If you plan to buy a house or an apartment or you’ve already bought one, congratulations! This is a big step for you and you’ll finally have a place to call your own. Now, it is time that you get to another exciting part of buying a new home – the makeover. When you look at all the empty spaces that are desperate for a touch of style you might get overwhelmed with ideas and won’t know where to start from. Here are some tips that will help you kick off your interior design journey.

1. Set Your Budget

It is so easy to get carried away with all the furniture and décor. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself ordering what you need and what you don’t need. To limit your excitement for designing your new home, set a specific budget that you can spend at this time. Even though you need lots of stuff, you don’t have to get everything done at once. Start by setting your overall budget. After that, prioritize the changes that you truly need to make. Create a list of essentials and later you can add whatever else you need, depending on how much money you have left.

2. Get Inspired

Maybe you already have a vision of your dream home but if you don’t, the internet has your back. Platforms such as Pinterest can give you numerous ideas on how to decorate and redesign your home. You can create boards such as the living room, bedroom, dining room, or you can even narrow down the boards to specific decorations such as wall art, clocks, and similar. The numerous beautiful design ideas will let your creativity flow. You can even browse for DIY ideas and maybe eliminate some of the design costs by creating the decorations.

3. Test it Out

Instead of making rash decisions and regretting them later, it is better that you take your time and test out your ideas. Since the choices you make will impact your home’s design for a longer period it is better that you first do a trial run. If you are deciding among several paint options, make swatches on the wall and see how they act when affected by the light in that room. For furniture and paintings, you can use a tape to line out where those items will be and how they will look. Sometimes you can’t have a realistic idea of whether something is too big or too small for some areas of your home. That is why a tape is there to give you a better representation of the layout.

4. Focus on Good Lighting

Lighting can make a huge difference when it comes to ambience. Good lighting instantly brightens up a space, makes it more comfortable, and refreshing. Consequently, pay close attention to how you arrange the lighting in each room. The bedroom, for example, can have more dim and relaxed lighting, but areas such as the living room, dining room, study, and kitchen should have enough light so that the room presents a true combo of style and functionality. The basic three types of lighting are general, task and accent. Use or mix these types accordingly. Of course, natural light is just as important. So try to accentuate every natural source of light and let it illuminate the room. 

5. Express Yourself

You've probably envisioned your dream home numerous times. This is the time to make those dreams a reality! If you don't have the budget to pull everything through, you can make some adjustments, but never comply with simple functionality and usefulness rather than going with what you truly like. Remember that this is the place where you will come back to every day. That is why it should be an expression of yourself and make you feel comfortable and safe. 

6. Be Consistent with the Style

While you don't have to do the copy and paste style on all rooms, it is better for aesthetics if you keep all the designs connected. This is especially applicable to the rooms that are only partially separated. Just imagine how confusing it will be if your living room exudes with a monochromatic style while the next-door dining room has the color combo from the 70s. Style consistency will make your home more stylish and pleasant. If the numerous choices are making it hard for you to pick, it is better to give yourself some time and think through the decisions than to end up with the battle of styles in your lovely home.

7. Forget About the Hoarding

With a new home, you have a chance for a fresh start. This is your opportunity to throw out all the unnecessary things that you've been too hesitant to let go of. Think of this place as a clean slate and you don't want to crowd it with the stuff from the past. You can finally decorate your home the way you want. So, forget about partially broken nightstand you've been carrying around and get yourself some new stuff!

8. Refresh it with Greenery

There is just something about greenery that instantly gives life to a room. Besides, we can’t help but notice that it is also less expensive than buying some extravagant installations for your room corners. Plants can give a homier feel to any room. If you already have some plants you can just change the pots to match your new home’s style. Browse for the pots on markets and you can get some amazing deals.

9. Mix the Old and the New

You may not be in a position to spend lots of money on decorations but there is an alternative. Bring your décor from the previous place of living and try to incorporate it. First, make a selection of items that match your current home style since that is important. Then, you can simply rearrange them, for example, the paintings from the living room can go in the bedroom, or decorative bowl from the bedroom can go in the hall. Mixing and matching your old decorative pieces with new ones will save you some money and also, you’ll have several reminders of your life before this new home. 

10. Don’t Crowd It

Try to control your shopping sprees so that you don't end up with a bunch of stuff with no room to put it in. Cluttered spaces instantly look smaller and messier. Guessing that small and messy isn't the style you are going for, you need to be careful about the amount of furniture and décor that you'll add to each room. Rather than overdoing your home with many affordable pieces, choose a few high-quality ones that will last and make the space less cluttered. 

With all this being said, you are set to start off decorating and furnishing your new home. These are some essential interior design tips that you should keep at the back of your mind at all times. They will be your guide and direct you towards creating a home that you’ve always wished for.

Author Bio: Marques Coleman is a blog writer at GrabMyEssay and specializes in marketing and marketing and copywriting. Moreover, he is an avid traveler and always tries to learn something new.

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