If you are feeling a little worried about what lies of head of you, that’s understandable. But don’t ignore it if the anxiety is strong. Decorating should be a fun, exciting adventure, not a painful event. If you’re feeling very tense about the whole thing, take a step back and try to determine why. Is the budget you’re working with too high? Are you in the middle of life changes that make it hard for you to focus on this task? Are you unhappy with your roommate and therefore find it difficult to work on the living spaces you share? If you have such problems, put off major decorating for a while. Working on your apartment might seem like a good diversion to help you forget about an unhappy condition, but the issues that are really bothering you will have to be worked out sooner or later.
When you’re ready to begin decorating your apartment, you will probably start noticing things like interesting groupings in friends’ homes, or perhaps you’ll impulsively pick up a decorating magazine (or two, or three) in the grocery store. When the time is right, you’ll know, and you’ll do a much better job if the stress has been worked through.
Another idea, if you’re not feeling confident about decorating, is to get advice from professionals. Many interior decorators across the country specialize in providing design services for small-budget clients. Some friends of mine contacted one such designer, who came to their home for just a few hours and gave them many ideas on how to improve problems areas. Her consultation fee was reasonable, and they were able to initiate her ideas all by themselves.
The difference, in some rooms, was incredible, and their money was well spent.
You can get free help, too. There are many Web sites and television programs dedicated to decorating. Seek them out and see whether they can help you. Jot down ideas, print out instructions– don’t go it alone; there’s plenty of help out there.
Most of all, we encourage you to have fun while you decorate your living spaces, no matter what your budget may be.
Good luck!
2009, Rhonda Morin. MyInteriorDecorator.com