I fell in love with designing as a teen. I love creating anything! My cutting and glueing (which I still like to do) turned into painting and rearranging furniture. With each move my room got smaller, so I learned to have an eye for size and fits even without having to move anything. Most of the time I can look at something and tell you if it fits or not....and that brings me to my first point.
1. Know Your Space
Measure and Stare at your space as you need to. Do you have something in mind. Try to picture it. Do you think it looks good? Measure to make sure your right before moving furniture. (Unless you are excited then just do it and figure out the hard way if your eyes were correct.)
2. Get Inspired
My favorite place now to get inspired is no secrect. With my 11.5K pins on pinterest I hang out there every day. Before pinterest I was inspired by magazines and Home Decoration books I got from the library. Other people's homes you admire is a great place to be inspired. Other people's homes you admire is a great place to be inspired. Also,
Invaluble.com has a wide variety of art work and
decorative pieces available for bidding or for inspiration. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery.
3. Create a theme
Things will come together so much better if you have a theme. Do you want a modern look, a earthy feel or a beach house? What colors go well together? Which colors compliment those themes? Often you will go with something that already resonates with you. So look what you already have an bring it together. Start keeping your eye open for sales that showcase your theme.
4. Create a mood
How do you want people to feel in that room. Cozy, relaxed, fresh, alive, inspired. Textures, colors & layout can create different moods.
5. Work with colors
Like I said above colors dictate moods! Use colors that create the mood you want to set and let it work well with your theme. Colors can really make a theme come out. Bright orange will not do well a earthy feel, neither will hot pink make you feel like you are at the beach....but it sure is a happy and inspiring color!
6. Multi Use
That might be a made up word but what I mean is that with a small space you need to make the most with what you have. Pretty storage is a great way to have a place for your stuff but also is decorative. Baskets and pretty designed boxes are your best friend.
I hope these 6 points were helpful. Before you go and decorate your place...do you plan before decorating or do you jump right in?