The Best Interior for You

by Brian Wilson

            When taking on DIY and home improvement projects, you may expect the labor of constructing and installing your renovations to be the most difficult part of the job. However, any seasoned home improvement guru will most likely tell you that it’s not so much the effort of a project that creates the challenge—fully realizing your vision for a room or space is going to come down almost entirely to critical thinking and creative experimentation. Believe it or not, hammering the nails will be the easy part!

Perfecting the Look

                When selecting an interior, you may feel that you’re not entirely sure where to start. Beginners will feel tempted to look over or review a variety of interior models and archetypes and attempt to emulate the one they like the best. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing—going off of examples of strong interiors can be a great way to begin forming an idea of how you’d like your own ideal interior to look.

However, you may discover throughout your renovation process that realizing your own artistic vision holds vastly more potential than attempting to create a second-rate version of someone else’s. The model interior featured in your favorite home décor magazine may look pristine and other-worldly, but it’s important to remember that a real home requires that a fully decorated room also succeed at being lived in.

How will an all-white living room adorned in antique pillars and glass chairs function when regularly used throughout the week by a household of three or more? The way that your dream room accommodates you should be a higher priority than the way it accommodates a certain aesthetic.

Accounting for Space

            A fact of life when it comes to interior design is that differently-sized spaces benefit significantly from different choices in theme and approach. A naturally spacious room will most likely enjoy the perks of additional end tables and larger storage furniture, but attempting a couch and coffee table combo in a bedroom may end up causing your space to be too cramped for comfort.

                It’s important to factor the architecture of a room into your choices of furniture and décor as much as you can. A common beginner’s mistake is to cram as much functioning furniture into a room as possible, but this can create a cluttered feel that makes it more difficult to enjoy a room. Minimalism is your friend when finding the balance between form and function!

Personal Taste Reigns Supreme

            Arguably the most common of beginner’s mistakes in honing an interior is to do what you believe you are supposed to do. Being in your 40s no more means that you’re supposed to have a preference towards antique-style oak, than being 25 meaning that IKEA shelves are a requirement. If you cave to the expectation of how you think your house should look, it won’t end up looking much like your house at all!

                From reviewing interior design blogs and magazines, to browsing a hardware store’s selection of furniture sets, you should make it your goal to take note of the things you like, as well as the things you don’t like. Perfecting your interior can only happen if you realize what you truly want.

Brian Wilson is a contributing writer and media specialist for the North American Moving Blog. He regularly produces content for a variety of lifestyle blogs, based around the transitional challenges that come with migrating and traveling long-distance.