How to decorate a room

Decorating, even redecorating a room can be overwhelming!  What colors inspire you, what type of style, where do you even begin?!  I know we've all had this problem at one point or another and I have been reading up on tips for getting started decorating a room that I just HAD to share.  One of my favorite things before Pinterest was cutting ideas out of magazines and creating inspiration books.  Who am I kidding, I still do that...

INSPIRATION BOARDS: Here is an inspiration board that I created for a fun example.  I added this Chicago Navy Pier artwork for Jaime, he loves cityscapes. 

STYLE & THEME:  Determine your room’s style and maybe a theme for the room.  This doesn’t have to be as concrete as contemporary or shabby chic, I think it will just define the type of pieces that you will be looking for.  For instance, are you looking to work with clean lines, silver accent pieces?  Or maybe rustic woods:

You may even have a main piece to center your style around.  In my Inspiration Board, I started with the black couch which I have in my living room.  This couch has very clean lines so I want to work off of that style. 

DEFINING COLOR:  From here you can choose the defining color of the room.  I chose red and yellow accents, inspired by this red habaňero paint color.  You can go bold with a RED couch or maybe paint your existing coffee table red.  Or you can go tame, as I have, with red accent pieces or an accent wall.  The fun thing about this part of the project is that maybe you have red pillows on your bed, you can transfer them to the living room for a fresh new look without spending extra dough.

You may even have a color palette in mind such as Spring colors, Neutrals, Ocean theme:

LIST ROOM COMPONENTS:  At this point you have a style that you’d like to work off of and the color inspiration for your new room.  Before creating an inspiration board, list all of the components that you plan to make up this room.  For the living room you will need a couch, coffee table, rug, chairs, maybe an entertainment piece, lamps, end table, curtains, art.  You may need to do some measuring to see what will fit into your room.  Also count the number of walls in this room to determine how much art you will need, how many curtains. 

PURCHASING NEW DÉCOR:  First, determine from the colors and style that you have chosen, can you utilize any items that you already have in your home?  If you are buying new décor, narrow down what you will need.  For example, this black couch will need a more contemporary coffee table/accent tables.  An antique Victorian oval table will NOT cut it.  I also know that since my living room is narrow, a round or square coffee table will take up too much room, so I have easily narrowed down the type of table that I would need to purchase.  And Craigslist is an EXCELLENT place, or the local thrift, for those DIY-ers like myself!

When you start to shop for any new décor, be sure to have a list with you at all times so that you stick with EXACTLY what you’re looking for in this room and don’t go overboard with items that you really don’t need.  I LOVE the variety of décor carried at TJ Maxx and Home Goods stores.  They are very affordable and carry such a wide array of styles.  Or you can make your own inspired pieces!

Horchow Recycled Glass Lamp $325

Thrifty Abode DIY Lamp $18

CREATE YOUR BOARD:  This is the most fun part for me.  I wouldn’t focus on finding photos for your board based on price tags – you can ALWAYS find something more affordable with a similar look.  If you can’t decide between a couple of different styles, choose photos from both.  Once you start putting everything together, you will see what gels and what sticks out like a sore thumb.

I hope I've helped to inspire a little weekend creativity…  I would love to see YOUR Inspiration Boards!

~A