Last time on the blog I was talking to you about defining your signature style and pushing yourself not to play it safe. This week I want to take your project a step further and teach you how you go out and source what you need for your interior whilst avoiding making expensive mistakes…
What I so often see people do is they have an idea of what they want their room to look in their heads, but then they go out shopping fall in love with this lamp, that chair or those cushions (even though they’re not quite what they had in mind at the outset) and low and behold when they get it home nothing quite works together the way it should!
The problem is when we go shopping there is a danger that we get carried away!
We’ve all been there – we get seduced by swoon-worthy displays in-store and glossy magazine spreads; especially when we have been looking round for what we had in mind (without any luck) and we’re starting to get tired, hungry or even just plain fed up!
So spill the beans! What’s the secret to avoid doing that?
Detach yourself from the emotion of the shopping experience as much as possible.
But how do I actually do that?
Don’t worry that’s exactly what I’m going to take you through today… and trust me it’s super simple and easily actionable! 🙂
N.B. This steps assume you’ve figured out what atmosphere you’re trying to create and have created your moodboard. If you haven’t done either of those things yet you might want to check out these blog posts before you continue.
STEP1: MAKE A PLAN
Well, it’s absolutely crucial that you have a plan and that you stick to it – this is how professional interior designers work!
So first of all therefore I want you to draw up a list of exactly what items you need – down to the very last detail, such as the number of cushions, candles, picture frames or whatever else you might need.
STEP 2: DETAIL IT ALL OUT
Next, I want you to describe each item in as much detail as possible – referring back to any moodboard you have created / inspiration you have collected (such as your Pinterest board or similar) including:
- What colour it is
- What size it is
- What materials it’s made from
- How much your budget is for that item
STEP 3: MAKE LIKE A PRO
Once you have your list I want to imagine that you are an interior designer working for a client, or that perhaps you’ve been given this list by a friend who is housebound needs your help – all you need to do is to go out and source the items EXACTLY as described.
Either way, the key thing you need to do is:
Remember that all the individual items work together to create the bigger picture, trust that the list is correct and stick to it! …right?!
It really is that simple! 🙂
Top Tip: Start researching everything online before even hitting a single shop – that takes the emotion out even further and that way you can have a shortlist of 2/3 items that look like they might fit the bill before you check them out in the flesh and see if you they really are perfect or actually they look nice, but you can’t stand the feel of the fabric or the finish is a little [inset adjective] here.
Is this something you would have thought of doing before?
I know it might not sound like the exciting exercise in the world – BUT if everything works together beautifully on your moodboard (which I’m sure it does!), by following these easy steps you can be sure to skip to enjoying your beautiful new interior (and getting lots of compliments to boot!), whilst avoiding making costly mistakes in between ….which is exciting enough to get even naturally disorganized me list writing! 🙂
I’ve even created a template for you to save time that you can download by clicking on the image below!
Happy decorating folks!
xx
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