Choosing furniture styles is a creative process. The first step of the process is to determine what works for you. Use the following criteria to help define your own personal style.
- Peruse magazines and pull out pictures that appeal to you. After you have finished going through lots of magazines, sort through your clippings and keep the half you like best.
- You will likely see some repetition of styles in the pictures. Use them as a starting point.
- Visit furniture stores, but don’t attempt to make any decisions at first. Simply take notice of what appeals to you. By your second or third shopping trip, you will notice that you have started to like and dislike different styles.
- Draw a floor plan of the room or rooms that you wish to work on. Using ¼” graph paper, draw the room to scale.
- Make sure that you have added doors, windows, vents, etc.
- List the pieces of furniture you already own that you want to keep.
- List and price the pieces of furniture you want to buy.
- Locate them on your floor plan to see if they all fit and to ensure you have a pleasing arrangement.
REMEMBER – this is a long-term plan, so don’t try and make it happen too quickly. Also, the closer you stick to your original plan, the more success you will have with the final product.
There are some points to consider when buying furniture.
- Furniture use
- Sizes and number of people using the furniture
- Location of furniture – this will also affect whether you choose a more formal or informal look.
- Pricing and budgeting. It is better to wait until you can buy the piece you want, than buy something on impulse. Impulse buying can limit your long term choices.
Enjoy, relax and take your time. The final overall look will be well worth the time and effort that you spend creating your own look.