Interior Decorating Challenged...

You'll notice the magazines will have this mismatched, yet put together look? I've cut out photos of a room I just love (has to be comfy and casual) and will try to put something similar together. I think I get bored before I'm done with the room sometimes, or lack of money seems to end the project before it's started. I think you need to decorate just for you and not the magazines, friends or some idea of what you think you should live like. whit

I love interior and exterior design.. I can't wait to build my house to perfect every single room!! Concerning the living room I would say you have used many colours that don't really match... Since your furniture are white the gold doesn't match, you are either goin with the modern look with Black,White and red (colours with high contrast) I would suggest a black carpet and red pillowcases or if you want it oriental/traditional you would use gold...but atleast change the furniture to something more calssic. I would suggest that you get rid of the gold colours and add more red and black and some glass furniture eg glass table with black stainless steel frame. The curtains would be nice if they were light red... Anyway that's my opinion, I hope I have not insulted you're taste. (its not that the room doesn't look good the way it is) Good luck

I'm a "make do" kinda gal. I bought my lounge suite to match the room 13 years ago and I've moved 3 times since then and of course nothing has matched since. But I think I do ok. The house I'm in now is almost all windows. So I can't hang things on walls to 'set the scene'. Like you, I'm also into functional but it gets a bit difficult. I like to watch tv while I cook or sit at the table on my laptop or sewing or even eating...lol. The tv is in the next room through a narrow doorway and so I have to have it in the right place at the right angle. Then I have my treadmill and when I walk I also like to watch tv so the treadmill has to be alongside the dining table...luckily, this is a big room. with one wall all window so nothing is cramped. For me, comfort comes first then functionality, sometimes the two go hand in hand quite naturally. I hate those homes that seem always ready to be photographed for a magazine layout. I prefer my home to look lived in. It doesn't have to be spotless or perfectly neat...so saying, my place is nicer than lots of homes I've been in. I think so anyway.

I am as you are.It works for me.If I had a home like some I see,I would be afraid to move.I like a clean lived in home.If it is worn,but still works it is o.k. by me.I want a home I can be comfortable in.

I haven't had a home of my own for so long I don't own anything anymore to have nice decorated things. In the last 7 years we, my husband and I, have moved from Winnipeg to Calgary and into an apartment. We went with nothing and had to start all over again and everything we owned we bought at garage sales and so none of it was nice stuff, just econonimical stuff. We lived in Calgary for 5 years and then moved back to Winnipeg and with nothing again. We now live in my in-laws house since they have gone south for the winter, but when they are home, we just rent a cheap apartment and have nothing in it but what little furniture that is given to us. We don't even own our own bed. Since we have to move again at the end of the month, they are back from down south, we are moving again to Calgary and will have to start all over again. My husband has a gambling problem and a child problem. We are going to councelling and he has stopped gambling, I hope, but now he spends every penny he has on his oldest daughter, who goes to university, for the last 8 years, with no degree yet. He just bought her a car and pays the insurance and her gas, every month. He also gives her spending money. So we have nothing again. I am going back to Calgary without him, and told him if he can get his act together than he can join me, but until then he can't come. I will try to start over again and probably will have to buy my furniture and stuff at garage sales again, but I have no choice. I would like to own nice stuff again, but I don't see it happening for me and I will just have to do with what I can afford.

My sister is an Interior decorator. She has a sense of style but her sense of style is not a traditional. She design according to her mood and not according to latest design and not according to what other would say. For me just enjoy the way you decorate. Decorate according to your taste and not according to other. Just look at your room and decorate it with the things you love and interest you. Best way is to design it first on paper before doing it in actual.

No I don't think I have good decorating sense, but give it my best. Of course what I think looks nice may not suit others but when one can throw together different pieces of furniture I am impressed as I cannot get it right. The perfect home in a magazine or going through a display home sometimes has a sterile affect and not homely enough for me. My home I consider to be tidy, but still aim for that "lived in" look which is sometimes hard to get when I do want everything in it's place. The easiest way I have found is to move things around even if it takes some goes at it, until your eye sees what really does look good.

If your furniture is in good shape but it doesn't match and you can sew. why not make slipcovers. You can use a common color and it will tied all your different furniture all together. You could also paint the walls. That is the easiest thing to do to change a room.

