Decorating Tips and Tricks to Give Clients

As an interior decorator, you know how essential your role is in helping clients conceive of his ideas of “home” and making those concepts into livable and enjoyable realities. You can be instrumental in making a room both fabulous and functional.

However, there are still some basic tips and tricks you can give as freebies to your clients as they continue on with their journey of decorating their homes:

Choose your color scheme. If your client is tired of a room’s current look, he can start his makeover with a new color palette. To help you choose a color that works for you, you can look at inspiration boards and magazines. Your color palette should have a combination of 3 shades or colors. The general rule of thumb in using a color palette is to use the dominant color in 60% of the elements of the room, the secondary color in 30% of the room and the accent color in 10 percent of the room.

Play up with your walls. Using your color palette, you can use a combination of shades of the same color to provide a sense of depth, where you have one wall serving as an accent color. You can also use a single color but with a different paint finish (i.e. semi-gloss paint on trim and matte walls). When painting the rooms in the first floor, it is recommended to stick to one color palette for the walls, usually neutral colors. This provides a sense of flow and makes the room seem more spacious. The ceiling can use a slightly lighter hue to provide a brightening effect.

Use statement furniture pieces. Invest in some good pieces that you like, enjoy and are proud of. These should be big statement pieces that you can use and can feel comfortable in and that reflect your personality. These statement furniture pieces will be the “anchor” of the room, with other smaller furniture pieces serving as accessories. Avoid using too much small pieces, which can only result in a cluttered look.

Accent your statement furniture. For instance, you can accent your couch with carefully selected throw pillows. You need one lumbar pillow, two large (20-inch) square pillows and two small (16-inch) square pillows. The large pillows will have matching bold pattern and will be at the corners. The two smaller pillows in a solid color will overlap these large pillows. The long lumbar pillow falls at the middle for balance – use a subtle pattern for this pillow.

Use mirrors. Each room should have at least one mirror. Mirrors serve to “multiply” light and give a warmer atmosphere to the room. An oversized mirror in a rectangular or oval picture frame can be an easy way to incorporate mirrors. The position of the mirrors should be perpendicular to and not directly across the windows, so that light from the window is bounced back into the room, rather than going out the window.

Add decorative storage. This dual-purpose tool allows you to display knickknacks while maintaining an uncluttered look. You also get to keep books and photo albums close at hand. These are also decorative, adding to the aesthetic value of the room. These can be floating shelves, freestanding shelves, side tables and ottomans with storage space.

Add artwork and photographs on the walls. Artwork and photos that compliment the overall look of the room do not only fill up wall space but also add more personality and decorative flair. What is important is that you hang these pieces at the right height – just where the eyes usually fall. For the living room, the lowest edge of the frames should be from three to eight inches above the sofa. Choose picture frames that match and complement the artwork as well as the walls. For instance, a classic landscape artwork will be further enhanced by a vintage picture frame.

Arrange the furniture on a rug. There are three ways to use an area rug. For a large enough run, the sofa’s four legs and be on top of the rug. For a medium-sized rug, you can only put the front feet of the sofas and chairs to define the space of the living area. For a small room, the legs of the sofa and chairs need not be on the rug – these legs should just be almost touching the rug.

Call in the pros. Once the homeowner has the basics, he can call in a professional interior decorator to make the finishing touches or too clean up any clutter that results.