Planning
Some
basic decisions have to be made at this stage, but the
budget and the circumstances will determine whether you are
starting from scratch ,or changing rooms.
Starting
from scratch we will deal with one room here as an example.
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If contractors are to be involved in this process then more information
on how to use them can be found
in
managing contractors.
Lets start from with the assumption that you have taken into account the
users and the uses of
the room (see remit) and that the room is now ready to decorate and
furnish |
But what to buy first?
Bearing in mind the constraints of course, try to form a picture of yourself in the finished room.
Imagine how you want to feel in it. Is it cosy? Is it relaxed? Is it
safe, serene, stimulated cheerful outgoing? If you can imagine how you want to feel in the room, then
when you head out to find the different pieces to build it up,
hopefully you will see something that inspires that feeling
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Maybe you can see the colours.
If so then it is always a good idea to start with the
items that cost a lot of money. The flooring can be a good place
to start. Don’t buy yet. Get samples of your choice
and several shades around and about it. Carry them everywhere.
Now you need to fall in love with something. It can be the sofa or a
table or a fabric.
Lets say for example you fall for a fabric. Looking at it helps you to
see this room . Visualize how it will look. What fabric
treatment it lends itself to. A picture is building up already
and there should be a style emerging as the elements come
together.
Don’t buy the fabric yet. Add the sample or samples to the pack and
move onto the sofas say. Always measure furniture so that you
can place it on your floor plan later to see if it’s
practical.
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When you have put all the elements together one by one you can fine tune
it. Would that combination look better on the lighter carpet?
Would that sofa be better in that fabric?
Once these decisions are made, and
this should be exciting and fun, you can then order the
goods.
Overhead lighting and wall lighting should have been taken into account
in the early stages under contractors, but table lamps and
pictures and mirrors and ornaments are now the icing on the
cake.
When you move these items into place the room is finally how you
envisioned. |
"I’d like to say here that if you love something to bits, it can be a
picture or an ornament or a special piece of furniture, this can be
as good a starting point as any."
Many a room has been worked up from something like this.
Changing rooms is about working with or around existing elements
Assuming that this means you are changing only some
aspects of a room and are working around an existing
situation:
It could be the carpet that has to stay, or the furniture. It could be
that you want them to stay.
Maybe you just want to freshen up the colour, or change the sofa, or the
curtains.
Which ever of these scenarios apply, the hints given in from scratch will help.
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The difference here is that you start with an item or elements that
can’t change and so you are up and running already.
Take the elements you have and clear away in your mind the elements that
can go.
Try and bring it back to only what will be there in the end and work the
room up again from there.
Look at our style and treatment pages if you’re fed up with the look.
If you want to change the mood think colours. |
Always remember the floor plan and measuring and always carry with you
whatever you can to match up against. You can even pick up carpet
fluff if you have to and stick it on some cellotape to keep it
safe. Carry about a cushion or a tie back or a paint colour. You may
seem eccentric but who cares.
The
Remit | The Look |
Measuring |
Managing the Budget |
Managing the Project |
Managing the Contractors
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