When it comes to decorating the interior of our homes, furniture fills a lot of the footprint of the home so it’s important to take the time to select the right pieces of furniture that will suit the space, add value to how the space serves you and also ensure the pieces chosen visually work together harmoniously and collectively to make the interior look that you are wanting to achieve.
PLAN – The main recommendation I would like to make when choosing furniture is not to choose it in isolation. Rather have a detailed plan for your home as a whole and then each room and work from this plan when making your furniture purchases. Work out what items you are considering purchasing before shopping, to eliminate confusion. Know the measurements of your space and desired piece of furniture and be sure to allow for users to access, walkthrough and navigate the room with ease.
QUALITY – It’s important to consider the use of each item you propose to purchase. High usage pieces need to be made of premium quality, long-lasting, and hard-wearing materials. Dining suites, lounges, bedside tables, desks, are all high-use items that need to be durable. Pieces that are purely decorative don’t need to be as durable. Ensure the pieces you choose are all the same value, for example, if you choose an expensive, or expensive-looking item and then have a lower dollar value piece or cheaper look item next to it this will cheapen the expensive/expensive look item.
PURPOSE – Do you even need the piece? Many a time a client has said to me, ‘We’ve always had xx piece of furniture in that corner, can you recommend a new piece for that corner?’. I like to challenge this thinking. Don’t feel that you need to fill every single corner of your home, instead, allow rooms to breathe, and don’t be afraid of empty space. Stop and ask, what is the real purpose of this piece of furniture? Do I need the items that I have stored in it? Do people use it? Is this piece of furniture adding value to my home?
SPACE – Is your room small or large? If your room is small choose furniture pieces that have legs and are raised off the floor, this will visually extend the floor space resulting in a more spacious feeling room. If you have a large room, you can select furniture that is blocked and goes to the floor to help a space feel more intimate. I know we all like large open spaces but one of the drawbacks can be the space doesn’t feel cosy and intimate.
STYLE GENRE – Do you know what your unique style is for your home? Your style can help your home feel cohesive and designed rather than a jumble of styles. Even the eclectic interior takes thought and skill to put together to create a harmonious space. Knowing your style will help you select pieces of furniture that come from that style and when put together will strongly state your style throughout your home.
MATCHY – When you have a good handle on furniture styles you can select furniture pieces that may be in the same style family but are different enough to create visual interest and contrast as opposed to everything being the same therefore reading as predictable and boring. It’s important to inject personality and individualism into the interior of your home. You also don’t want to purchase all your furniture from the same store as this will look too contrived and as though you purchased everything from the store catalogue. Consider shopping vintage and antique stores for pieces that have history. Bespoke furniture stores. Designer stores. Commission some furniture. Maybe you have some vintage pieces or family heirlooms that you can introduce into the interior of your home.
Lastly, choose items that you feel a connection to. We want our homes to feel like home. It’s important that when you and your family come home, that it feels like home and you feel completely at home in it. We think your home needs to serve you, feel comfortable and be your favourite place!
If you would like interior design support, we are currently taking bookings for Interior Design Consultations where we can assist you as little or as much as you desire. We hope to chat to you soon!
Happy Decorating,
Prue
P.S. Have you accessed our Style Guide yet? It’s free. It’s a PDF that will help you determine your unique Interior Style that you can then use as a guide when making all your decorator decisions be it buying furniture, choosing a paint colour, picking a rug this guide will help you save time and money by giving you the know-how to confidently create your dream space. Get it here: http://eepurl.com/cEqrHL