Questions to Ask Before You Decorate
Darren Palmer has a broad portfolio, having studied fine art & graphic design, originally working in advertising and owning his own graphic design company. After succumbing to his true passion, Darren now operates his own interior design studio and has been a judge on numerous seasons of The Block.
Style Advice: What to ask yourself before you begin your decorating project
Whether you are decorating a blank canvas or simply updating an existing room, below are the questions you should ask yourself to ensure your decorating project commences down the right path.
1. What are you trying to achieve?
Is it more space? Better amenities? A different style or mood? Are you simply trying to get the space to work by adding or subtracting the items that clash? Deciding on what your outcome is before you begin allows you to focus your creativity and budget allocations, as well as helps you identify what must happen to achieve the result you’re after.
2. How much do you want to spend?
Whether you’re spending time or spending money, both of these resources bring with them constraints. Sure, you can achieve things more cost effectively if you do all the work yourself, but you will be limited by your skill level and the amount of spare time you have. Conversely, any good tradesperson will tell you that anything is possible - it just takes money. Determine the outcome you want to achieve but do set investment parameters to ensure you don’t over capitalise on the revamp project.
3. What needs to stay?
Heirlooms, keepsakes, tradition, heritage - all the things that mean something to you or have been passed down that are treasured, are the things you need to work around when redesigning your space, so they have a sense of purpose and belonging. They need to be considered from the outset in the decoration process.
4. What needs to go?
Plowing through your belongings and editing anything that just doesn’t have the potential to “work” with your redesign is liberating and should be done with gusto.
Keep only the things that are going to add to or enhance the space you’re decorating – it will leave you the best possible base from which to build your ideal look.
5. What’s your palette?
The palette narrowly refers to the colours and materials you want to use to reflect all the constraints that you have when you answer the questions above. The palette, more broadly, can incorporate the style, period, trend or mood you want to create. To create you own mood check out my previous style story HOW TO CREATE A MOOD BOARD for some inspiration to get you started.
Having a clear vision of what the finished result should be will give you the best possible chance to make good decisions to tie your space together, working with the things
you decide to keep and adding new items to really make your room sing.
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