2. Priorities

What do you like about your space? And dislike? How can it be improved? Keep what you like; change what you don’t, easy.

3. What Needs to Change

Does the problem and solution require structural changes? For example, a wall needs removing to become open plan; you want a bigger window for more natural light; you want bifolds for indoors/outdoors.

4. Is it superficial?

Is the problem decorative — shutters to replace curtains; carpet for warmth in bedrooms; revamping a benchtop?

5. Special Spaces

What is your favorite spot in the space? Is it a sunny corner; a great view; an architectural feature? Find it and make it the star.

6. Find Your Start

Do you have a starting point when decorating your home? What is the one thing you absolutely, really want in the space? It could be a piece of furniture, a pattern, fabric, color, or texture.

7. Minimize

What can you dismiss? For example, colors, styles, or items you know you’ll never use (or want to look at every day).

8. Function Over Form

What is the function of the space? Consider everything you and others want to be able to do in that space.

This article originally appeared on our sister site, Homes to Love.