Dear rbagel,
There are many ways to decorate, and everyone you talk to is bound to
have their opinion on the "right way" to do it. The most important
thing for you to decide is what you want in your room and what
attributes are most important to you. Then use this information to
determine the style you want. There are a number of things to consider
first that can help you build a framework for making the bigger
decisions, look at the list below while keeping this question in mind:
"What is the overall feeling I want to achieve in my room?"
LIGHTING
Do you want to create a more spacious or cozy feeling? Eliminating
shadows creates a more spacious feel, while keeping separated lighting
divides the room up into components to create a cozier feel.
COLOR
Are you looking for splashes of color or do you want the room to be
muted with minor color accents?
Better Homes & Garden has a information on using color:
http://www.bhg.com/bhg/category.jhtml?catref=cat640101
TEXTURE & PATTERNS
Are you interested in having natural fibers or textured materials and
walls? Or do you prefer things smooth with a muted or non-existent
texture.
Patterns: Do you want Floral? Geometrical? Stripes? Solids?
Better Homes & Garden page on texture and patterns:
http://www.bhg.com/bhg/category.jhtml?catref=cat640103
STYLE TYPES:
There are a few major style types – which one fits you?
- Traditional (formal, dressy, rich fabrics, cherry wood)
- Country (antiques, pine, collectibles, cozy warm feeling)
- Contemporary (clean lines, dramatic)
- Romantic (soft, elegant, ruffles, lace)
- Oriental (antiques, dramatic colors, high style, feng shui)
- Southwestern (earth tones, textures, artifacts)
- Transitional or Eclectic (mixes of any style)
About.com has a very interesting page on Style Trends that you may
want to check out: http://interiordec.about.com/library/trends/bl_styletrends.htm
Once you've answered these questions, I would recommend looking at
interior design magazines and catalogs. Clip out pictures that appeal
to you, and when you have enough, put them all together and see which
kinds of things you want to replicate in your room (and considering
your room's attributes which ones you can implement).
PageWise has a comprehensive list of "how to's" on interior
decorating, from " Floppy Roller Painting" to "Feng Shui" to
"Decorating in a Country Style":
http://www.essortment.com/in/Home.Decorating.Interior/
About.com has an Interior Decorating Page that is very helpful:
http://interiordec.about.com/
Better Homes & Garden Decorating Center:
http://www.bhg.com/bhg/decoratingcenter/
The Linenspot has a Bedroom Decorating Tips Page:
http://www.linenspot.com/bedroom_decorating/home_decorating_tips.html
This site recommends considering 5 things (for complete text visit the
site):
- Find Your Style.
- Live with what you love.
- Wait for what you want and aim to buy quality.
- Get organized.
- Re-appreciate, Reuse, Recycle.
Information on Popular bedroom decorating styles:
Shabby Chic / Country Style:
From About.com "cottage style", very comprehensive information on
achieving this style type. Links include "how to distress furniture"
and more:
http://interiordec.about.com/cs/cottagestyle/index.htm
Feng Shui:
Feng Shui Decorating by Nancy Uon:
http://www.viewzone.com/fengshui.html
Search terms used:
Bedroom decorating tips
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&querytime=4PvAP&q=bedroom+decorating+tips
Best of luck with your decorating adventures! Please request
clarification if you need additional information.
Firefly |
Clarification of Answer by
firefly-ga
on
04 Jun 2002 10:21 PDT
rbagel -
The Designer Sketchbook brings together information from a number of
websites and magazines. I think this is the sort of comprehensive
resource you are looking for. According to their site, "Our Designer
Sketchbook allows users to visualize, estimate, calculate, and save
home decorating and improvement projects on-line." They have some
pretty cool tools as well, such as a "create your closet" activity.
http://www.mikesart.net/designersketchbook/
Benchmark Be Home is an excellent online resource for redecorating.
Comprehensive site, primarily focused on furniture:
Benchmark Be Home:
http://www.behome.com/bh/home.asp
Home Furnish is a portal site that will take you to an array of
decorating and furniture related websites.
Home Furnish:
http://www.homefurnish.com/catalogs.htm
This site allows you to search catalogs as well as site index.
However, only provides information on furniture.
Furniture Guide
http://www.furnitureguide.com/
Finally, I should mention that Google has just launched a new product
that searches catalogs. It is still in beta, but worth at least
testing out.
http://catalogs.google.com/
Search terms used:
One stop redecorating
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&querytime=0dfUG&q=one+stop+redecorating
(I then clicked on the relevant Google Adwords promotion)
I hope this helps.
Firefly
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