10 Questions To Ask Before Starting A Decorating Project
Raise your hand if you're getting ready to start a new decorating project! If you’re reading this, I'm guessing that you’re probably at least considering it, right? Whether it’s a single room or your whole house, design projects take a good bit of planning and there are a number of things you’ll want to think about before diving in! As a designer, I'm pretty well-versed in what it takes to pull of a successful project that you're going to be happy with for a long time, and I'm here to pass some of that wisdom along to you today! I guarantee you'll be much happier and satisfied with the outcome if you take some time to plan ahead.
To help you do that, I’ve got a bunch of questions (ten, in fact!) to guide you through the early planning stages - consider answering these questions before you even think about hitting "buy" on that new sofa or pick up a paint brush! After you've tackled these, you’ll be in a great position to take the next steps and put together a room you’ll love.
Let's get started with the first five of them below:
1. What’s motivating you to want to take on this project?
It’s probably a mix of reasons, but here are a few examples I've heard from my clients:
- You’re rocking a hodgepodge of mismatched furniture you’ve collected over the years and it feels like a disjointed mess. You're now ready for a more thoughtfully designed home.
- You’ve spent years prioritizing other rooms in the house and are finally giving yourself that ___ space you’ve been dreaming about.
- You just bought your first home and are ready to make it your own.
- Your tastes have changed and your home is no longer a reflection of who you are.
- Or how about it’s just time.
2. How will the changes affect your life?
Maybe you love to entertain, but have never had a space that’s set up well for that. Or maybe finishing your bedroom has always fallen to the bottom of your priority list and it looks straight out of the ‘90s. Take some time to think about what how these updates will affect you both practically and emotionally. The environment you live in makes a huge difference, trust me!
3. What needs to go? What needs to stay?
Ok, technically this is two questions, but you can’t have one without the other! Before you do anything, take an inventory of what you’re saying goodbye to and what’s sticking around. I would suggest grabbing a note pad and making a list for each, then go through the items that are leaving and decide if they’re worth selling, donating, or trashing.
4. Who uses the room/home and what activities take place there?
This can be an easy question to answer if you’re working on a bedroom or dining room, but might be trickier if the room has multiple purposes. For example, your living room may also need to include a work space or a kids’ play area. Whether you're single or you have a growing family, determining how the room functions is important.
5. How do you live life in your home?
Not to get too deep here, but before you click “buy” on that pretty new tufted sofa (or anything else for that matter), think about how you actually live in your home. Do you have young kids who tend to be messy? Do you currently work at the kitchen table, but long for a true office space where you can close a door at the end of the day? Are overnight visitors a common occurrence, but you’re kindasorta embarrassed by the room they have to stay in? The goal is to create a home you love to be in, that functions well, and that’s inviting to others, so if you haven’t thought through how you live, it’ll be hard to figure out how to decorate it.
All right! Are you feeling more prepared now? Those first five questions are big ones and I've got five more waiting for you in this printable guide! To grab your FREE copy, click the button below. It'll be delivered right to your inbox!
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