If there’s one thing designers dread, it is creating (or recreating, as it were) the same look… over and over and over again. Luckily, each client is unique, and each deserves a style that reflects their personality, their lifestyle, their goals, their dreams, and their aspirations. This is good news for you because it means the possibilities are wide open. And yet, this can be so intimidating! The number one challenge clients face is feeling overwhelmed.
Our advice: Take it one step at a time. Room-specific design is not just about choosing the right sofa for the living room or window treatments for the bedroom. It is about approaching design room-by-room, if necessary, in order to create the beautiful home you’re dreaming of.
The Basics of Room-Specific Design
Home & Willow Design client Mike M., captures the challenge perfectly, saying, “Julie Curry has been my interior design consultant on a number of projects and truly helped to make my home feel and functionally work the way I want. She’s so good at listening to my thoughts and offering her own design style and experience to provide me with a handful of options from which I can select. There’s no one better for me than Julie, and would recommend her to anyone that needs help interior design that is as pleasing to the eye as it is functional in nature.”
This strategy allows you to focus on one space at a time, which is helpful in working towards a harmonious whole. It can also empower you to decide where your priorities lie, where you want to splash out and where you can pull back in order to maximize your budget and results.
With all of this in mind, how should you approach room-specific design?
Before You Pinterest…
Each room in your home has a purpose, a place in how you live your life. Think about how you use the room – and how you would like to use the room – as well as who uses it and why. This will help clear your head and focus your thoughts and ideas in terms of must-have furnishings, flooring, window treatments, accessories, artwork, and accents. Your design is most satisfying when it reflects your individual preferences and aligns with its function.
Start with Your Favorite
Why not? What better place to begin the transformation from house to home than in the spaces that you love and that your household will use most? If you love entertaining, it could be the kitchen/dining room. If you crave peace and calm, it could be the owner’s suite. If you are a child-focused household, it may be the family room/living room.
Prioritize Your Most Important Spaces
Again, your most important space is unique to you and your household. Focusing on these rooms first can help guide the entire process. In these rooms:
Gather Your Thoughts – and Dreams
Ever been accused of perusing Pinterest or binge watching home shows a little too intensely? No. You were conducting in-depth research! Keep it up. Before you go full-steam ahead on a project, it’s helpful to gather ideas and images that capture your interest. Use these to create mood boards – which can sound technical but can really just be a “collage” of your top picks and favorite features. This can solidify your vision into actual elements. Don’t be afraid to start broad and then begin to narrow in.
Choose the Piece
It may be helpful to choose a main element – from a piece of art to a piece of furniture – that speaks to you especially eloquently. Doing so can help organize and clarify your design. You’re not looking for the latest trend (of which you may soon tire) but rather a focal point around which you can build.
From there, you can begin looking at color palettes, “foundation” furniture, and other elements that are meaningful and that will contribute to a cohesive design – room by room.
Inject You
You have a certain je ne sais quoi… Your treasured spaces should too. Design that looks like it was copy and pasted from a catalog may look nice, but they lack an essential quality: You. Again, this is not about trends that you may enjoy now but rather creating a classic, timeless look that you’ll love living with.
Designer for a Day – or for a Project
Room-specific design encompasses the functionality and purpose of the space while giving you the opportunity to achieve a wonderful effect that permeates your entire home. Home & Willow Design delivers services that help you transform your ideas and vision into action – and into results. From Designer for a Day to full scale, end-to-end design, we are here to help you navigate your project.
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Feeling overwhelmed is the No. 1 problem our clients face.
