Interior Design Tips & Trends…Insider Secrets for Home Design Enthusiasts

If you read my previous blog, you can skip this post.  I am repeating it for our new readers.

For my Askville readers and others of you that want to do your own interior design, here are some  to help you create a beautiful interior.  There is much more to design than color, but it is one of the most impactful and least expensive elements of interior design.

When I was taking new clients, I would spend time getting to know their tastes, interests, lifestyles, goals, budget and priorities.  Some people are focused on displaying art, entertaining family and friends, creating a warm and soothing personal retreat - the motivations are endless.  Whether you use an interior designer or not, you should spend some time thinking about your personal needs, wants, dreams, aspirations, and yes, the budget for your home. 

I often told clients that the first project they have in mind is just a starting point.  You need to be prepared for the dreaded “scope creep.”  When you start designing your space, the list just grows…one space is looking great, and the surrounding rooms are starting to look a little tired.  You will want to prepare yourself for this and set limits for yourself.  The “while you are at it” phrase gets many homeowners into a quick pickle!

Back to the story.  Once you decide what your goals are for your home, you should think about what you like and dislike.  Do you love pink and your husband hates it?  Think about the colors, textures, patterns, design styles and any other elements that are important to you. 

If you and your spouse create your own lists and then share them with each other, you will be surprised by some of the other spouse’s answers.  I always enjoyed asking both spouses the same questions because each person will learn something about the other spouse.  Having different opinions and priorities can be a challenge, but it also creates an opportunity for compromise.  What I told my clients was to expect about 85 - 90% agreement…the rest is a negotiation.  Each spouse has to be willing to let the other spouse have some of his or her own rooms, ideas, colors or other design elements. 

Assuming you’ve agreed upon the majority of priorities for your home, you should start with your focal point for the first room.  Your focal point might be a rug, a piece of artwork, an architectural element such as a fireplace or a view.  Usually, the palette evolves from the focal point.  For example, if you have an Oriental rug with reds, blues and tans, you can start with those colors.  The trick is to balance the hues (actual color) with value (lightness/darkness), and proportion of colors. 

When you have a dominant pattern controlling your design, you want to think about the final result you want to achieve with the room.  If you want that pattern to control the overall look, you can keep neutrals on the majority of the surfaces including the walls, ceilings and large furnishings.  You can start with tan on the walls, a lighter version of the tan for the moldings and ceiling.  You can also reverse the application and put darker tan on the moldings and ceiling with a lighter shade on the walls.  It is best to keep your ceilings lighter if your room height is less than 8′.  If you have higher ceilings, the darker color can create a warmer and cozier feel.  I personally like using darker trim and have it that way in my own home.  

I also have creamy walls, tan trim and pale blue ceilings.  The light blue actually makes the ceiling recede and gives the illusion of higher ceilings.

You can also use another favorite trick and that is to use the same color on the moldings and doors as the walls, but you can vary the sheen to create interest.

You can also use accent colors or textures on one or more walls.  There is no rule that says you have to paint all of the walls the same color.  You can even use more than two colors in a room.  Just be careful, that takes some skill to make that work, and is often best for more contemporary interiors.  I call this color blocking.

Once you’ve decided on a dominant color for your room, you can add accents.  Some designers use the rule of thumb, 60% dominant color, 30% for color 2 and 10% for the accent color.  I don’t follow rules, so you need to decide if you are daring enough to try a different percentage.

One way to apply the 30% is to use that color for the secondary furniture pieces such as accent chairs, draperies, window treatments, ottomans and accessories.  The last 10% could be on the the other colors in the rug such as the red which happens to be a popular color right now.  Again, accessories are a great place to use a punch of color. 

Varying textures and patterns on other pieces in the room is also a great way to control your result.  If you plan to keep the rug as the focal point, keep the other patterns to a minimum and use different scales for your patterns.  Texture is a great way to add interest to your room.  Some of my favorite textures are chenilles, velvets, mohairs and blends of fibers with a textural pattern.

If you want a bold room, use of the stronger colors as your dominant hue.  Just remember that warm colors advance the walls and make the room feel smaller.  Cool colors such as blues, greens and violets make the walls recede and therefore appear larger.  Adding black or gray to the original hue also works very well to create a different look. 

Just remember that paint is inexpensive, so if you don’t like the color, just start over.  Be daring…it is fun to create drama, and for less than $100, you can instantly change your home.  Many people are scared to try something bold…don’t be!  Face your fears and enjoy the result.

About the author:  Gail Doby has been a luxury residential interior designer for twenty years.  She lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, Harry and their two kids, Boris and Tasha (cats).  Be sure to click on the orange button on the top right of this page to subscribe to the RSS feed that delivers a notice to your Inbox when we post new articles.  Also, if you enjoyed this post, please click on the icons below to share it with other readers on the Internet.  We appreciate your help in spreading the word about our blog.  The more readers we have, the more information we can provide.  Our newsletter sign-up is under Gail’s picture…you will get additional content at least once a month.