When beginning to purchase furniture for your home you want to know what pieces you need and their sizes.
Start your project with a scale drawing of the room and its contents on graph paper. That is how professional designers begin. Do not forget to locate windows and doors and plan for traffic flow. If you prefer, you can hire a designer for a couple of hours to do it for you.
Be sure you put in pieces you already have and wish to keep, as well as new ones you need to purchase. Write the sizes of the furniture on the plan. This is important. Otherwise you may get seduced by something you really like, but will not fit.
Choose a color palette. Go to the paint store and pick up paint color chips to represent each color you wish to use. It can come from your art, a favorite fabric or just out of your head.
When shopping for your home, take your wall colors and fabric swatches with you. It is helpful to purchase a small inexpensive photo album and use the pockets to hold colors and fabric swatches from each room along with pictures of your furniture.
Sandra Wagenaar specializes in small residential interiors 3,000 square feet and under. Kitchens and baths are two of her favorite rooms to design. She likes to mix contemporary furniture with antiques or Asian pieces to make an interesting home.
