Beginners in interior design often feel intimidated by the seemingly endless rules that apply to every aspect of decorating such as lighting, furniture placement, coordinating colors and patterns, working with scale and accessorizing. The best way to overcome this feeling of intimidation and create great looking rooms is to start with the basic interior design tips for beginners in each decorating category. And of course, start with designing your own space before applying what you've learned to other people's homes.
The first step is to figure out what you love. One of the best interior design tips for beginners is to look through a large stack of decorating magazines and get in touch with all the accent pieces and furniture you love. Cut or tear these out of the magazine without thinking about what you think you should like or whether the pieces you choose mix well together. Don't analyze why a particular piece of furniture appeals to you, just cut the item out of the magazine. An excellent way of understanding which colors you love is to go to a paint store and look at all the paint chips to notice all the colors that really attract you.
The next step is to choose a color scheme. One of the most well-known interior design tips for beginners and experts alike is to stick to a maximum of three colors. Make sure that the colors you choose work with the wood tones, amount of natural light, lighting fixtures and other things in the room that you can't or don't want to change. Consider where you need to add color and take the time to decide how you will execute your color scheme. If you need inspiration for patterns and colors you enjoy, look to your favorite pieces of clothing for further ideas.
The final step is to trim down your furniture and accessories to only what you need and love. If your belongings don't fit into those two categorizes, don't hang on to them as the result is unnecessary clutter no matter how you look at it. Either you need or love certain furnishings, lighting and accessories — hopefully both! All of the items should fit in with the theme or mood of the room and don't worry too much about measuring scale yet. One of the most helpful interior design tips for beginners is to keep larger pieces in larger rooms and smaller pieces in smaller rooms.
