How to plan your room like an Interior Designer
Design the layout first…
Layout! For me it’s always layouts that I start with, drawing out floorplans to scale and working out what will actually fit furniture-wise. This way you know your dimensions and how the space will flow and then you can proceed to plan the layout accordingly and actually buy furniture to the correct scale! As an Interior Designer I use software programmes but a good old fashioned pencil and grid paper will do the trick. As long as it’s all drawn to scale you’ll do fine and it’ll really help you avoid costly mistakes like buying the wrong size sofa!
Example of one of my floorplans drawn on a computer programme.
Create a concept
Sounds a bit fancy smanchy doesn’t it but it basically means to decide on a colour, texture and finishes scheme. I do mine digitally getting snips from pinterest and arranging them on a board until I’m happy it’s a belter. If everything on that board goes and has harmony and then you select things ONLY that align with the board colours and finishes you just can’t go wrong. One of the biggest mistakes I see from people is viewing things in isloation and liking them but not thinking if they go with other things in the room and are akin to those - this is the fastest way to design malalignment.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about here let me break it down a little bit.
Pick some colours you like for your concept board 2-3 to start and one can be a neutral.
Pick a fabric you like - is that linen or wool or cord or velvet.
Pick a wooden tone perhaps this will be the floor or a furniture piece.
Pick a metal finish you like for switches, sockets and light fittings.
Once you’re at the point you like grab images of things that represent them - this is the beginnings of a concept.
Still mystified by colour read my blog entry all about colour theory and which ones go well together.
See how there’s lots of different elements here. If this were for a lounge I see a velvet sofa here with deeper wood toned floor and perhaps a glass coffee table and deep rich curtains on a very neutral backdrop.
Design the details
Now you have the layout and the concept selecting furniture and items will be much easier as long as you stick to them. I urge you now to stop scrolling for inspiration and start to pull together items based on the chosen colour and finishes scheme. I’m pretty sure it’ll start to fall in to place for you pretty quickly for you. Start with the wall colours and bigger furniture items first then move on to smaller pieces, art and accessories next. I cannot stress enough how now is not the time to deviate from the plans and go rogue - stick to the programme people! Also check out this reel I made showing the best colour proportions to use.
Also, don’t forget that rooms grow and evolve over time and you will continually see items and things that will go in there and it’s totally OK to add over many months and years and switch things up to keep the interest alive but the beauty of avoiding deviating from the plan means anything you now buy will sink in to the space as if it was always there!
It’s a relatively short one from me this week as I prepare to escape to the South of France for a few days but if you want more info I’ve written a guide with everything you need to know when planning a room scheme. Click here to sign up to receive one and also be added to my newsletter which I send fortnightly with a round up of what’s been happening at the studio, my top Interior Design tip of the fortnight and what I’ve been reading/listening to.
Thanks for reading and supporting,
Claire