Designing Your Space
Collin & I purchased our first home in October 2019 after renting an apartment for multiple years following college graduation. My parents advice was to take the time by slowly furnishing each floor. They stressed the importance of living in a space to realize its functionality before deciding what to purchase. After we left our one bedroom apartment in Atlanta, we got rid of our furniture to eliminate the moving costs. These were items we had purchased individually in college so we agreed we had gotten good use out of them. When we started to dream of the use for each room in our house, I started with a Pinterest board to determine our style. Going from a one bedroom apartment to an entire townhouse was extremely overwhelming. If you’re anything like me, you want things to be done quickly but take it from me when I say take your time. Learn the space you’re living in before you start purchasing multiple items. It was important to invest in pieces that could be used for years even as our style and design tastes change. If you couldn’t tell by name, I love all things neutral :) As I post pictures of our house, you’ll see lots of blacks, greys, whites and browns. While the process can be overwhelming, getting to design our space and share it with our friends & family has been the greatest gift.
Create a Pinterest Inspiration Board
This is so crucial for getting a feel for your style design. I would call mine boho modern which happens to be in style these days so it was quite easy to find posts. Pin everything even if there’s a piece of artwork on there you like. I spent hours clicking through the links to eventually find the pieces I loved. If you have similar style to me, I’ve linked my Pinterest board below. My next few posts will include pictures of my house with links to the items I’ve purchased.
Set a Budget
I created an excel document to keep track of the expenses, shipping and tax. When you have to furnish multiple rooms, this gives you an easy way to list the items by importance.
Measure Everything!
This may sound obvious but this includes everything beyond furniture measurements. Artwork, plants, baskets, rugs. For the longest time I would just look at a room and visualize it. After having to return multiple items, I took the time to measure everything out and mark it with a pencil or painters tape.
Build Your Mood Board
Once you have your items picked out, copy and paste them on a word document so you can see the items come together. This may sound tedious or time consuming but it helps to see the items next to each other. It’s also equally exciting to see your hard work come together!
Take Before and After Pictures
Brag about your space. Take pictures before you start decorating and once you’ve finished. I love looking back at the before pictures of our house to see where we’re at now.
