If you are thinking about renovating or decorating your home, you are probably overwhelmed by the options you have. A kitchen, for starters, could be designed with many different ideas in mind: modern, country, vintage 50s, Scandinavian, etc.
Image: Susan Serra CKD / Flickr
When you start looking for design ideas, you inevitably feel pressured to put the latest and greatest things in your kitchen. Will you go for white shaker-style cabinets? Or brushed steel? Are they already out of fashion? And what is everyone else doing this year?
If you have any of these questions swirling around your head, you need to put the paint roller down immediately. Follow these three simple tips to detox from Design Mania.
1. Design for you
The quickest and easiest way to get off the style treadmill – and to create a look that you will be happy with for years – is to create something that speaks authentically to your inner preferences. Some designers even get their clients to create “mood boards” to help them articulate their desires. These are simple collages of images that make you feel happy and safe.
For instance, a mood board might include pictures of a beach, a romantic dinner for two, warm fuzzy socks, and bath salts. This might sound like it has nothing to do with designing, but using these images as inspiration will help you ground your design decisions in your true preferences. For instance, you might use soft pastels reminiscent of the beach for parts of your kitchen, and lighting options that can create a romantic mood.
2. Design to improve your life
If your friend is getting a double wall oven, you might feel it is necessary to get one, too. After all, what if you run into a situation where it becomes embarrassing that you don’t have one?
Step out of that mind-set immediately. Everyone lives their lives differently, so it is important to look at how you actually live yours. Before you redesign, look at how you use your room, and see if anything is not being used to its full potential. For instance, when you wash your dishes, are you walking half way across the kitchen with them before you put them away? Do you have no counter space next to your oven? Do you wish you had more drawers?
Find solutions for these problems with your redesign. It may not be as glamorous as adding that feature that everyone else has, but it will make your life easier, and your rooms more comfortable to live in.
3. Get the details right
If you are still dying to impress your friends with your design savvy, there is one thing to remember: details separate the fakes from the real thing. Often, when people use design mags or follow trends, they notice the big things – like crystal chandeliers and marble countertops – and miss the little things, like knobs or faucets. But the details are where you show how truly committed you are to making your newly designed home look great. Put as much heart and soul into the little things as you do the big things, and it’ll help you avoid design trend overload.
Heleen Jacobsen
Broker of Record with InfoMarket Group GMAC Real Estate
www.infomarketgroup.com
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