Typical example: I have a couch from the 80's, a dining table from the 90's and new Ikea floor mats purchased last year. Is it possible to get this to look good together?
New function?
Before you start, find out if the rooms is to be used in the same way as before. Improvement is a great opportunity to get a better match between family needs and dwelling facilities.
Create a project binder
It's smart to make a project binder with drawings of the rooms, material samples, brochures, and all the ideas you have. Each room to be renovated should get their own sheets. There should be a description of how the room should be, what is needed of colors, furniture, textiles and light, not to mention what to do and what products to use. Likewise, you may want to set up a budget, so you know approximately how much you can spend on materials, eventually craftsmen, and new purchases.
What to keep?
Be generous to the local flea market, is an interior consultants tip. Go through everything that has accumulated over the years and ask yourself, why do I definitely need to take care of this?
1) Take care of things that mean something special for you. They'll be giving the refurbished space character.
2) Assess the objects shape. Do they have soft round forms or are they tight and square in shape? Try to keep the furniture that has the same type of form, and shapes that fit with the rest of your house's style. Mainly, keep ut to this shapes according to new purchases. This applies primarily to larger furnishings, an Ikea chair or small table may well break with the main forms to create variety.
3) Consider the color and materials. Upholstered furniture can be renewed in other colors, but the upholstery is quite expensive, so the quality of the furniture should be good, whether it should pay off. Other furniture can usually get new colors of paint, stain or varnish.
If you have a small budget, but wish for an Ikea sofa, check out the classifieds in the newspaper or online.
4) If you prefer to keep larger items of which you can not change the color/material, make sure these furniture are not hidden away. Then it is easy to forget that they shall fit into the newly renovated room.
New colors
What colors you should choose will depend on the colors of the things you wish too keep, the materials in the house, style, lighting and how you are as a person. In addition, one should remember the following:
1) The colors of the larger things such as walls, ceilings and floors should match from room to room. The rooms should be related visually. It can be done in several ways. Generally, keep up with one color of the ceilings. Likewise, it will provide a whole if it's the same type of flooring, at least in the living room and adjoining rooms. The walls can be varied somewhat, but the colors should have some similarities. Either you can stick to a particular color, but change it with different amounts of color pigment, black or white, so-called tone-on-tone colors. Another option, which is slightly more difficult, is to use neighboring colors (colors that are near each other on the color wheel). They must share the same amount of color pigment, black or white. Although the colors are different, they will then appear similar in strenght, bright- or darkness.
2) Create a collage of rooms to be refurbished. Paste pictures of furniture that should be retained, color samples, wall paper samples and fabrics. Then you will get an overview of color compounds and it is easier to see if something does not fit.
3) Paint dealers can find out exactly what color a thing has. If you have the opportunity to bring a sofa cushion, a curtain, or similar, it can provide good help to get the colors to fit together.
4) Strong contrast emphasizes the colors. For example, a wall of light seem brighter with a dark red Ikea sofa in front, than with a yellow sofa in front.
5) If you have beautiful furniture and things, they will often look their best in a home in neutral colors and spacious rooms.
6) Much light, both natural and light from the lamps, will make the colors appear brighter.
7) Light colors reflect light better and is often better in the living room, than dark colors.
8) Do not automatically choose a really cool color that you have seen in your friends house, different materials, furniture and lighting can easily do that it is completely wrong for your home.
9) If you are unsure, it is easiest to achieve a good result with bright, pure colors on the walls and stronger colors in the fabrics and smaller furniture.
10) Using paint of different gloss degrees. If you want the same color on the walls and the lists, for example paint the walls satin and the list glossy.
11) Test paint colors in the corners, where the colors turn against each other thereby providing a more accurate impression than in the middle of the wall. Test also in a place where it has a lot of light straight into it, eg vis-Ã -vis a window. If the color is not just right, you can use it for priming.
12) Refresh the rooms and give them character by using other colors for smaller items such as pillows and throws.
13) The colors of the rugs are very important. For example, a large, deep red persian rug kan do magic to a room with light colored walls. If you don't travel yourself to oriental countries, eSaleRugs.com is a good tip:
Rugs @ 75% Off - Sale All Rugs Ship in 1 Business Day 200,000 Rugs in Every Style & Color 30 Day Hassle-Free Returns Wholesale prices
Lighting
Poor lighting is very often the reason why you can not feel comfortable in a room. The lighting has a major impact on how the colors in the room work and the wrong type of light can make the room uncomfortable to be in. We recommend three steps to allow good lighting:
1) The room should have a light source that provides a smooth and pleasant light. It should light up so that the whole room can be seen. This light must not be too strong, or alternatively it should be mounted dimmer so that it can be adjusted as needed. This may be a ceiling light.
2) The room should have spotlights where you want to brighten up a little extra. It may be a hanging lamp over a coffee table or a plant, a wall lamp by a reading chair, or lamps that illuminate the areas in the room that feels dark.
3) Special items and paintings you wish to illuminate can get a brighter light, such as downlights, directly on them. Downlights are suitable only for such an effect lighting.
If you have lamps you want to keep, the efficacy and type of light they give off can somewhat be changed by installing dimmers. Similarly, one can change how strong, hot or cold light works by replacing the lamp shade or use a different type of bulb.
I hope these tips were useful. Good luck!
A new (or used) colorful Ikea sofa or other Ikea or scandinavian styled furniture, can really do wonders.
