15 Essential steps to design your Dream Home Part 4/5

We're glad you are with us. We're looking at 15 essential tips to designing your dream home, we're on Part 4/5.

Let’s review, we’ve looked at steps 1-3 designing your dream home., Part 1/5

1. Selecting your perfect structure.
2. Floor plans and elevations.
3. Function

15 ESSENTIAL STEPS TO DESIGNING YOUR DREAM HOME PART 1/5

15 ESSENTIAL STEPS TO DESIGNING YOUR DREAM HOME PART 2/5

15 ESSENTIAL STEPS TO DESIGNING YOUR DREAM HOME PART 3/5

Jil Sonia Interior Designs - Townhome design, Surrey, BC

 Then steps 4-6 of designing your dream home. Part 2/5

4. Budget
5. Mood and Style
6. Overall design

Jil Sonia Interior Designs, Abbotsford Online client

  And steps 7-9 of designing your dream home:  Part 3/5

7. Bathroom and Kitchen design
8. Furniture Plan
9. Lighting plan

Now... we move on to steps 10, 11 and 12!

10. Window coverings: 

When designing your dream home, be aware of oddly shaped windows. For some reason architects love to add them in! Notice the angle at the top of the window below.

Jil Sonia Interior Designs - 1908 Queen Anne home addition, Mission, BC

These windows are very difficult to cover. If you like horizontal blinds these can usually be used for some of the more difficult, or odd shaped windows, however not everyone likes horizontal blinds. Many clients prefer window coverings that can be slid to the sides so that all the glass is showing. Transom windows (especially if they are arched), although beautiful, are especially difficult to cover. 

Determine what kind of light coverage do you need. Do you sleep in - then curse the sunlight in the morning; or do you embrace it? You may need room darkening, or light filtering blinds. Do you have a window needing privacy? A window with lots of glare? Many solutions are available.
​

Inside view of the office, 1908 Heritage home. Architect added these windows.

Discuss your drapery needs with an interior designer or window coverings specialist. Note blinds, drapery and window coverings can be a little pricey, 30% of your room's budget usually goes towards window coverings. 

11. Fabric: 

OK, so we are really getting to the styling part here. We know the mood we want to achieve. But where do we go from here? One idea is to start with a ‘signature fabric’, this is a fabric that sets a style or creates your desired mood. Determine the placement of your signature fabric. This can be an expensive fabric - perhaps use it just for the front of a small pillow or the back of a beautiful chair. Confirm your signature fabric suits the ambiance you desire. Use this fabric to set the colour tone of your room.

Maxwell Fabrics

Now select complementary fabrics. In general, allow no more than three different patterns in one room! Determine placement of all fabrics i.e.:

- patterned drapery fabrics for the windows - like the example above
- perhaps a cream and raspberry stripe for an ottoman, 
- black and cream polka dots for the chair backs.

Finally select trim to customize draperies or throw cushions. This trim can be a fringe on pillows, or a band of colour/fabric/ribbon along the side of a drapery panel. Then use your signature fabric to pick colours for the rest of the room.
 
12. Wall colour: 

Now you can finally pick a wall colour! Can you believe we had to wait until step 12 for this? Wall color is not usually picked until near the end of the design, as there are so many distinct colours of paint to choose from. Kimberley Seldon says " picking a wall colour first is like buying a lipstick, then look all over trying to find a dress to match." ​

Stella McCartney lipstick top.

Remember to keep the room’s atmosphere in mind. What is your light level? Resist the urge to paint a dark room in a light colour. Donald Kaufman says "Light wall colours never come to life in a dark room..." If the room is sunny, play that up - don't use a dark colour for the walls. Look at your signature fabric for wall color ideas. 

I can go on and on about colour but really colour expert Maria Killam says it best when she says "Painting a dark room in pale colours simply accentuates the shadows in a space." 

Other questions to ask when selecting a colour 'theme': Are you drawn to warm, neutral or cool colours? Do you prefer many colors or a monochromatic look? 
Personally, I throw out the colour theory I was taught in design school. I don't understand how someone can look at a room and say "Do I want a complementary colour scheme? What about the split - complementary colour scheme or maybe an analogous colour scheme?"  Only interior design students talk in those terms.  I used to be one of them!
​

Red/orange wallpaper, Langley, BC Interior Design client, by Jil Sonia Interiors

Maybe, just maybe, those theories come into play when looking at how to spice up a room with accessories or accents, but in general the main points to remember are:

• ensure the colour flows from room to room,
• keep either a clean, (or conversely), a muted or a dirty colour scheme throughout, and
• remember to consider the undertones - more about that in a later post.

Finding all this confusing? Contact me to find out how you can have the home of your dreams!
​Stay tuned for our last 3 steps!

15 Essential steps to designing your dream home part 5/5

Subscribe to our Monthly newsletter - Designer tips and Tricks