Planning Your Home Make-over

By Loretta Slater-Ramsay

Home decorating can be fun or frustrating, depending on how you go about it. Most of us want to live in attractive and comfortable surroundings, but can feel overwhelmed by the prospect of choosing styles, colors and furniture. Here are some easy-to-follow guidelines that will help you create the right home environment for you.

Floor Plans & the Budget

First, evaluate your home and your family lifestyle. How many people live there, how old are they, and what sort of activities take place at home? Is there adequate lighting for the different activities, whether reading, doing crafts, or watching television? Is the seating adequate for conversation, for reading, or for quiet time?

Make a Floor Plan

Developing a floor plan for the rooms you wish to change will not only make your decorating projects much easier, but will also ensure you are happy with the finished product. Buy some graph paper from your local stationary shop, and keep in mind that each ¼" (one square) is equal to one foot of floor space. Draw the outline of your room. Then mark in doors, windows, closets, plugs and registers. Be sure to write all your dimensions on your plan.

Now, make a list of the functions in each particular room to help you evaluate your furniture needs. List the furniture you want to keep, and which pieces you would like to replace in the future. Measure the pieces you are keeping and make cutouts by drawing them to scale on your graph paper and cutting them. Then, find some standard measurements of the furniture you are thinking of buying and do cutouts of them as well.

The floor plan is an excellent tool for making the room more useable as well as creating a more attractive environment. Move your cutout furniture around on the floor plan to see which layout works the best. It's much easier then moving the real furniture and will inspire new ideas you would never have considered otherwise. This will also help you in sizing different furniture pieces so when you buy a new chair or table you won't buy something too large or too small.

Start a file with this information. When you go shopping for new furniture, take your file and a measuring tape with the layouts and furniture sizes you have already decided will work best in your room.

Plan Your Budget

Don't expect an instant finished décor. Most of us are not in a financial position to everything all at once. Also, we are usually happier with the finished product as we take time to really explore our tastes and lifestyle needs. Work with what you have, and make changes as it is feasible to do so.

When you have a long-term plan and budget, you will know what the next step will be as you go long, and consequently the decisions you make will be more harmonious with your overall decorating scheme.

For example, you may have two chairs in the living room that you want to keep. The tables are okay but you would like to buy a better set at some point. The first priority is to buy a new loveseat. Start with the floor plan, move the furniture cutouts around allowing for the new loveseat and then re-arrange the actual room. The questions you should be asking yourself now will give you more direction in achieving your goals.

Loretta Slater-Ramsey A.D.I.D. is a designer / project manager with 25 years of experience, covering all disciplines of design with expertise in residential, show homes, office, light commercial, retail and new home customer selections. With a proven track record & professional attitude, Loretta takes pride on carefully guiding her clients through a step-by-step creative process - to achieve total customer satisfaction. Contact Loretta at: thecreativedesigner@hotmail.com