Interior Design Tips

Posted on August 31st, 2018

Here are some interior design tips that you can use to spruce up your home in 2018. We’ve covered paint colours, furniture placement, lighting and décor.

Paint

Depending on the effect that you want to achieve from a room, the colour of paint that you use will differ wildly. Paint colour can also be affected by the shape or position of the room. If you’re struggling to come up with palette ideas, then try out this handy colour palette generator.

Mood

Think about how you would like to feel in the room. Is that feeling calm? Energetic? Creative? Whatever your vision, colour matters. For example, warmer colours such as red, orange and yellow inspire energy and discussion, and are best in areas like the living room, kitchen, or dining areas. By contrast, cool colours such as green, blue and purple inspire calm and creativity, and so are best in rooms like a bedroom, bathroom or study.

Shape

As we mentioned, the shape of the room can affect how you paint it. You can use colour strategically in order to make a room look longer, wider, taller, etc, and this works by tricking the eye to perceive shape differently. Generally speaking, darkness closes in and light opens up. This means that if you want to take the eye away from a long, harrowing corridor, you should paint the shorter walls a dark colour and the longer walls a light colour. In doing so, you will ‘open up’ the narrow hall and ‘close in’ the ends of the hallway, making it appear shorter and wider. The same concept can be applied to height – if you want ceilings to appear taller, paint them white. You can even use stripes to give the illusion of height.

Position

The position of a room can alter the colour of the light that enters it, which then impacts the colour you should paint it. If the room faces away from the sun, the little light that enters it will be cool-toned and so will wash out warm colours. The room will also tend to be darker. To fix this, that particular room would do well with pale, cool colours, which will brighten the area and compliment the lighting. Buy a few tester pots and paint 2”x2” squares of your desired paint colour on the wall to see how it looks in the morning, evening and night.

Furniture Placement 

The rooms in your home will all undoubtedly contain very different pieces of furniture. However, there are a couple of tips on furniture placement that apply to all rooms. These basic interior design elements will help to create a sense of cohesiveness and organisation.

Symmetry

This is by far the easiest way to make a room look put together. Our eyes are naturally drawn to symmetry and we enjoy the look of things that are symmetrical by design. You can incorporate this into your home by simply buying pairs of the same furniture and placing them opposite or adjacent to each other, or by using similarly-sized furniture on both sides of a room in a mirrored effect.

Front and centre

Many peoples’ furniture have a phobia of the centre of the room; they tend to cling to the walls and corners. If this is your furniture, then maybe you need to have an intervention. Placing furnishings just away from the walls, or even in the middle of the room, can have a very chic and designer feel. Try it out for yourself and see the difference that it makes.

Lighting 

Perhaps the hardest thing to get right in interior design is lighting. This is because lighting relies on so many factors, such as the size of the room, the shape and position, the paint colours, the intended use of the room, and many more. Choosing the wrong lighting can even make your paint job look muddy. Since the possibilities are endless, here are just a few things to consider to help you on your way.

Room size and shape

As you may expect, larger rooms will need a lot more lighting than smaller rooms. Large, open areas could have something as grand as a chandelier, whereas a smaller area may struggle to fit even a lamp. However, the shape of the room is what will be the biggest contester of design. Awkward corners or cut-outs will leave dark areas within the space, so try placing a lamp or drop light in these spaces to reveal them.

Room position

Room position has more to do with the light temperature than the amount of light. For example, a dark room will tend towards cooler colours and may suit large, cool-coloured lights to brighten and compliment it. The opposite is also true; bright, sunny rooms will tend towards warmer colours and so will only need small, warm-coloured lights. Look for bulbs that have 4,000K – 10,000K for a cool effect, or 1,000K – 4,000K for a warmer effect.

Paint colour

We’re going to assume that the paint colour you have selected is in line with the room’s intended use. From that assumption, we’re going to talk about colour and use as the same thing. So, if your room is painted in a warm colour, then try to find lighting that is also warm. This will further accentuate the mood of the room and bring it all together. Choose bold, bright lighting for rooms with a cool colour palette to bring life and energy into them.

Décor 

Adding a few décor pieces is by far the most fun past of interior design. This is where you can let your personality really shine though, and the design possibilities are endless. However, to help keep you from going too crazy, here are a few tips to follow.

Pick a theme

You may think this is going the extra mile – and it is – but choosing a theme for a room will automatically make it look more cohesive. The theme should encompass your colour palette and give you something to go off of when buying décor pieces. Possible theme ideas include bohemian, rustic, grunge, minimal, or industrial.

Odd groups

Similar to the idea of symmetry, our brains prefer to see things in odd-numbered groups. This could be a stand-alone vase, a group of 3 candles, or even a collection of family photos.

Keep it simple

As Coco Chanel once said, “Less is more”. It can be tempting to buy every piece of décor that catches your eye, but do try to focus on the big picture rather than the small details. This will give your home an organised, considered look rather than a cluttered, unplanned one.

We hope you enjoyed reading our blog post on interior design tips for 2018. At Seddon Homes, our interior design team are specialists in creating the ideal family home. We work hard to come up with creative design ideas to please our customers.

If you would like to see our expertise in the flesh, why not book a viewing at one of our new home developments? We’re sure to have something for everyone and we are constantly looking for new locations to build.

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