Design tips for a surf shack-themed home office, anyone? Watch this video.
Tips for a Change in Design
When you are thinking of a makeover for your home, hopefully you have given it a lot of thought especially if the new style is different from the current one, for example, from a Scandi interior style to a boho look. First of all, you should be able to answer why you are changing the look. What is the purpose? If the reason is because your tastes have changed and not because you want to copy your neighbor’s style, then I wish you all the best. Just make sure that the reason for wanting something else is because you want it, and you can see how the new design would fit your lifestyle better or because aesthetically it fits the new you.
1. Create a visual board.
Make a visual board for your ideas. The one above is for a beach house. You can have a scrapbook where you keep cutouts of ideas for the new look, or make a mood board with your color palettes and materials, You can use a platform like Pinterest to easily pin photos to flesh out the kind of home design you’d like. It’s always good to bring in more details because that gives tangibility to your ideas.
Check out the mood boards we created in the Boysen Pinterest page. Click on this link.
2. Check your existing furnishings.
See what items you can reuse in your makeover. Maybe they need to be upcycled like an old skimboard made into a pegboard. If you like the style and lines of your old sofa, you can have it reupholstered to make it look like new. Repainting furniture is also a good way to refresh it. If there are decor items that no longer fit the new style, you can either sell it or give it away.
3. Avoid being too thematic.
Being thematic is good because it pins down historical details and guides you how to give substance to a specific design movement you aspire to. However, if it becomes too slavish, then it may be troublesome. Do remember that you are not doing some production design for a film or play, or designing a venue for a party. This is your home you are creating so give yourself some room to be refreshing and unique. As long as you keep to the 80-20 rule in interior design which talks about how to combine two architectural styles, then you should be fine.
I called it decorating with a light hand in this post regarding the coastal interior style. You can have some decor that has beach associations like seashells or fake coral, but don’t overdo it.
4. Choose your paint colors to fit your interior style.
Paint is the easiest and most cost effective way to change the impact of a room. When you choose a certain theme, certain colors are associated with it, like having white and light neutrals for the Scandi style, or bold colors associated with the Memphis design movement of the 80s, or pastels associated with the 50s that are now making a comeback in kitchen appliances.
Boysen offers thousands of colors that it can get overwhelming. To get a better feel of the impact of colors, visit The Color Library in MOA Square (a few steps away from the IKEA entrance on the second floor), and like Ellen and Derek discover that it is as easy as pick-mix-and-paint. Not sure what exact shade to pick? Get yourself 200 mL cans of the different colors you are considering and paint them on the walls of the room you are thinking of renovating.
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