Spruce Up Your Home With These Interior Decorating Ideas

Redecorating Your Home Can be Fun and Simple

With a near-endless array of interior decorating ideas, principles, and techniques to learn about, you may feel overwhelmed when you move into a new place or decide to redecorate your current home. Because interior design is such a huge topic, it's best to start with big ideas before moving onto specific details.

A professional interior decorator thinks in terms of color, proportion, balance, contrast, rhythm, pattern, and texture. By learning how these principles are applied to interior decorating, you can unlock your own creativity and come up with unique interior decorating ideas and solutions.

Interior Decorating Ideas: The Basics

Start by deepening your understanding of the basic principles used by interior decorators:

• Color: When it comes to interior paint, you should think in terms of palettes. There are three major options: monochromatic or single-colored palettes, analogous palettes drawing on multiple colors that are beside each other on the color wheel, and complementary palettes that employ tones that are across from each other on the color wheel. Monochromatic schemes tend to be calming, while analogous and complementary color schemes tend to be richer and livelier.
• Proportion: The concept of proportion refers to the relative size and scale of the elements in the room. Aim for proportionality between all the individual elements, as well as between the elements and the whole.
• Balance: You can choose between symmetrical balance and asymmetrical balance; the symmetrical option arranges elements as though there was a mirror running down the center of the room, while asymmetrical approaches aren't as strict in their approach but still aim for proportion and harmony between the elements.
• Contrast: When you vary elements like color, proportion and balance, you create contrast. It is used to heighten the sense of interest in the room.
• Rhythm: You can achieve a sense of rhythm in a room by repeating certain elements throughout the space, either in similar or contrasting scales. When used correctly, rhythm creates a sense of unity and completeness in the room.
• Pattern and texture: When choosing and arranging elements in a room, including paint, wallpaper, furnishings and accessories, it's important that you pay close attention to the patterns and textures of the various pieces to ensure they're contributing to a measured, consistent overall effect.

When you successfully apply these principles, you'll achieve the elusive harmony that is so important to an effective interior design strategy. If you're eager to try your hand at interior design but you're nervous about the finality of some of your decisions, you can always consult a professional interior designer for some skilled, experienced conceptual and creative assistance.