16 May Decorate your home like an interior stylist

Stylists are experts at turning bland houses into stunning homes that wouldn’t go amiss in the pages of home decor magazines. It’s therefore no surprise that interior stylists can offer great advice on how to best decorate your home.

Find your inspiration

Before you spend a cent on decoration, hit the internet and flip through magazines in search of references. Start filling your head with ideas for fabrics, paint colours and pieces of furniture, and let the thoughts percolate.

Create a guide

Once you’ve gathered your ideas, it’s time to create a clear plan of action. A good way of doing this is to put together a style guide for yourself. Examine your choices and ask what it is about them that you love the most. Create a list of your absolute favourite elements and keep it at hand as you start the shopping process. Don’t stray from this guide – make sure everything you purchase fits with your initial ideas.

Get physical

Gathering all your ideas in a digital document is great, but there’s nothing better than getting your hands on physical material such as fabric swatches and paint charts and wallpaper samples. These will give you a true indication of colours and a good handle on what the surface finish will be like.

Get lost in space

Allow yourself to ruminate on the room you’ll be decorating and how best to use the available space. Take your time. Have a look at how the light changes in the room during the day. Think about what the room will be used for – work, relaxation or fun. Get the swatches out and see how they fit.

Make a mix

To ensure your scheme remains as individual as you, don’t fill your room with all-new fixtures and fittings. Hunt around for vintage or retro pieces and scatter them about the space. For example, installing a well-used pine cupboard to contrast against your brand-new chest of drawers will bring an interesting feel to your bedroom.

Make big choices

Take your time when selecting large pieces of furniture. They cost a fair amount of money and therefore can’t be updated regularly, so make sure you’re happy with them (and that they fit in with your style guide). You can repaint walls or change cushion colours whenever you like, but furniture is the foundation.

More than a feeling

As a final touch, don’t forget to add texture to your decorations. Don’t get distracted by colours and patterns when there are interesting textures such as exposed brick walls or woven cane chairs to consider.