This is a Step by Step Guide to designing a home and how to avoid the financial pitfalls of your mistakes.

When you are starting a new project in your home, it is important to put the project together in a very well thought out plan to avoid very costly mistakes. Today, I am going to list the steps that you need to take in order and I will spend the next several months detailing out each step. 

 If you are further along in your project than my blog has progressed, please feel free to ask questions and I will be happy to jump off script for you.

Get a vision board together 

• Interior
• Exterior

 Picking the design theme of your home

• I will make a list of different current interior design trends to choose from
• I will do the history of interiors at a later date in the blog

 Do a scaled floor plan of the rooms

• How to do yourself
• Hiring a Professional 

Pick your color palette

• Picking your neutrals and colors
• Common Mistakes

Determining your flooring transitions 

• Flooring Material
• Transition do's and do not's
• Patterns

 Trim selections

• Doors
• Case and base
• Wall details

 Fireplaces

•  Types of fireplaces available
•  Height of opening from floor
•  Materials

Ceilings 

•  Creating an interesting ceiling
•  Where to change colors
•  Beams or no beams?  When to and when not to.

Elements of a great kitchen

• Current trends
• Function
• Mistakes to not make
• Cool gadgets to think about incorperating

 Elements of a great bathroom

• Current trends
• Making every inch usable
• Mistakes to watch for

 Lighting design...It's not always about the fixtures

• Three levels of lighting to each room
• Why go green?
• How to figure locations and heights of your lighting
• Common mistakes

 Proper furniture selections

• Comfort
• Sizes
• Fabric selections
•       Pattern
•       Picking Durability
• Common mistakes when mixing and matching furniture

  Dressing a window properly

• Height to hang treatments
• Blinds that are available
• Do's and do not's on drapery

 Accessorizing your home

• How high to hang your wall decor
• Grouping photos
• Book cases
• Mantles
• Placing your mirrors in the perfect place
• Tables
• Florals

The bedroom

• Furniture layout
• Ways to dress your bed

 The great master closet

• The not so obvious things to plan for
• General measurements required for function
• Cool gadgets to incorporate
• Lighting/colors

The importance of the office

• How many hours a day does it get used
• How many occupants
• Determine the equipment
• Optional layouts

 The basement design

• Determine if this is going to be an extension of the living portion of the house
• Come up with a budget
• Tricks to making it not feel like a basement

 What creates curb appeal with your home?

• Finishes selections
• Where to stop and start different materials
• The front door
• Garage doors
• Window selections and shapes
• What not to do

 Exterior living: This is becoming very important even in the colder areas

• Material selections
• The elements to include in a great design
•       The summer kitchen
•       The sun bathing area
•        A covered space for when it rains     

           If you have any money left after the above must haves items then go all out with the fallowing:

• Fire feature
• Water feature
• Hot tubs or pools
• Outside shower 

I know this is a big list. I do intend on working on all of the blogs as things come to my mind, but will post each blog in order as I get them completed. I will add to already posted blogs if I feel like I forgot something.  Keep checking back as you are working on your projects.

If you need clarification on something I said, please so not hesitate to ask for visual examples. I will be happy to provide them.   If I do not have examples to pull from my own portfolio or our online store I will reach out to houzz and Pinterest for pictures and will be sure to credit the posting person. That is of course unless it is on my "do not's" list. I will not list their name.

Wish me luck everyone.

Tess

Interior Designer

Proprietor of Posh Places, Inc.