Jennifer Adams, Interior Design Pro, shares tips for furnishing and decorating a new home.
Question:
Building a new home and furnishing dining, living and master bedrooms. Dining, living are open to each other. Where do I start?
Answer:
Congratulations on your new home! It’s so exciting to be looking for all new furniture, though it can be overwhelming. It is so much to think about. A better first step is to think about the feeling you want to have in your house. Is it casual and comfortable, or more formal? Is there a vacation place you adore, what feeling do you have when you think about that place? How do you see yourself using those spaces?
Choose one room at a time to focus on. Look for pictures of rooms on furniture manufacturers’ websites and magazines for inspiration of how rooms can feel, and how the furniture is arranged. Even if you can’t afford the furniture in your inspiration images, the shapes and colors and more importantly, the feeling of the atmosphere can still be a starting point.
Since the dining and living room is really one large room, consider a cohesive design style or theme for the entire space, and how the colors will coordinate with the colors in your kitchen. The largest pieces in any room, such as the sofa, the dining table and the bed and other major furniture in the master bedroom should be classic shapes and more on the neutral side. Smaller accents such as lamps, side chairs, throw pillows and bedding can be bolder in color and style.
Accents and art can be the most expressive of all, and this is where your personality and style will shine through. Bring along some favorite treasures from your old house or your travels. Good luck and have fun with this!
– Jennifer Adams, Interior Design Pro