Moving into a new home or refurbishing your existing place is not a task for the faint-hearted. There are a lot of elements you need to configure starting from home-wide elements like the design aesthetic to minute details like the placement of your living room furniture. There are different components to furnishing your home including space planning, furniture selection, choosing decor items, lighting and textures, color palettes, and more. Your home furnishing project can be a success only if all these varying elements come together and create a cohesive and visually pleasant space.
Decorating your home is a great way to express your personality through the furniture and decor items you pick. For instance, if you're laid-back and not fussy, a vibrant and comfortable couch and a basic coffee table are all the furniture you need in your living room. But if you're particular about everything in your home and a stickler for space management, you'll want to fill up every inch of space available with something or the other. Worried about furnishing your home in a way that reflects you without overspending or spending too much time or resources? We have put together the top 5 home furnishing tips for beginners to help you make the right choices.
Home Furnishing Tips for Beginners
Determine Your Style
Your home is an extension of your personality and your choice of furniture and furnishings need to reflect that. From the color on the living room walls to the style of headboard used for your bed, each element has a part to play in determining your design aesthetic. While it’s easy to go with the flow and choose furnishings that look good on their own, you need to consider the overall look of the house as well, and figure out if the different elements you’re choosing can work together. A common home furnishing tip is to build a unified visual palette as opposed to different styles for each room. This doesn’t just help smoothen the transition from one room to the other but helps with the overall flow and visuals in your home.
Some common home furnishing styles include rustic, contemporary, mid-century modern, bohemian, vintage, industrial, and country. Make your choice depending on the kind of space you have available and your preferences.
Colors & Patterns Are Key
Outside of the actual furniture, the biggest contributors to your interior design are the colors and patterns on display. While picking the perfect color scheme for your home takes time, it’s more than worth the effort. The dominant color scheme in your home doesn’t just inform the visuals but also the vibe of the place. For instance, neutral colors like beige, parchment yellow, and other earth tones can make your home appear calm and serene while darker colors add a lot more character and drama to your space. The key to a well-furnished home is employing a uniform color palette across all rooms as opposed to different colors since that can create a visually confusing appearance.
Like colors, patterns are also important when it comes to home furnishing. From curtain patterns to the patterns on your throw cushions and other furnishings, there are a lot of opportunities to display different patterns in your home. When choosing patterns, use at least three patterns on the same scale and utilize them equally across the room.
Understand Basic Design Principles
While you don’t need to become a professional interior designer to furnish your home in the most suitable way, it’s still recommended to be aware of basic design principles. These include the principles of scale, proportion, texture, and color and the ways you can incorporate these in your home. Another important design element to consider is the rhythm which can be best described as the creation of order, repetition, progression, and movement using color, shapes, and textures.
Another important design principle you should incorporate in your home furnishing project is maintaining visual weight in your home through the placement of furnishings. Also, ensure big spaces like your living room and dining area have a distinct focal point. Some common examples of a focal point include a large window, an accent wall, a coffee table, a fireplace, artwork, and more.
Avoid Overcrowding
Like everywhere else, overcrowding is bad for your home design as well. While it might seem tempting to bring home whatever furniture and furnishings you want without worrying about their placement, it more often than not leads to an overcrowded living space. Your home needs to be free-flowing and well planned, with each element serving a unique purpose, and the only way to achieve that is being mindful of all the furniture and furnishings you introduce. Take your time furnishing your home and ensure you only buy or rent things you need as opposed to whatever looks good. Home furnishing is a time-consuming and long process and you can only see great results if you go into it with a proper plan of action and a suitable understanding of your needs.
Source Furnishings With Character
There’s a reason why a home and a hotel room look wildly different even if they both use the same basic set of furniture - the lack of personality and character in the former. Your home shouldn’t look like the catalog of your favorite furniture store and the easiest way to ensure your home reflects you is by incorporating bits and pieces of your past anywhere you can. From a souvenir from a memorable trip to the Bahamas to pictures of your loved ones, many accessories and decor elements can be incorporated into your home interiors. You can also find ways to repurpose old furniture to add some character to your living space.
Follow these basic home furnishing tips and take a step closer to the perfectly furnished home. Remember to be patient, aware of your needs, and open to new ideas, and you’ll be good to go! If you’re concerned about the cost of purchasing new furniture for your home, we have the perfect solution for you. Rent home furniture from CasaOne and access our expansive collection of furniture including beds, sectional sofas, dining tables, barstools, outdoor furniture, and more. We also offer professional interior design consultations to guide you in the right direction in terms of your home decor and aesthetic.
got questions?
- How do I furnish my old home?
You can furnish your old home by engaging the services of a professional interior designer from CasaOne. Our in-house design experts are equipped with the knowledge and resources to transform your old home and give it a fresh new look. Get in touch with our team today for a complimentary, explanatory design consultation.
- What are DIY home furnishing ideas?
There are numerous DIY home furnishing ideas including rearranging the furniture, utilizing old fabric swatches, freshening up the linens, putting your unused fireplace to good use, adding mirrors to the walls, displaying family pictures and portraits on the walls, painting your doors, and switching up your lampshades.
- How do I start furnishing my home?
Any home furnishing project cannot be successful without a proper plan of action and being aware of your expectations from the project. With a detailed plan, you can go about working on furnishing your home in the right order without wasting your time and resources. Being aware of your needs is also crucial to furnishing your home perfectly since you’ll always picture the result and work towards achieving it.
- What is the minimal cost for home furnishing?
Usually, most people expect to spend anywhere between 10% to 50% of the cost of their home on furnishing it. For instance, if your home costs 350,000, you’ll probably end up spending anywhere between $35000 to $150,000 on furnishing it. A great way to save money on furnishing your home is to rent home furniture from CasaOne.