When you first walked into your home, did you love it? You probably did, but how about now? A home is not just walls and a roof. Dwayne Boggs of Boggs Inspection Services knows that, which is why his home inspections cover all the essential pieces of the home, from the structure to plumbing, electrical, heating and more. And Dwayne knows that a home goes beyond the building, it is the place that expresses who you are through color, furnishings and décor. Those pieces are the home’s design style.

Have you been showing your home love, or have you been putting it off until you find the right design on Pinterest? There may be a few secrets to home design but it doesn’t have to be mystifying. Debby Mast of Debby Mast Designs wants to share some great tips to show your home a little love, so it can be both stylish and functional. Keep this advice in mind to turn your home from a house you like into a home you love.

Home Designer Software
Home designers can use specialized design software to help you visualize everything in your room. Anything can be changed with the click of a button. Photo Credit: Debby Mast Designs

Fashionably Functional

When you are designing your home, you must think beyond a beautiful magazine layout. A home must be functional. Home designers will have access to software that allows them to see everything in 3D. They will be able to open and arrange cabinets, and change colors with a simple click. If you decide to be your own home designer, don’t forget the importance of functionality. “Think about how drawers and cabinet doors will open,” says Debby, “and consider how appliances will be used and how air and people can move around the room.”

Pick the Perfect Piece

It might be tempting to run out to the nearest home supply store to start perusing the paint palettes, but Debby recommends waiting until the main elements of the room have been chosen like the rug and the sofa. “Pick an item you love and work off it to keep things cohesive,” says Debby. Building the room off a piece that you love is a sure way to success. After all the main components have been selected, then choose your paint color to complement. “Paint is endlessly customizable, but the sofa you love will probably come in less than 50 color options, if that,” says Debby.

Debby Mast Designs
Carry the same paint color into every room in a small home and it will feel more spacious. Photo Credit: Debby Mast Designs

Bigger is Not Always Better

Scale is essential. When you are in a massive furniture showroom, it is difficult to imagine the furniture in your own home. And even though a sofa may physically fit in a room, this doesn’t mean it actually fits. Choosing a piece that is too large or too small for the size of the room will make it seem off balance or lopsided. Debby suggests measuring out pieces of cardboard or newspapers to match the piece of furniture. Then, place it in the room to help you better visualize the space.

Carry the Color in Smaller Homes

Want your smaller home to feel more spacious? Try using the same paint color for all the rooms in the house (or at least the main ones, including any hallways), says Debby. Carrying the color throughout the home is a way to extend the spaces instead of cutting them up with artificial lines of color change. The same can be said for small rooms. Colorful accent walls can be fun, but they cut the room up. In a small room, that choppiness can make the room feel crowded.

Cut down the clutter with some simple organization. Baskets and decorative storage totes can be used to keep items contained, but still within reach for use.  If everything has a place, items feel like they fit within the space, rather than looking like they’ve just been piled there.

Painting doors can make a home feel customized. “Just remember, if you take your doors down to paint, remember to label them,” says Debby. Photo Credit: Debby Mast Designs

Using Neutrals to Your Advantage

How can you keep your home looking stylish and not faddish or dated? Debby recommends picking classic pieces in neutral tones, then using smaller accent pieces like table décor, pillows and wall art to add pops of color that can change with yearly trends or even across the seasons. Remember, neutral tones don’t have to be boring. Textures and subtle patterns can create visual layers that delight the eye.

When it comes to neutral colors, undertones are huge. Grey is not just grey. Beige is never just beige. And you would not believe how many different colors of white there are. Depending on the subtle undertones of blue, red, or yellow hues, different colors will match or clash. Undertones are not always apparent until matched with other colors or when viewed under different lighting. Combine clashing undertones and your room can go from serene to sickly in the blink of an eye. A close look can pick up the different undertones, and hours of study and practice in color theory don’t hurt either, says Debby. Try pairing things together and looking at them under different light, even just natural light at different times of day.

Interior design is equal parts art and science. A professional home designer will have a thorough understanding of how to help you achieve your home design goals to give you a home you love.

If you want help from a home designer to show your home some love, email Debby at DebbyMastDesigns@gmail.com or call her at 360-764-9093. If your home needs a different kind of love, but you aren’t quite sure what, perhaps a home inspection can help, contact Dwayne through the Boggs Inspection Services website or at 360-480-9602.

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