5 Myths about interior design

You need to know your style

Listen, you don’t have to know what style you want or any style at all. There are so many styles I can’t even name them all and it's not super helpful for most people. If you use Pinterest for inspiration, you will be better off just typing in things you like, for example - light and airy living room or dark wood kitchen. There will be plenty of ideas that come up to get you started. Naming a style is overrated and most of the time, homes are not designed in one style. Homes might have elements of different styles blended together. 

Home design is expensive

It can be if you pay someone to do it all for you and you come to the finished product, but most designers don’t work like that. Designer is there to steer you in the right direction and to help you piece together the full picture and give you confidence to style your home. You may decide to have a consultation and initial design concept drawn and it can stop there, or you may need help with selecting the right things to buy. Normally, you will then purchase the items and do all the work yourself. This process is usually priced as any other services you may use. Some designers offer free consultation. 

You need to start from scratch

Actually, it's easier if you start with what you have. What I mean is that it's good to have a starting point. If you own certain things that you can’t remove or replace or that you simply want to keep, use them as an inspiration for the new design. Use your flooring, wall finishes, kitchen colour or furniture and find things that will look good with those. Have any existing artwork that you love? Pull in some colours of that one and use them in the space. You don’t need to recreate everything, just add style to the existing.

You need to transform the entire house

I know how it is; you think while I'm doing this room, I should also redo this one and another and the kitchen to go with that….listen, don’t! Don’t think you have to do all this to create a cohesive home. Unless you have a newly built home, most people can’t do that. It takes time, it costs money and thinking like that will only make you feel like you don’t even want to start. Focus on one area at the time and make it your starting point. Sometimes small changes are the ones with the biggest impact. 

You have to get it right the first time. 

Well, actually you don’t, and you probably won’t, because designing a space is a process like any other which requires some level of iteration. 

Why:

Your taste and needs might change over time, and you will need to make amendments. You find that certain things are not working the best after living in space for a while. It's a good idea to live in your space for a while to find out what is required.

What can help:

What you can focus on is the planning. Making a good and detailed plan for the design will help you gather and sort your thoughts and minimise mistakes. Make a good selection board and play with the colour scheme until you are happy with the result. 

Allow some room for error - experiment with smaller stuff like art and decor to find out what you like, shop second hand, if something doesn't work out at least you did not break the bank.

Keep the big-ticket items neutral unless you absolutely love a certain colour or style. Add the personality with the decor. 

Most people who get a design concept done by an interior designer don't go ahead and do it all straight away. They sit on it for months, maybe even change it.