Interior design is a vital part of how we interact with our home environments. The furniture, fabrics, paint, and art we choose for our homes reflect who we are and how we like to feel. Our interior designs also reflect our heritage and the flair we wish to bring to Tigard. Read on for five tips on how to approach interior design in your Tigard, Oregon home.
1. Light and Tone. This is probably first on many people’s minds. A room’s color scheme sets the tone for how people enter and feel in that space. Consider the relative brightness of the paint in relation to how much light is in the room. Some people can’t get enough brightness and so will paint a room in a cheery yellow while the room receives lots of light all day long. Others prefer to dampen the sunlight with a darker blue or even a monochrome.
2. Contemporary or Traditional. There are many different themes and interior design styles, but there needs to be a general decision as to what the home, or individual room, needs to exude. There may even be a mix. Say, you could opt for a spare, white kitchen that has retro-looking hardware and a stove that looks like it was found in a log cabin way up on Mt. Hood.
3. Shop Around. Look at home-design themed websites. Consider your friend’s homes and those of your family members, too. Perhaps you’d like to emulate your Polish grandmother’s kitchen or you really appreciate the casual, yet chic feel of your best friend’s living room. The more interior design ideas you can generate the closer you will come to your final decision. It can help to start consulting with an interior designer as well, who can help you refine your design ideas.
4. Furniture. There are many options for furnishings. New furniture boutiques are full of the latest styles, but maybe you’d like a more eclectic living room with a vintage daybed in the bay window, a contemporary set of sofas, and oriental rugs on the floor. It may be interesting to peruse used furniture stores to see what is available. It’s more and more fashionable to think in a sustainable way, and there is no better way to do that than by saving another beautiful piece from the landfill.
5. Flow. Some people say feng shui, but the main idea is to consider the flow of each individual room. If you have an open floor plan, consider how you will define the various parts of the entire space, while maintaining the open feel. For example, how will rugs, furniture, windows, and appliances all fit to create space that morphs from kitchen to dining area to living room? This can be a fun puzzle to solve and your interior designer can consult with you on how to achieve your end goals.