Just as there are many reasons to hire an interior designer, we know that there are just as many reasons that someone might not want or be able to hire one. Whether you’re saving money or you’re more of a DIY-er, we still want to help you have a beautiful home that is suited to your personality and needs. There is so much more to interior design than people realize, and at the end of the day, good design is not just about having a pretty home. It’s also about having a space that is suited to you and the way that you live your life. Today, we are sharing our best tips for evaluating and planning your home like an interior designer.

Decide on a Concept & Stick With It

Whether the interior style you’re going for is dictated by the architectural style of your home, by your personal preference, or another source of inspiration, it’s important to choose a concept and stick to it. Having design styles, inspiration images, or general color schemes in mind while you’re starting this process will help you not get too overwhelmed by all of the different decisions that you will need to make along the way. Deciding on a concept before you start clarifies what your goals are, which will help you make decisions at each stage. We recommend spending a great deal of time getting to know what you really like, and what you want your design goals to be before you start this process. That way, once you have a concept you can execute it with confidence, knowing that this is the type of space that you really want to create.

Curate your ideas

Both before and during the interior design process, it’s crucial to have a place to put your ideas. If you have no idea what kind of look and feel you want for your home, start looking at design inspiration on sites like Pinterest. Exposing yourself to a lot of different types of home inspiration can be a great place to start understanding what styles you like and dislike, and what you’d like your concept to be.

Educate yourself

As you work through the home design process, there are going to be things that you know about already, as well as areas where you might not know anything. This is true to some extent for our team as well! We spend a lot of time researching and educating ourselves about what is out there, and how we best translate our client’s vision into their dream homes. Two of the books that we recommend for beginning your research are Marianne Cusato’s Get Your House Right and Clarkson Potter’s The Interior Design Handbook.

Don’t let Emotions get in the Way

When an interior designer is working on a home, they have the privilege of not being emotional about it. They aren’t seeing sentimental spaces or feeling stressed about it because this is our job. When you’re working on designing your own house, it’s harder to take the emotional aspect out of it. Try to separate yourself from the project as much as possible. Designers are thinking about what is truly working or not working in a space. They aren’t getting caught up in feeling sentimental about it, and you’ll have your best ideas when your judgment isn’t clouded by emotions around your home.

Plan it out at the same time

Even if you’re actually renovating each room one at a time, we recommend that you plan it all out before you get started. Figure out the furniture you’re buying, all of the paint colors, and the fixtures before you start making any changes. Each room will affect the others in the house, so if you’re thinking about one room at a time, they might end up not working well together. Think about your home holistically, and what you would like to feel and do in each space. No room in your home exists in a vacuum, so they need to be designed as a whole. The rooms in your home should complement each other and work in harmony together.

Pay Attention to How you LIve

Good design is much more than having a pretty home. A well-designed home is one that works for you and supports you in your day-to-day life. As you’re planning your interior design project, pay close attention to what is and isn’t working in your current living situation. Do you have enough storage for your books, your kid’s toys, and other belongings? If not, where is your current storage lacking? Where are your current organizational systems breaking down? Is there a corner full of shoes by the front door that is driving you crazy? Pay attention to how you live, what isn’t working, and what you might be able to implement to better support your life.

Think carefully about the size of your home

As you are looking at buying new furniture pieces, pay close attention to the size of your rooms. Having smaller rooms means that you’ll need to buy smaller furniture pieces. Even if they technically fit in the room, the look and feel of the space can be thrown off by a piece of furniture being too large or too small. If you have a large space to work with, consider breaking it up into smaller living areas through your furniture arrangements. This will help ensure that you’re furniture is not feeling too small for the space.

Remember that Paint Matters

We’ve talked about this on our blog before, but it’s important to be very careful about the paint colors that you choose for your home. Make sure that all of the paint colors work well together, and think about how each paint color affects your mood. We have shared some of our favorite paint colors in the past (click here for blues, greiges, exterior paints, as well as our go-to paint colors), but we don’t recommend that you use any of them before you’ve tried them out in your own home.

Don’t be afraid of Color & Texture

To really bring in a designed element to your space, make sure to utilize color, pattern, and texture. If you’re scared of too much color, keep your larger furniture pieces and paint neutral, and then incorporate color through accessories, art, and natural elements. Design is truly in the details, so you’ll want to make sure that you are not ignoring art and accessories in your home. Those are the elements that really tie a space together, and help it feel like it has been designed.

Make it personal to you

At the end of the day, your home is for you! Think about what you love, and the look and feel that you’d like to achieve in your home. It doesn't need to look a specific way, and it definitely doesn’t need to look a certain way to impress other people.