Foolproof Tips to Decorate Your New Home

Decorating your house in your style is what makes a home a home. After you’ve just closed on your new property, you’re probably eager to move in and finally make it “yours.” Putting your own personal spin on the space will provide you with an opportunity to showcase your style and make your house your own. While your home is now a blank canvas, keep in mind these few unwritten design rules; they’ll help make the look you’re going for really come together:

Use Neutral Wall Color

The “flow” of your home is important and using overbearing, dark or wilder colors, particularly on the first floor, can disturb the flow and feel.. With the new trend of open style floor plans, using too dark a color on your walls will make leaving a room and entering a new room an awkward transition. Use light grays, beiges, or even blues that all fit the same pallet. If choosing colors is difficult for you, it’s preferable to stay with one color than paint each room a different shade. This will make your home look bigger, and feel like the entire floor flows together.

Arrange Your Furniture Correctly

If you have ever walked into a house and just felt comfortable and wanted to stay and chat, it was probably because the furniture was arranged in an inviting way. Subconsciously, we think arranging the sofas and chairs along the walls will make a room look bigger, but in reality --making couches float away from the walls is what makes a room feel open and inviting. Anytime you walk into a hotel, the furniture is usually arranged in a U-shape, with the chairs facing the sofas and away from the walls. This provides a more comfortable atmosphere for a living room, and will spark more conversations among your guests.

Brighten Up Your Space

No one wants to walk into a dark and gloomy room, and while using light colors certainly helps, finding ways to let the sun shine in should be a focal point of your decorating plan. Don’t use too heavy a drape or forget draperies altogether and go with natural blinds or nothing at all if privacy is not an issue. Mirrors are a great way to spread light, and make your home feel bigger. Try adding a few mirrors throughout the first floor, and you’ll be amazed how expansive it feels. If your room does not get a lot of direct light, think about installing a few recessed lights to accent an art piece or just illuminate a dark room.

Arrange Your Artwork Correctly

Big walls need big paintings and small walls need small paintings. It seems like a simple enough idea, but I’ve walked into hundreds of houses where the artwork didn’t fit the wall and just looked out of place. If you’re hanging several pictures/paintings on a wall, try spacing them 3-5 inches apart instead of on either sides of the wall. And the artwork needs to be at eye level, so no hanging pictures 2 inches away from the celling (you wouldn’t believe how common this mistake is)!

Add Shape and Texture Variety to Your Scheme

If your room has a lot of square/rectangular furniture (fireplace, sofa, chairs, bookcases, television), try mixing it up with round objects. Consider either a round coffee table or even just round throw pillows. Shuffle in those shapes as much as possible. If your furnishings consist primarily of wood or stone or glass (hard surfaces), make sure to add some upholstered pieces or fabric on windows to soften the effect.

Throw Rugs

Rugs are a great way to create a “center” for the room. They bring all the furniture together around one space. However, a big mistake is to let the carpet just sit solo in the middle without being touched by a piece of furniture. The rug should be anchored by at least one piece of furniture (ie. A coffee table), otherwise it loses the effect.

Use Odd Numbers

Grouping similar decorations looks much better in groups of three, rather than even numbers which look too neat and firm. Use three throw pillows instead of two, use three coffee table decorations, three bookshelf accessories, etc. You’ll be surprised by the results.

When you’re a new homeowner, you will probably have a million ideas on how you want to renovate or redecorate the house. Take your time, though. Live in the home for a bit first and you’ll be able to prioritize the projects and really get a feel for the changes you want to make. With some basic fixes, you’ll be feeling at home in no time. Have fun with your new home!