Decorating Tips Without an Interior Decorator

Proportion and Scale

• When furnishing and decorating a room, it is important to keep proportion and scale in mind. This means that you need to balance the size of your room with the size of the items you are putting in it. A large room looks best with at least a few large pieces, while a small room would look cramped and uncomfortable with the same large pieces. Choose furniture that makes a presence in your room without overwhelming the space or making it difficult to walk through the room. Also, keep the amount of collectibles or purely decorative items in balance with the size of the room. A small room will look cluttered with many collectibles, while a large room will look attractively decorated.

Color Scheme

• Choose a color scheme that appeals to you and makes you feel comfortable. While there are endless combinations of colors you can use to decorate, it is generally best to limit a room to two or three major colors, and one to three colors used as accents. Bright colors are wonderful accents but can be overwhelming if used as the major colors of a room. Establish a palette of warm or cool colors, as your room will look mismatched if combining the two. Warm colors have an underlying tone of yellow, while cool colors have an underlying blue base. Even neutrals, such as brown, tan or gray, have a cool or warm undertone.

Contrast

• Contrast creates interest in decorating. A room with all the same color, texture, materials or sizes of furnishings and decorations is boring. Create contrast by choosing items that are harmonized in color scheme but that contrast in textures, materials or size. A smooth leather couch is complemented by a shaggy area rug. Highly polished wood is set off by a vase with dry flowers or spiky branches. When displaying collectibles, vary the size of items to make the collection interesting to look at.

Balance

• A balanced room has furniture and decorations arranged in a way that feels even and makes the room look as if everything is properly placed. In a formal style, the balance is symmetrical, with similar objects spaced evenly. For example, a couch with a coffee table in front and two matched chairs evenly spaced on either side. An asymmetrical look is informal but still balanced, with items that are not similar positioned to work well together. For example, a couch with a coffee table in front, a chair to one side, and an ottoman or small cabinet on the other side. By keeping the furnishings and decorations of a room balanced in spacing, size and appearance, the room maintains an attractive, stylish feel.