Introduction to Interior Decorating

Although studying to become an interior decorator/designer is quite extensive, requiring many hours of study and hands-on experience under an expert teacher, there are some basics to help an aspiring professional decide if this is the right career. These basics will also be helpful to the novice wanting to start in the right direction for doing personal home interior decorating.

Room Use

What will the room be used for? Start with the basics in each room you intend to decorate. Consider what basic furniture will be kept and what will be replaced. Create a room map on graph paper and cut out furniture pieces, moving them around to find their best location.

Color

The interior decorator's best friend is the color wheel. There are three terms to determine how colors effect a room's décor. First, complementary colors are colors opposite on the color wheel. The colors will deepen and strengthen each other. Second, triad colors uses three colors based on a triangle across the color wheel. The colors play off of each other without matching. Third, analogous colors are three colors next to each other on the color wheel. Monochromatic means hues all within the same color.

Choosing a Style

Furniture you decide to keep in a room when decorating may decide the style of the area. If you are choosing a new style, there are basic categories with many subcategories. For example under a country decorating style, there are sub categories of Shaker style, Amish style, cottage style, shabby chic and English country style. Basic styles include modern/contemporary, formal, country, traditional and casual.

Line of the Room

Choosing the direction of the lines you emphasize in a room sets its mood. Vertical lines are balancing and formal while horizontal lines are more casual and restful, diagonal lines lead a person's eye as they come in the room, while curved lines put softness and femininity into the room.

Texture

Texture gives added dimension and interest to a room. Rougher textures work better with more casual styles, while smoother textures work with formal or modern looks. However, you should use varying textures within a room without going from one extreme to the other.

Resources

• Color scheme generator
• Interior decorating style guide