This is the 4th and possibly last lesson for interior decorating. If you’re new to this, you can reference some of our other interior decorating tips by following the links at the bottom of this page.
Anyhow, there was one last topic that I wanted to discuss, and it’s a big one, not just because it can have a big impact, but also because it’s usually the largest, heaviest part of decorating your home.
You guessed it, I’m talking about the furniture.
One of my biggest gripes that I often fought decorators on, was that their choice of furniture rarely lent itself to any degree of practicality.
Often, especially in a model home where the furniture will not actually get used for anything other than looks, you can get away with impractical furniture. But in a real house, being lived in by real people, you have to sometimes make compromises.
One thing to keep in mind though, as you plan your trip to your local furniture store, is the size of your furniture.
Scale Is Important
It’s not only about what will fit.
So you buy a new house, and the first thing you do is take out your tape measure and see how much room you have to fit that huge comfy plush sofa.
Before you run off with credit card in hand, stop and take one more measurement of your room. This one has nothing at all to do with a tape measure either.
When you’re looking at your room, regardless of whether your dream bed or couch fits, consider the overall scale of your room.
If the room is large, then by all means, grab that plush, butt absorbing monster of a sofa. But if your room is somewhat smaller, you might want to reconsider the style of sofa.
Small rooms often lend themselves better to small furniture. Now when I mean smaller furniture, they could have similar dimensions, but a 7 foot sofa can be so plush and puffy that it might look twice as big as another 7 foot long sofa that doesn’t have all the extra padding and pillows.
I remember one time, we had a model decorated with an elegant fluffy sofa. It fit very well in the space, but made the room look super tiny and claustrophobic.
In that same room, we replaced that sofa with one that didn’t look nearly as plush, but was still attractive, and all of a sudden, that tiny room became a large family room.
This same principle can work in reverse. Maybe you have a small space, but by filling it up entirely, you can make the area look bigger. This is often done in small narrow areas that you might not normally think to put something, but when decorated, can have a real impact.
One last thing:
You can decorate your home to your heart’s content, however, there is one last thing that really makes a good home pop, and that is you. No amount of designer furniture or useless trinkets will make your home amazing without you.
Without you, your house is worth little more than a photograph that is admired one minute and forgotten the next. You however won’t be forgotten, regardless of what your house looked like.
If you’re the sort of person who values friendships and loves people, then you are already leagues ahead of the crowd. If you’d also like to live around more like-mind folks who are genuine and amazing like you, then check out one of our communities. We only create lifestyle-oriented communities with you in mind. This could really be the neighborhood you’ve always dreamed about.
For previous articles on interior design, check out these previous posts:
https://www.leisurevillas.com/interior-decorating-101/