New Home Decorating: Where do you start?

Summer is the most popular time for people to move and 2016 was no exception! With a very busy summer here at Cornerstone Capital, we are so happy to have helped many new home owners finance their dreams. After all the forms are signed and the boxes are unpacked, many people struggle with where to prioritize their decorating dollars. Here is a quick guide to help you organize your decorating time and budget.

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  Paint – Paint is the most transformative thing you can do to make your house, your home. If you can, paint before you move in: it’s so much easier to paint without furniture and boxes in the room. Not sure what paint color to use? Here are a few tips:

  • Take a hint from your current belongings: Maybe an accent chair has a color you love, use that as your wall color. Have a bedspread or a piece of art that you want to keep and build the room around, use that as your inspiration for color.
  • Use Pinterest and/or Houzz to browse millions of pictures of different rooms in different colors and find one you love.
  • Go basic with neutrals. Even if you’re not ready for a bold accent wall, picking a few neutrals to pull together your home will brighten it up with minimal hit to your budget. Here is a guide to great neutral paint choices: http://www.bhg.com/decorating/color/neutrals/neutral-paint-colors/

• Pick a Room to Invest on Furniture – Spend all of your time in the Family Room? Bedroom? Kitchen/Dining Room? Pick that all important space and invest in furniture that you plan to keep for a long time. For the rest of the rooms, try to inherit furniture from friends, families or garage sales. There will be plenty of time in your home to invest in these rooms in the future.

• Inexpensive Art – Nothing says brand new house like blank, empty walls. There are tons of options for inexpensive wall art that can convey your style and personalities without breaking the budget. Shop online or in-store and find some pieces to compliment that new paint job. Ikea, Wayfair and HomeGoods are all great places to start.

• Basic Window Covering – While most people want to get to know their neighbors, most don’t want their neighbors to be able to watch them eat dinner each night. Window coverings are important when you first move in, but buying blinds and curtains for every room can be expensive and daunting. Instead focus on basic window coverings, either simple curtains or blinds, so you have privacy.

Above all, when decorating, have fun!  Pick items that you love and don’t worry about everything being matchy/matchy. You want your home to reflect yourself, not a furniture showroom. Happy Painting!!