How to Think Like an Interior Designer

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It takes a unique mind to perfectly design and decorate a room. We get inside a few interior designer's heads and find out just how they do it.

Whether economic times are lean or high-flying, not everyone can afford the services of an interior designer. Most of us browse the internet, flip through home magazines, collect paint chips and watch design shows on TV only to feel like we're ready to tackle a room and then realize we're totally not. Decorating can be pretty overwhelming: You have to choose a style, shop for items, create (and stick to) a budget.

You need to learn to think like an interior designer, which very few of us do.

To make decorating easier on you, we asked three designers to share some inside info about the decorating process; when they walk into a space, what goes through their minds and where do they begin? How do they come up with a design concept, and most importantly, how do they execute it? Here's what they said:

First, focus.
Sandra Oster, a designer for over 25 years and owner of Decorator Tag Sale, always defines the scope of a project first. Think about what you're setting out to do and what you hope to accomplish in the space. She suggests figuring out if it's a redecorating project, a redesign, or a renovation. Then ask yourself: "What room will you be doing, will it lead to more design projects, and/or is it the last room to be redone?" and "What exactly do you want to do?"

Answering these questions will help you define the project's boundaries and limitations. Then you won't get distracted and grow the project larger than anticipated by tacking on additional tasks that weren't called for in the initial design. If you realize that your scope is quickly getting larger, put a cap on it and try starting small -- it's what designers have to do in order to stay organized and within budget.

Become a student of the space.
Sandra says that to think like a designer you need to spend some time thinking about how you currently use the room and how you wish you were using it. Spend a couple of days studying your habits in the room and/or what role the room plays within your home.

Michelle Salz-Smith, principal interior designer of San Diego-based Studio Surface, recommends taking pictures of the room(s) you are thinking of redoing. "Sometimes when you see a space day-in and day-out you no longer 'see' it," she says. "Viewing it as a picture can really give you perspective and help you see the space as others see it." You can even scan the photos into a computer program or draw directly onto them with a permanent marker to visualize where furniture, artwork or accessories might go.

Sharing ideas with friends or colleagues is another great way to learn about your own space -- interior designers love to bounce ideas off of each other when it comes to design. "If friends and colleagues do one thing well, they can offer a point of view that's not mine," says Petia Morozov, partner and co-founder of Morozov Alcala Design Laboratory (known as MADLAB) an architecture and urban-design teacher at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. "I make a point to share design ideas, even though I probably already know if it's worth pursuing by the time it's escaped my mouth. It's good to hear ideas spoken aloud."



Make an inspiration board.
Yes, designers really make these, and they do so for good reason. An inspiration board is "a great exercise for a homeowner to determine his or her own style and tastes," says Michelle. She says that photos can work better to describe a design concept to clients than a wordy description, and it will function just as well for you. "There are an abundance of great online blogs and webzines that offer up loads of inspiration that I use daily," says Michelle. "I constantly refer back to my mood boards while selecting and purchasing for a project to stay on track."

When you make the decision to redo a room in your home, start collecting images that inspire you, even if they're not images of an actual room. Gather photos of your favorite things or events, inspiring textures or colors and even songs that represent the way that you want your room to feel. Also, look through home decorating magazines and websites, and gather rooms or vignettes that you would like your space to look like.

Michelle recommends that you take a look at how your favorite retailer merchandises its furnishings -- are there vignettes in your favorite catalog that you'd like to replicate in your home? Michelle explains that store displays can be good models for ways to play with scale, texture and color.

Pin all of your found images together on a cork board or put them in a digital collage -- like Pinterest -- to create your room's inspiration board. Having this as a reference will help you as you move through the design process. If you suddenly feel lost or distracted, like Michelle said, you can look back to your inspiration board to remember your original path.


Know your budget.
Interior decorators cannot begin planning a project until they know the budget, and you shouldn't either. You'll need to be more specific at this point in the planning process. Create a basic floor plan of your space and list the specific pieces you will be purchasing. Then put all of those furnishings into a spreadsheet and determine how much you can spend on each piece. If you need art, a few accessories, bookshelves and seating for a library project, allot a certain amount for each item -- and stick to that budget.