I don't really have good decorating sense but I do try to match a few things together, or add a bit of color and sorts. My husband bought a few African wall hangings which has colors of brown, orange, gold and cream so we use those colors in the lounge with the cushions, rug and wall painting. I don't know what the easiest way to decorate a room is but maybe you can start with one thing that you currently have that you like and go from there. Look at what you currently own that might match it in colors and shape and size maybe. I watch a lot of the HGTV programs on TV just to get a sense of what might match in terms of color and sorts. Next time I'm at a sale I might just find something that matches what we currently have.

As long as your house is comfortable I wouldn't worry about decorating it picture perfect. When speaking about a theme people can mean a lot of things. I usually go with one basic color and complement that color with pictures, curtains, flowers, etc.

Well, you have to have a theme. It could be french, contemporary, classical, country, antique. First find out if you like modern or traditional and you are simple or you like a bit of luxury . If you like neutral or dark colors. Based on this, it should be easier for you to create your own style.

Having kids means that I don't want to be spending a lot of time or money on keeping my house 'picture perfect'. Not a good look having a great leather lounge all scratched and ruined and that is on the same day you get it. My idea of personalising my home is having artworks on the walls created by me. Got 2 so far, professionally framed, and working on several more.

In my opinion,to decrote your home is just simply to make every furnitures easy to use and makes you living more comfortble.simple and comforble is my basic

My theme in decorating is hidden because it is hodge podge, but comfortable. The pattern of my couch is the same as the pattern on the dining room chairs and I bought the couch at a different store. That's as far as any recognizable theme goes. I have three tall wooden bookcases -- one with a desk-type table in the middle and one with cupboard on the bottom half. They are a lighter color wood than my Mediterranean style coffee table and occasional table. I don't care as they are all functional and serve their purpose. My living area isn't ratty per se, but is getting more and more cluttered as my obsession with yarn grows. It takes up space in one bedroom and now I'm dumping it in the living room too. Decorating is not high on my list of priorities right now, although I do admire friends' homes that are well decorated and neat. I also like some of the decorated rooms I see in magazines, but they aren't within my budget. The easiest way to decorate a room is with color, and some favorite items. I made a flower arrangement 13 years ago which I still have on my occasional table. I bought a brass bonsai type tree that hangs on a wall. I love its interesting shape. Other than that, any room is enhanced by a warm, friendly atmosphere provided by people who occupy the room.

well I like our house dont know if we have decorated it that it would go into homes and gardens but it is comfortable. I beleive its what ever you want and how ya want to do it to make a home not a showplace

I am getting better at this. I used to stink at it, but after watching so many decorating shows on HGTV and seeing nate Berkus on Oprah a bunch of times, I've gotten much better at it! I like clean lines, simple, no clutter, neutral colors. I have one color that goes throughout my house (maybe it's an accent pillow in one room and a table runner in another room)and that seems to tie the rooms together.

I find that it is easier for me if I have a theme. For instance, my dining room is decorated in the ocean and the living room is the jungle. My bedroom is Asian and my kitchen is chili peppers. I try to only decorate with things that are within the theme for the room. My son's rooms of course are hap-hazzard. LOL

I am not very good at decorating. I watch those shows on tv or visit houses and see nice work, but I could never pull it off on my own. we started remodeling our very 70's house and while it is a vast improvement, i can't help but think we could have done a nicer job. a lot of our furniture is used (my daughter has the same dresser I've had since a kid!) & we got stuck with a few couches too many that we don't like - it's good furniture so we hate to get rid of it, it's just not our style anymore at all... I like watching the show "Freestyle" on HGTV & others like it where they redecorate a room just by using things around the house & without spending any money. It's on at 4:30 here so I usually miss it, but it's good for some ideas.

I don't necessarily have a sense for decorating, but I try to match things. My living room is pretty neutral - sofa and chair, walls, carpet - all tan. The coffee and end tables are wood top with black wrought iron legs. Everything on the walls are scrolly black wrought iron, usually purchased from Lakeside Collections or LTD catalogs. Then I have a few baskets of yarn around the room for a little touch of home. I'm not much for the pictures in the magazines, they don't seem real. I'd be too afraid to mess up the room if mine were decorated that way. Like someone else said, decorating is all in the individuals' tastes. If you copy something out of a magazine, then it's not truly yours.

My house looks like a yard sale vomited.