Interior decoration involves arranging your space to make it attractive, functional, and pleasant. Whether you live in an apartment or a house, having a well-decorated interior is always a good idea, if only to beautify and revamp your living environment. The activity aims to better organize all accessories to create an ambient atmosphere in your home. Beyond its aesthetic aspect, interior decoration reflects your personality, especially through the colors and patterns chosen. Hence the importance of adopting better decoration for each room in your home. How to proceed then to succeed in this mission? Here's a complete guide.
Basic Rules for Successful Interior Decoration
Decorating your living room, bedroom, kitchen, dining room, or bathroom can sometimes be a real headache. Here are the fundamental rules for creating a dynamic and harmonious interior in your home.
Define Your Interior Design Style
To succeed in your interior decoration, it is important to define your design style beforehand. This applies whether you do the tasks yourself or entrust them to a professional decorator. Many decoration styles are currently available to embellish your living spaces. Here are the best of them :
- Traditional style: based on wooden decor elements ;
- Modern decor: based on materials like wood, metal, glass, and steel ;
- Contemporary style: based on light wood, glass, and stainless steel decor elements ;
- Scandinavian style: with main materials being wood, plastic, and metal ;
- Contemporary design: where light wood, glass, and stainless steel are the main materials used.
Each of these styles has its own characteristics. For example, households tend to prefer Scandinavian decor for its almost artistic appearance, simplicity, and elegance.
To identify the design style that best suits your tastes, browsing images available on the Internet gives you ideas and inspiration for your choice.
Optimize Interior Layout
Once your design style is defined, you can start arranging the spaces, taking into account their dimensions, shapes, and openings (doors and windows). This is essential, especially to determine the size and number of furniture and objects needed to make each room in your house warmer, more spacious, and functional. Also, ceiling heights are also important measurements that you must consider before proceeding with the interior decoration of your home.
Play with Colors
To set the tone for your interior design, the choice of colors is crucial, which is not an easy task. To help you, play with 3 different colors (maximum) in a single room, so as not to break its harmony. For excellent results, do not hesitate to favor complementary shades. In addition, light colors are highly appreciated for dressing the walls. They bring brightness and easily blend with decorative accessories. Moreover, painting your ceiling white is always recommended to bring height and light to your interior. However, avoid overusing it to avoid ending up in a cold room.
In any case, your choice of colors should be made according to the decor style you have chosen. For example, for Scandinavian design, white, black, brown, and gray tones are preferred.
Properly Lighting Every Room in Your Home
In addition to color, lighting is also a key factor contributing to the success of your interior decor. You have a wide choice of different types of light sources for each room in your house. For example, you can choose a pendant lamp, a ceiling light, or a chandelier to optimize brightness in your living room, bedroom, dining room, or kitchen. Ambient lighting systems will do the trick if you want to opt for softer and less invasive lights for your interior. Also, you can use localized light sources, as their name implies, to equip your reading or makeup table.
Furthermore, decorating your room with decorative lighting fixtures, such as adjustable spotlights or small tiltable lights, is another interesting decor idea. These elements highlight your interior decoration by showcasing your decorative objects. In any case, make your choice according to the nature and use of each room, as well as the design style you have chosen.
Choosing Furniture and Decorative Objects
For better interior decoration, especially if you want to furnish a small space, it is important to check if the size of the chosen furniture fits the dimensions of the room. Specifically, installing oversized furniture in a small room may shrink the spaces. Conversely, a large space equipped with too minimalist or few furnishings may look empty. Therefore, be sure to take accurate measurements before taking action. Likewise, pay attention to the number of furniture items to avoid overcrowding the spaces.
In terms of colors, shapes, and materials from which furniture is made, your choice should refer to the selected decor style. If you adopt, for example, the Scandinavian style, choose furniture made of wood, plastic, or metal in natural tones. Also, this interior architecture requires few accessories to leave more open space.
Selecting Floor and Wall Coverings
Like colors, lighting, and furniture, floor and wall coverings play crucial roles in the success of your interior decoration.
For the floor, several options for coverings are now available, including parquet, tiles, concrete, or seagrass. Some of them are easier to combine with warm decor styles, such as Scandinavian design or bohemian design.
For wall decoration, you can, for example, apply a vibrant paint or wallpaper to one wall. However, it is important to consider the light and ceiling height of your room in the choice of coverings for your walls and floor.
Optimizing the Decoration of Your Apartment Room by Room
How to decorate your living room, bedroom, kitchen, dining room, and bathroom? Here are the answers!
Living Room Decoration
Your living room is the centerpiece of your home, where you welcome your guests. It's also your child's favorite spot and where family gatherings often take place. Reflecting your personality, this room should be decorated carefully.
Your living room should combine warmth, comfort, and conviviality. To create a truly cozy space, natural materials and warm colors are the best choices. For a more captivating character, don't hesitate to dress up a wall with a color, pattern, or wallpaper. You can also use picture frames or artworks, or install a mirror in your living room.
Bedroom Decoration
Your bedroom and your child's bedroom are undoubtedly the most frequented spaces in your home. They should be treated with care by applying a soothing and relaxing decoration. Specifically, you should choose soft and calming colors, comfortable and suitable furniture and accessories, and cozy fabrics. You can also use a linen bedding set and a rattan headboard, and install a mirror and a storage wardrobe.
For lighting, opt for a soft and subdued light. For wall decoration, soft and light tones are to be favored.
Kitchen Decoration
As for your kitchen, your decoration mode should be based on the characteristics of the room. Is it large or small, dark or bright, open or closed? All these criteria should be taken into account before decorating it.
Indeed, if your kitchen has less space, prioritize daily use furniture. In this context, decorate the walls by playing with bold colors or wallpaper. On the other hand, if the room is larger, focus on trendy and imposing furniture, such as a sideboard, a serving trolley, or a large wall of shelves. You can also install a dining table if there is still free space.
Bathroom Decoration
To enjoy a relaxing and comfortable bath after work, bathroom decoration must be done properly. Indeed, if the room is rather small, prioritize light colors (white, gray, pastel beige...) to make it brighter. As for the floor covering, tiling remains ideal for your bathroom. For lighting, use ceiling spots or wall sconces.
Hiring a Professional Interior Decorator
Interior decoration is a profession, and you can either hire an interior architect or directly a professional interior decorator. The assistance of a professional is always of great importance for a satisfactory result and a tailor-made layout.
