Donkey God

When it comes to home decorating, it’s difficult to know where
to begin. Like an artist with a blank canvas, you look at the
room you’ve chosen to decorate and try to envision the finished
masterpiece. However, with a plethora of home decorating styles
from which to choose, that vision can be fuzzy. You may even
feel overwhelmed by the possibilities and paralyzed by the
thought that you’ll make choices you won’t be able to live with.
When that’s the case, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.

The first step in home decorating is to define your personal
taste and style. Invest your time in looking through magazines
and cutting out pictures of home decorating styles, furniture,
and accessories that appeal to you. Once you have a collection
of several dozen pictures, lay them out in front of you. You’ll
begin to notice a pattern of the style that appeals to you. Are
you attracted to the dark wood of antique furniture, or to the
minimalist lines of modern furniture? Do you imagine yourself
surrounded by the muted colors and furniture that remind you of
a beach house, or by rich colors and the ornate elegance of the
Victorian era?

Once you’ve defined your personal taste and home decorating
style, choose a room in your home to redecorate. Although you
may want to tackle every room in your house, choosing only one
will keep you from becoming overwhelmed.

Once you’ve selected a room, it’s time to choose the one item
upon which you’ll build the remainder of the design. This may be
a single piece of furniture that already own and love, an
antique reproduction that you treasure, or something as simple
as a handcrafted piece that you purchased while on vacation. The
item you choose may not be the centerpiece of the finished room,
but it will serve as your inspiration for the room’s décor.

Next, you’ll need to select the wall color. Since it’s next to
impossible to have a sense of what the entire room will look
like from a paint chip, buy a quart of paint in the color you
like. Then, cut several pieces of cardboard into 18-inch
squares, paint the cardboard, and hang one on each wall. Live
with those paint swatches for a few days, noticing how the feel
of the room changes with morning light, afternoon light, and
artificial lighting. Once you’ve decided that’s a color you
love, you should go ahead and paint the room. Remember that
there are a variety of texturing and patterning techniques you
can use to bring more vibrancy and life to the color of the
paint.

When selecting furniture for your room, keep your inspirational
piece in mind. An antique reproduction of a Chippendale chair
may be the perfect accompaniment to your treasured area rug, but
an antique reproduction of a French armoire won’t fit if your
room is inspired by a 1950s Havana cigar box. Likewise, you
should select furniture that fits your lifestyle. A white sofa
isn’t a good solution if your dark-haired pooches will be
sleeping on it.

Home decorating is both fun and rewarding. Best of all, your
finished room will be a reflection of your personality and
lifestyle - and will make coming home a sweet experience.