Sandra asks homeowners to prioritize pieces. Figure out which items are "must-haves" and which ones are "nice-to-haves," and if you're having a hard time fitting it all into your budget, think about what pieces you already have that you can re-purpose or re-work in the space to cut corners. "It doesn't do any good to impulsively drop $500 on a lamp if you then can't afford to finish the rest of the room," she says.

And now, the fun part.
An interior designer's job doesn't end here -- in fact, it's just getting started. Using an inspiration board and budget as their guide, they begin to shop, choose paint, accessorize and pull everything together in the room.

Here are some more tried-and-true tricks of the trade:


1. Be prepared when shopping for paint.
Michelle explains that shopping for paint can be one of the most overwhelming parts of your redesign; it is for designers, too. There are so many paint colors to choose from. Michelle says that before you go to the store, "think of the colors you love best, look at the other colors in your home, and look at your home overall and not the room as a separate entity." Designers like to choose paint colors that flow between rooms, especially in a smaller home. "If you use coordinated colors and a unified palette, your home will appear larger and not disjointed," she says.

Designers love paint testers. It's an easy way to see if you like the color you've picked. If you can't live with it for a couple of days, it's time to choose a different color.

2. Work your room around one piece.
Interior designers can look at a swatch of fabric or an outfit and design a room around it. You might try and do the same. "Sometimes the best jumping off point is the least expected," Michelle says. "Don't be afraid to design a bedroom around a duvet cover or a kitchen around that sweet tea towel you found on Etsy." Look back at your inspiration board and see if there is one item or photo that you keep coming back to and make it the catalyst for everything you purchase. It might not be a literal translation of the item, but remember how it makes you feel and try to surround yourself with things in your space that also make you feel that way.

3. Don't forget the 5th wall. Sandra says that if your budget is tight, be sure not to scrimp on "the 5th wall": your floor. Replace a carpet on your wood floors to change the scale of the room or lay a rug on top of a sisal rug for a layered look. Use rugs to define or separate space, too. "Even if you love wall-to-wall carpet, the addition of small patterned rugs can add creativity and flare to your space," she explains.


4. Learn how to stretch a dollar.
Designers often save big by re-using or re-purposing something that their client already has. They go "shopping" in the client's home, and you might try and do the same. Do you have an old chair that you can cover in a new fabric or a table that can be updated with a fresh coat of paint? Your old sofa can even be reupholstered to make it feel like an entirely new piece. Michelle explains that even chopping off arms or swapping out legs can totally revamp a piece. "Repainting wood furniture, re-framing artwork and photos, and recovering pillows with found vintage or flea market fabrics are all ways to save the budget and have fun being creative while designing sustainably," she says.

And don't forget the accessories. Accessorizing can completely change the look of a room. Sandra says that adding glass vases and collections of items to existing furniture is a great way to instantly redecorate on a budget. For larger design projects, she recommends investing in some great artwork or mirrors. She also relies on cheap art: "Try purchasing posters or reproduction art from museums and framing them with large mats and thin, dark frames. A series on one wall of three artist's posters can make a space feel defined and powerful." If you want your space to appear larger, Sandra says to get mirrors. "Mirrors can be room-openers if positioned to reflect the outdoors or a prominent, designed opposite wall," she adds.

Remember, what counts is quality over quantity. Michelle recommends purchasing a few expensive pieces rather than a lot of inexpensive items. "I always buy the best that I can afford," she says. "I aim to create looks and spaces that last while looking high-end and collected." Therefore, when you invest money in a few key pieces, it can make all the difference, and then you can spend less on trendy items like accessories, which can be changed out for the seasons.

5. Take a risk.
Interior designers love to experiment. If they didn't we might have missed out on some of design's most popular looks in the last couple of decades (Think: Jonathan Adler's "happy chic" home decor). When thinking about your space, push the limits of your comfort zone, even if that means going with a darker neutral rather than a standard beige. "We don't really know what our capacities are until we tease them out of their usual circumstances," says Petia. "I consider every design project an opportunity to give new shape to our daily habits, whether they're how we eat or shop or sleep or mingle."

 

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