You want your home to look beautiful and stylish, but you don’t have the money to hire an interior decorator.  In many cases, doing it yourself is best anyway, because your natural style preferences and personality come out.  This article deals with some of the things you should keep in mind when decorating your own home; you might consider this information the ‘do’s and don’ts’ of decorating.

Good Bets for Success

To make the most of your home, consider the architectural design and location.  Your goal should be to maximize the architectural assets of your home while incorporating your own unique style and personality.  This helps you achieve the perfect balance, and lessens the need to redecorate on a frequent basis.

Use a signature piece to decorate every room.  Whether modern, abstract or elegant, this piece can serve as the basis for decorating the room.  Once you have chosen a signature piece of wall art, for example, you can begin to incorporate colors, textures and design for the rest of the furnishings to complete the look.

Combine Various Design Elements

You want your home to be unique and appealing, right?  In order to accomplish a look that is totally yours you want to blend various design elements.  Wood pieces, bold patterns, stripes, plaids and florals can all be used together to add interest and depth to the room.  A wood floor is dazzling on its own; throw a couple of boldly hued geometric patterned rugs down and the floor comes to life!  Same thing for solid colored sofas and other furnishings – add boldly colored throw pillows and throws with varied patterns.

Pay particular attention to the scale of a room.  Furnishings should be of similar size and shape.  The repeated use of shapes, fabrics and colors helps bring the design of the room together, making it look as though it was professionally decorated.

A Few Things to Avoid

When you decide to decorate your own home, there are a few things you should not do.  For one, don’t let a friend or relative tell you how to decorate!  Of course you are willing to listen to their suggestions, but it is your home and the goal is for you and your family to feel comfortable and pleased with the décor and design.

Many people make the mistake of placing furniture against the walls leaving it spread out in order to give the room a more spacious appearance.  This is a mistake!  Furniture should be arranged in an intimate grouping, away from the walls.  Group your chairs, tables and sofa around a large area rug to give the room a more personal and welcoming look and feel.

Don’t Try to Display Everything You Own

You may have many collectibles you have picked up over the years.  Many people have an attic, basement or closet packed with their favorite accents and accessories.  When you decorate a room, don’t try to use them all.  This can give the room a messy and cluttered look.  Instead, save some of them for later!  You can refresh the room later on by switching out the old collectibles and decorating items for the ones you have stored.  Using less also helps add to the importance of each piece you have carefully selected to display.

Remember these tips the next time you feel a need to refresh and update your home.  You can have a professional look and feel – even when you do it yourself!

Many homeowners like to do their own decorating projects themselves. By doing your own decorating projects, you can ensure that your own style and personality come through your decorating. Here are 5 great DIY decorating projects that you can do for your home.

1. Paint the Walls
The easiest yet most effective way to give room a whole new look is by painting. Remember, the color of the walls is going to influence the entire room’s décor. If you begin a painting project, you want to be sure you do it properly and prepare the walls as needed. You may need to fill in any cracks and then sand them down, as you want the wall to be crack-free and smooth. You will need to first put on a coat of primer, and depending on the color and the saturation of the wall, you may have to put on a few coats of paint.

2. Install Molding on the Walls
With molding, you can instantly add a new touch to the walls. Molding will lend some interest and appeal to an otherwise boring wall. You have many choices of what type of molding you want. You might go with crown molding, which is installed at the top of the wall, or go a different route with a chair rail, which is installed in the middle. Before nailing it to the wall, paint or stain the molding first. The nail holes can then be touched up with paint afterward.

3. Personalize the Lampshades
If you can’t find the exact lampshade you’ve envisioned or just want to create something that shows your style, then consider designing your own lampshade. This is easier than it sounds. Simply take a white or cream-colored lampshade and cut figures or designs out of a dark paper such as black or red. Then tape the paper to the inside of the lampshade and you will have created a designer lampshade that reflects your own personal style. Add items to your lampshade such as embellishments and ribbon to personalize it as well.

4. Make Your Own Artwork for the Walls
Even if you can’t paint or draw very well, that doesn’t mean you can’t come up with your very own artwork to hang on the walls or to place on a shelf in one of your bookcases. You just need to get creative. You can look around and use items you already have. Look around for photographs, postcards, and book images that you can hang on the wall. Another easy idea is to put together a collage of items found in nature. Another simple project is to take a frame or blank canvas and wrap it in a patterned fabric that fits in with the room’s décor. If you choose two or three different patterns and different sized frames, you can hang them together in a cluster on the wall.

5. Make Your Own Window Treatments
If you aren’t handy with a sewing machine or a needle and thread, there are many different non-sewing techniques you can use to make your own curtains. To create instant interest around a window, simply take a long silk scarf and drape it over a window curtain. You might also consider using such things as placemats and tablecloths to create instant window treatments. If you do sew, then find a pattern you like, pick out the fabric, and create the window treatments you’ve always envisioned for your home.

A DIY decorating project doesn’t have to necessarily be difficult. If you’re looking to decorate your house in your own personal style, these are just 5 of the many different projects you can do for your home.