Chapter 1

Bringing Your Vision to Life

IN THIS CHAPTER

Making a plan for your home decorating project

Considering color, pattern, and texture

Looking at design styles and finding the style that fits your needs

Focusing on walls, flooring, ceilings, windows, and lighting

Taking your kitchen, bath, home office, or media room to the next level

Making your bedroom, living room, dining room, and other spaces shine

Putting on the finishing touches of art and accessories

You want to be living your best life. And part of living your best life is having a beautifully decorated house - a house that helps you live the way you want to live. No matter how much space you have to decorate, you've picked up this book because you see yourself living a beautiful life in a (potentially) beautiful home.

This chapter introduces you to the home decorating process, walking you through what's involved from beginning to end. After reading this chapter, you'll have the confidence to start your home decorating process.

Planning like a Pro

Professional decorators live by the adage "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Decorators are nothing if not planners. So, if you want to decorate your home - whether you're redoing every room in a sprawling house or one room in a small apartment - you need to start with a plan. A happy home happens by design.

To realize your vision, you need a plan and a budget. A plan is a formal document with tasks, timelines, and estimated costs. Budgeting helps you break down a project into smaller steps and manage the money you have to spend. Tracking your time and money goes hand in hand with mapping out a plan. A good plan is clear, easy to understand, comprehensive, and flexible. It should be economical (so you won't run out of money or run up debt), establish your vision standards, be balanced, and be practical. For more on budgeting, turn to Chapter 2.

Space: the final frontier! Well, at least when it comes to decorating, that is. Right now, your space is uncharted. You need to chart your space for size, doors, windows, and key details. Sketch out or digitally draw your space, including the locations of electrical outlets, cables, light switches, and Internet routers.

Using templates or online programs or apps can help you figure out the best placement of furniture and facilitate movement through the space. Turn to Chapter 3 for more on mapping out your space.

Every design problem (like "How should I decorate my bedroom to get high-quality sleep?") has a solution. Maybe you have too many solutions in mind. If so, how will you pick out the best one? The point of thinking like a designer is to be focused on solutions. You need to understand your behaviors, your needs, and your vision. To start thinking like a designer, turn to Chapter 4.

Taking Your Design to the Next Dimension

Whether it's a piece of furniture or a floor or a knick-knack, every object has three visual surface dimensions: color, pattern, and texture.

Color influences mood, cognition, and behavior. In short, it shapes how you experience a space or an object. You can work with color and color palettes to achieve an effect or solve a visual problem (like an oddly shaped space). Turn to Chapter 5 for the basics of color theory and color schemes.

Pattern adds personality and style. Some styles, like boho, call for heavy layering of strong patterns. How do you layer three, four, or more patterns to get the look you want? Never fear! It all comes down to dealing with the dimensions and understanding basic decorating rules. Chapter 6 walks you through how to play with patterns to achieve your desired result.

Texture (and playing textures off one another) is a key part of any style. Shaggy wooly animal hides contrasting with slick glass and chrome defines a '70s look, for example. Chapter 7 shows you how to use sensory aspects of texture to craft your room's story and style.

Considering the Style of Your Designs

Whether you're a purist or an innovator, finding out about the long sweep of style history will give you the basics for determining your decor direction.

Historical styles and periods continue strong in today's decorating. Because these looks are so much a part of the way we live today, we consider them timeless and ever evolving in scale and proportion. Chapter 8 outlines some of history's "top hits" for living in style.

Contemporary style encompasses looks from Modern and Mid-Century Modern to present day. Contemporary styles may draw on many influences over time and across the globe. Chapter 9 hits the highlights of the past few decades of interior design.

Many designers have a signature look. You can be like your favorite designers and decorators when you craft your own look. Chapter 10 takes you through the profiles of some of today's leading trendsetters and guides you on how to discover your own personal style.

Sizing up your options for major furniture types has never been easier. Chapter 11 helps you shop for quality and value while staying in your budget.

Getting Background Information

With all the choices out there, you need a guide to help you decide on major decorating choices for backgrounds - walls, floors, ceilings, windows, and lighting.

Walls bound your space. They also provide tons of opportunities for unleashing style and concealing things like wiring and insulation (never pretty to look at). How can you use paint, wallcoverings, and more to create effects? Discover the options for customizing your look using various materials and options in Chapter 12.

How do you choose the best flooring? Avoid walking on pins and needles when picking flooring. Chapter 13 helps you consider your basic needs for comfort, style, and durability, and provides lots of information on technical aspects of floors.

You may not have given much thought to your ceiling, there are stylish options for making a ceiling look interesting while helping it do its job better (which is to conceal wiring, air conditioning, and structural components). Chapter 14 is a must-read for dealing with the ceiling.

Controlling light, corralling heat loss and gain, and ensuring privacy are key when it comes to dressing up your windows. Chapter 15 looks at the top options for achieving your decorating goals.

Lighting makes or breaks the mood and functioning of a room. What's the right kind of light source? How do you deal with lighting problems like unbalanced sunlight and dark areas? How can you spotlight your favorite objects? Chapter 16 illuminates your options.

Designing Your Kitchen, Bathroom, Home Office, and Media Room

You need decorating know-how to create the four tough rooms: the kitchen, the bathroom, the home office, and the media room. You can add lots of extras to these rooms to make them even more functional and more stylish.

Even if you order takeout five nights a week, your kitchen is the most lived-in room in your house. You use it for everything from cooking to entertaining, which means it has to meet a variety of needs for a variety of users. The hearth of the home truly has very special decorating needs. Turn to Chapter 17 for all things kitchen related.

Just because a room is functional doesn't mean it should be bare-bones basic. The bath - no matter what its size - has morphed into a spa. Whether your bathroom is small or large, turn it into an oasis of comfort with the tips in Chapter 18.

More and more people are working out of our homes these days. Your home office (or library or study) needs professional-level function and style. You need solutions that work for you when you go to work! Turn to Chapter 19 for practice advice you can put to work.

Screening your favorite shows can be more of an experience than ever before. More and more homes are being built with dedicated media rooms with controlled light, sophisticated sound systems, and special layouts. Chapter 20 takes you through some of the key things to know when decorating for viewing.

Making Your Sleeping, Living, Dining, and Other Spaces Work for You

You spend one-third of your life sleeping. Select your bedroom's look while keeping in mind function, fun, and style. You'll make different design choices if you're decorating bedrooms for children and guests. Chapter 21 has all the information you need to decorate any bedroom.

Your living room is a public room that's also very personal. You want your living room to be a comfortable, relaxing room with maximum style. Chapter 22 shows you how to make your living room picture-perfect yet livable.

Entertaining at home is bigger than ever. Having people over for dining, screening your favorite shows, or playing games is the "in" thing. Some people entertain in the kitchen or the living room. No matter what rooms you entertain your friends in, you want a functional and fun look. Chapter 23 covers dining rooms, whether you have a dedicated formal dining room or you're dining in front of the TV.

Do you have plenty of space? Get more use out of it! Decorate bonus spaces - such as entryways, attics,...