By Brianna MacMillan

The air is getting colder and you’ll be spending more time inside, so now is the perfect time to redecorate.

Interior design projects are daunting; it is important to make sure your space embodies your personal style. So, start with what you have ~ look around at your stuff and figure out what you like and what you’d like to toss. Freshhome.com’s “How to Identify Your Own Decorating Style” advises those looking to redecorate to “stick with significant and meaningful items.” Using items that mean something to you will make it a lot easier to fall in love with your space.

Finding your inspiration is important, and there are many examples out there. Your inspiration could be a pattern, piece of fabric, art or furniture. Interior designer Ann Coplen-Harold, who owns Interior Design by Ann in Worcester, said this inspiration “doesn’t have to be anything you own,” it just has to be something that speaks to your vision of your space.

Coplen-Harold recommends starting with the Internet, using websites such as Pinterest and Houzz, as well as bed and bath websites. Write down what you like about pictures and think of how these trends may already show up in your own style. The trends you wear on a regular basis say a lot about what you could live with in your space. Find a pattern or color you love and subtly repeat it within your space. This repetition will help to tie pieces together and make your vision seem more cohesive.

Redecorating does not have to cost thousands of dollars, either. Search Craigslist, eBay and yard sales for pieces that are structurally sound and easy to refinish or embellish. Lighting is a great, inexpensive and fun way to add style to a room. Coplen-Harold recommends using fabric, beads or feathers on lampshades as trim. Little touches are a fun way to add style to your space without breaking the bank.

If you are working with a dorm room, try and coordinate bedding with your roommate or find a pattern you both like. Choose pieces that match the background color of the pattern, making them coordinate well without matching completely.

Apartments always seem to be smaller than we would like. Making the most of your space and visually increasing the space can help open things up. Coplen-Harold advises addressing furniture in terms of the “most amount of usability and function.” Do not overwhelm a small space with large furniture; smaller well-spaced pieces make a space seem larger. A larger rug will have the same visual effect.

Tackling an interior design project can seem overwhelming, but decorating your space to your personal taste is not as difficult as it seems. Keep it simple and stick to what you like ~ and can afford ~ and your dream space may not be so far away.

For more information:
interiordesignbyann.com
freshome.com
houzz.com