Decorating can be a little overwhelming when you’ve got an entire New Jersey house to furnish and decorate. If you plan to move into a new home soon, these decorating tips just may help you avoid a few headaches.

Choose a Theme

A theme helps unify the spaces in your homes and makes it easier to choose wall colors, window treatments, furniture and artwork. Whether you choose a contemporary, rustic, traditional, beach, formal, casual, Tuscan or Parisian theme, concentrating on a particular style may just make decorating less overwhelming. Use your theme for the entire house or just the public areas.

Add a Few Textiles

The addition of textiles enhances the appearance of living spaces, bedrooms and studies. Colorful prints on furniture or pillows, woven rugs, seagrass baskets, sculptures and feature walls covered in wood, brick, stone or other materials add warmth and personality to any room in your home.

Forget About Matching

It’s tempting to select every piece of furniture in the showroom grouping when you’re furnishing an entire room. Although there’s nothing wrong with that method, your room will look far more interesting if you mix up furniture styles and patterns. Buy a matching couch and loveseat, but pair them with a chair in a complementary color or pattern, or choose end and side tables in different finishes.

Consider Paint Colors Carefully

The importance of paint colors is often overlooked when decorating. Warm colors (red, orange, yellow, tan) make rooms feel cozy and inviting, while cool colors (blue, gray, green, violet) set the perfect mood if you want to embrace tranquility. Before you select paint, purchase small sample sizes of several different colors, shades or finishes and apply them to the wall in test squares.

Consider how each color looks in natural and artificial light and at various times of day. The color wheels shown on the HGTV website can help you choose the perfect complementary colors for your room.

Add a Focal Point to Every Room

Focal points draw the eye and help set the tone for the room. Think “drama” when you choose a focal point. The point should be something that is immediately noticed the second anyone walks into the room. Feature walls, a particular piece of furniture, a striking painting, a brightly colored rug, a fireplace, or even the view can be focal points.

Think About Scale When Furnishing Your Home

Big rooms can handle oversized furniture and large paintings that would look out of place in a smaller room. Although you may not want to buy an entire house full of new furniture just after moving, you may have to rethink furniture groupings and augment your furniture with a few new pieces if your existing furniture is too big or small for a particular room.

Start with the Public Areas of Your Home First

Decorating an entire home can be a little daunting. If you try to take on the entire project at once, you may find yourself making rash decisions simply because you’ve become tired or overwhelmed.

Group your home into zones when decorating. Make zone one the areas visitors will use (foyer, living room, dining room, kitchen, breakfast room, powder room and family room). Assign bedrooms, full bathrooms and your home office or study to zone two. Your garage and basement will make up zone three.

Working on one zone at a time will help you organize your time and minimize frustration. Once one zone is finished, take a little break before you tackle the next zone.

Showcase Your Personality

Make room for items you love or that add a little  personality when decorating. It’s often the little touches, like your collection of vintage movie posters, that make your new house feel like home. Fill your bookcases with your favorite novels, and display your grandmother’s thimble collection with pride. Those small details give your home warmth and make it unique.

Are you looking forward to decorating a brand new home? Our home advisors at Country Classics can help you pick out the perfect new home to suit your individual needs and taste! Contact us today for more information on floor plans and availability.

Sources:

HGTV: 10 Tips for Picking Paint Colors

https://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/color/10-tips-for-picking-paint-colors

HGTV: Color Wheel Primer

https://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/design-101/color-wheel-primer

House Beautiful: 22 Decorating Secrets Only the Pros Know – Until Now

https://www.housebeautiful.com/home-remodeling/interior-designers/tips/g864/decorating-secrets/

This Old House: 11 Foolproof Decorating Tips

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/ideas/11-foolproof-decorating-tips