Studies show that the most popular definitions of a happy home are a space where you feel secure (69 percent), a place for relaxation (64 percent) and a space where you can be free to be yourself (57 percent). When it comes to making a home feel like a home and feel comfortable, interior design is a big reason why.
The interior design industry generates $10 billion annually as homeowners buy living room furniture, do remodeling projects or redecorate to spruce things up in a home. This is especially true of new homeowners. In a 2014 survey, millennial homeowners were just as likely to renovate their homes as other age groups and were driven by a desire to make a newly purchased home their own.
Whether you’re redecorating, renovating or redesigning, here are five tried and true tips to think about when doing interior design in your home.
- Add color: Adding color to a room, whether by adding a new coat of paint or going with a unified color scheme can really liven it up. If you’re redecorating a bedroom for example, consider matching the blinds with the bedspread and maybe a throw rug. Depending on your tastes, you can color coordinate a room as much as you want and even have a different color scheme for each room of the house.
- Add texture: Depending on how you want to set up a room, adding texture can add a lot to it. Adding touches like plants or rugs or furniture or a coffee table with a tabletop book puts things in the room, things that people can see and touch. There’s nothing quite like curling up on the sofa with a good book and adding texture like an end table at either end of a sofa can make the room even more comforting.
- Invest in furniture: A big part of interior design is furniture. In fact, furniture and home furnishing stores generated more than $106 billion worth of sales in 2015. Whether you’re looking for a comfy sofa as part of your living room furniture set or vintage furniture for a home office, there are plenty of options available.
In a survey of over 2,000 consumers, 95.1% said that they “expect furniture to last for many years.” In that same survey of over 2,000 consumers, 72.7% of respondents agreed that, “The design of my furniture reflects my personality,” and 67% of respondents agreed with the statement, “A lot can be said about a person from the furniture s/he owns.”
Furniture is typically the third most expensive thing people buy after a home and a car and when buying furniture, people look at five key qualities.- Durability
- The look
- Quality
- Comfort
- Cost
If you’re in the market for new living room furniture, leather furniture is a good option. It’s durable, looks good, is high quality, provides comfort and is well worth the long term investment. Ultimately you want your living room to be a welcoming, comfortable place and whether you choose leather furniture or something else, adding a sofa or comfortable chairs around a coffee table can make your living room the place to be. If you want to turn your living room into a place to entertain guests, adding a sofa and other pieces that can accommodate many guests will make that a lot easier.
- Hang Mirrors: Mirrors can add character to a room, but keep in mind what they might reflect. Hanging a mirror in the right spot can visually expand a space and can also make a statement in a small space. A framed, full-length mirror for example can add a certain something to that room.
- Ask a designer: If interior decorating isn’t your thing, a designer is more than willing to help liven up your home. A designer can give you ideas on what type of style you might want for a house or how a certain color scheme might work in a home. A good designer is well-versed in all aspects of interior design and will know how to transform your home into a look you’ll love.
A home is a place to rest easy and the right interior designer can liven up your home and make you feel at ease.
