Learn the Interior Design Basics
And Get It Right...
Learn how to use interior design basics - and create a Sample Board.
You can try out your interior design ideas - and make sure they work - before you waste your money.
- Now you have all your interior design ideas and home decorating schemes about ready to spill out of your head.
Next, we are going to go, what I call: "Window Shopping".
(Nothing to do with buying curtains - check out the appropriate section for that.)
- It's actually one of the interior design basics - creating a sample board. It's so that you know your design looks great and really works, before you spend the money. I always like to make sure that the colors, wallpapers, furniture and fabric, that I have drooled over in the catalogues, shops and on the internet, will all really work in my scheme - before I spend a lot of money, get it home, and then realise it doesn't really work.
- I always find it difficult to go from shop to shop, and look at different items, under different lighting. If only I could look at them all together, and see how they look against each other, under the lighting at home - in the room where they will actually (hopefully) end up.
- This is why professional interior designers come up with sample boards. Partly to show their clients the design - but partly for themselves - just to 'make sure'.
- Sample boards really are an interior design basic - so create one of your own. I'll show you how. I think it is an essential part of the planning and final decision making process of your home interior design scheme. You have come up with a unique and unusual design, that's right for you and your home. Wouldn't you rather 'make sure,' before spending your hard earned cash on another thing that ends up looking not quite right. (Oh yes, I do speak from experience here!)
Creating a sample board is really easy to do.
- Simply 'shop about,' and collect samples of all possible products you are considering for your interior design scheme.
- Try to get samples of as many aspects of your design as possible - including wallpaper, paint, fabrics for cushions, cushions, sofas, chairs and flooring.
- If you can't get a sample - cut a picture out of a brochure, or take a photo of an important piece of furniture, painting or accessory, that you want to use in your interior decorating scheme.
So, ready to use these interior design basic skills to create your own sample board?
- Use an A3 sized piece of card to place the samples on.
- It is a good idea to paint a background on the card with a tester pot of the color paint you intend to use.
- Cut the samples out neatly.
- Position the samples on the card in the approximate position they would be in the room - flooring at the bottom, wallpaper and curtains at the top, sofa and cushions in the middle.
- The size of each sample should be the approximate size they would be in the room - the flooring should cover about the bottom third, wallpaper a top quarter, curtains the other top quarter, sofa and cushions in the middle - with the cushion fabric sample much smaller than the sofa sample.
- Don't forget to view the sample board in the room itself - to check the effects of natural and artificial lighting on your scheme.
Some Examples of Sample Boards
If you are not redesigning the complete room, (or if you can't be bothered to cut the samples and arrange them neatly,) at the very least gather as many samples as you can, and arrange them together in the room, with existing pieces of furniture, flooring and fabric.
Looking good?
Of course it is!
If you are not sure, don't be afraid to tweak your interior design scheme and try out other options.
I want you to be happy with your interior design basics - and your design choices - and confident that they will work for you and your home.
When you are happy - Shop!!
That's just it - don't forget to keep your budget in mind though....
Once you have shopped for your lovely new things, you need to think about actually doing the work. Why not check out this section of the home decorating guide, to learn about how you should think about organizing the work, and the order in which the work should be done.
You should now be feeling confident that you have mastered such interior design basics - as decorating with color, layout and arranging furniture, generating your own quality interior design ideas, and styles. Click on the links if you could do with a recap on any topic.
Or if you want any more interior design advice - check out all the other interesting and practical sections of this useful home decorating guide, including our room-by-room guides. Read up on loads of interior design basics and interior decorating tips.Return to the checklist of interior design tips.
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