Interior decorating?

[ckret01]

We will be closing on our first home at the end of the month. We are trying to figure out how to decorate (colors / furniture etc) We looked on the web and magazines to get ideas. did anyone find any specific magazine or website you found help in decorating?

I was also wondering if there is like an interactive website or CD that I can purchase or something to help? Has anyone used one they can recommend?

 

[BratTink]

I know this is not the exact answer you're looking for but I get tons of ideas from Trading Spaces on The Learning Channel.

 

[daemom]

HGTV has a great board for decorating!

 

[bananiem]

If your area has a Parade of Homes it's fun to wonder through the houses that are WAY out of your price range, but then take ideas back home.
Congratulations on your first home!!!

 

[Katy Belle]

potterybarn.com has a "shop rooms" options that shows rooms all decked out.
Better Homes and Gardens has a lot of good stuff too, some of it interactive I believe. Have fun!
Katy

 

[missypie]

1. DO NOT be in a hurry! I find that I need to live in a space for a while before I get an idea of what to do with it. You need to live with the light patterns, etc.

2. Do you subscribe to decorator magazines? If not, go to a used bookstore or garage sale and get a bunch. Cut out anything you really like. After a while, a pattern should emerge - modern, ornate, vintage, Asian, "woodsy", etc. Once you have identified a "style' that works for you, look carefully at the pictures and look at the elements - type and scale of furniture, etc.

3. Don't feel like everything has to be new! We love to shop at "downscale" antique malls. We don't like fancy European antiques, but give us an American table and chairs from the 30s and we're thrilled!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Try this website: www.ths.gardenweb.com/forums/

You can also get on www.sherwinwilliams.com and use their interactive paint scheme tool. You can place colors in different room settingsby using their color visualizer. It's pretty cool!

 

[azgal81]

I watch HGTV alot they have some good decorating shows you can also search the website and get some ideas as well.

I also enjoy walking through model homes and checking them out. That might give you some ideas as well.

 

[SC Minnie]

I also suggest living in your house for a while and deciding what you want. This is what we did and I am so glad. My taste changed as I looked at things on TV and home shows etc.

When you decide what you like pick an 'inspiration piece' and go from there.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

I also agree that you need to live in your house a while before decorating. You need to figure out your daily routines in your new home to see what types of fabrics will suit your life style best. I did decide on all the colors of the walls in each room prior to moving in, but I took a couple months to get just the right furniture and was so glad that we did.

 

[scrump]

Thanks for starting this, we are also in the process of buying the first home, and I was thinking this as well.

 

[Not so Dumbo]

Yes!! be sure to take your time.....I did not and I have repainted every room 2xs, I have gone through 2 sets of furniture, and I can't even count the number of pictures, all in the last 7 years.

I like the Potter Barn style. They have different decorating books available and also I have used their catalog that are available in the stores.

 

[jennyL]

I'm doing this right now. We moved in on June 30th and are still shopping around for furniture. We were lucky that we had stuff to move in with it just is not nearly enough for the new house. I've already found that what DH and I thought we wanted before we moved in has changed drastically since we've moved into the house. LOL I'm sure it will probably change again before we actually buy something but who knows. We are going to the furniture stores and looking around and trying things out. Most of ours have given us their catalogs that have the furniture pictures in a piece of a room that helps some. The other day we went to some of the more expensive stores that have the furniture displayed in actual room settings and not just all lumped together.