Decorating your new home can feel like a huge undertaking.
The sheer magnitude of the project can feel overwhelming and put you in analysis paralysis.
I get it, you love design and can browse Pinterest all day for inspiration and ideas but when it comes to actually treating your home as your project YOU FREEZE.
After years of working with my Interior Design clients I’ve created a method to actually approach the decorating process and I want to share it with you.
There are five steps that most people are not doing when they are going to start decorating their new space, and not following these steps can lead to mistakes being made, overspending, and spaces that don’t feel yours.
FIVE STEPS YOU’RE MISSING WHEN DECORATING YOUR HOME
There are five important crucial steps you should take before you start creating the home of your dreams, and I’m here to tell you what they are.
STEP 1: DEFINE YOUR NEEDS AND WANTS
One of the most important and most often missed steps hen decorating your new home.
This is your home.
It needs to fit YOUR style and YOUR needs.
It’s crucial that you actually sit down and think about what you want from the space and what you need from it. It’s completely OK for these things to clash with one another.
But here is the truth: you miss this step and the probabilities your space is not being used to its fullest potential are huge!
Just think about it, let’s say you’re looking for inspiration pics through Pinterest for living rooms. You find a room you love! Your mind automatically starts thinking about the furniture this room has, the paint color, the lamps, the rug, and all the small details. YOU ARE IN LOVE.
Without even thinking about it you go out and start shopping for things like the ones you saw, when the time comes and you put your room together it’s stunning. BUT does this room actually fit into what you and your family need out of it.
You only had one available space in the whole house where you guys could sit down and watch TV, hang out, play games.
Because you basically copied the picture you found now don’t have a space for a TV, you don’t even want your kids to sit in the white sofas, they even need to steer clear of the white walls.
In my book function should always come before form.
And believe me when I tell you that you could’ve created a space that is just as stunning but most importantly a s beautiful space that is lived and enjoyed.
STEP 2: GATHER INSPIRATION
Now that you are clear on what you want from the space and what you need from, NOW is that you start looking for inspiration and ideas.
Why I do I put looking for inspiration after defining your needs and wants? Because now you will filter your results and look for ideas that can actually work for you.
It’s a way for you to put blinders and only look at what will actually work for you.
To many options can cause analysis paralysis, I want you to avoid that. So we need to focus on searching for ideas that will actually work for you and that speak to your style.
STEP 3: DEFINE YOUR BUDGET
The step no one wants to do. But you have to do it. It’s that easy.
It’s key that you know what you have available to spend, and what you are comfortable spending. These things don’t necessarily match up.
You need to see what you have available so that you can plan out your project.
Having a limit on the spending doesn’t mean you don’t get the room you want. It means that you have to choose on what you invest first. It involves shopping around for options until you find one that adjusts to what you are going to spend.
Having a budget is the smart way to go, if you need to you can divide your decorating project into different phases as your budget allows.
I want to help you achieve the beautiful home that you deserve. To do this you need to make sure to do the work. Set a budget to that you actually give you that space and not piles of debt.
STEP 4: DEFINE YOUR GAME PLAN
What do I mean by game plan?
Game plan is the strategy you are going to use to move from dreaming about your new space to creating that beautiful home you deserve.
I recommend you organize your project into different categories: things to buy, sell, donate, DIY, outsource.
Once you’ve broken down your project into tasks that fit into these categories you will start creating your to do lists.
I’m a huge list taker. I’m all about putting lists to work for me.
List work for me when the tasks are broken down into as many smaller tasks are possible.
Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, gives a list maker like myself the pleasure of ticking that checkbox.
STEP 5: PUT IT IN YOUR CALENDAR!
It’s time to start putting tasks on your calendar.
Be realistic about the time available you have to do things that need to be done and schedule accordingly.
Elements of your decorating project will need shipping times to be considered. Others will need manufacturing time, and others will have different assembly times.
Be sure to take these times into consideration so that your timeframe for the project is real. This will help avoid getting frustrated when things start to take more than you actually thought.
How my FREE Decorating Workbook can help you
I’ve put together a Free PDF for you to download, it’s my Decorating Workbook.
My Decorating Workbook includes tips, inspiration resources and MY WORKSHEETS to work through these crucial five steps.
I want to help you translate that love for pretty spaces into a beautiful home of your own. A home that is a reflection of your lifestyle needs.
Helping you create that space without the overwhelm, fear, or frustrations is what I’m here for. Grab my Decorating Workbook and put it to good use, you will see how helpful it is.
You can grab your copy here:
Now that you know the five steps you need to do before you start decorating your new home, I really hope that you put them to use with any decorating project you choose to tackle.
This method works for small rooms, big rooms, small renovations, big renovations, even the whole house.
Put it to work and if you have any questions join us at my Facebook Group where you get to access to exclusive content and a community of Members that are eager to help!
