Tips and Tricks: Creating Your Favorite Space

It's Thursday and we're due for a design post!
Today I'm going to unpack my top three tips for arriving at your favorite space.  Shall we?

One: Find your Inspiration Piece First
In order to achieve the room you love, my most important tip is starting with a piece you love.  Too often people will paint their walls and THEN start searching for the furniture, textiles, and accessories.  They run into problems when they realize their favorite couch doesn't match their wall color.  For this reason, choose a couch, pillow, bedding, or piece of art you want to be your "inspiration piece" and choose your wall colors and other decor to follow suit.

Sarah Richardson does this so well. Her inspiration often comes from an inspiring textile or material, such as this headboard fabric:

Or this kitchen backsplash that dictated the greens, blues and grays for the space:


Lastly, this striped chair made for a sure statement room when she decided to bring stripes up the walls, too! Love her boldness.
*all images via

Two: Space Plan
 A smartly arranged room makes all the difference.  Here are three things to consider:

1. Pushing your furniture against walls to make the space look larger is a total myth (: {unless that really is your only option.} Besides, it gives the room more personality if the furniture is angled or out in the room.
2. To create a sense of unity in the room, create conversation areas with groupings of chairs, the use of an area rug, or things of that nature.
3. Highlight the best features.  Turn the furniture to accentuate a fireplace, beautiful window, or your inspiration piece!

Here are some rooms with pleasing layouts:
via


via

Three: Dress it Up with Things You Love
Less is more, friends! Filling your room just to fill your room is the fastest way to end with a cluttered mess.  Once you arrive at your style, only buy things that fit your style and that you are truly in love with.  Then start styling book cases, floating shelves, media cabinets, dressers, gallery walls and the like.


via


Hopefully these tips will help you in designing your next space!
What things do you consider before starting to decorate or redesign a space? What are some of your recent design dilemmas?


I'm off to San Francisco with Cristin today to meet Holly, the talented blogger of Decor8 and the author of the new design book, Decorate. Can't wait!
Love,
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12 comments

  1. Great tips! I am in love that pink office and wallpapered bookshelves- gorgeous!

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  2. that is such a great idea to follow and love the interior images! dreamy! xoxo

    Might wanna win this lovely "Goodie" Bag of your choice?

    http://some-kind-of-style.blogspot.com/2011/08/win-your-own-dagens-outfit-goodie-blog.html

    Spread the word if you like!

    xoxo

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  3. Fabulous tips...ready to go home and start re-arranging!

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  4. Great tips!! Have so much fun at the book signing! xo

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  5. Oh, you will have so much fun. Hi to Cristin and enjoy. I agree with starting with an inspiration piece. Those images are all so gorgeous. One of my favorites is the nursery with the fabric framed above the changing table. So pretty.

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  6. I love that backsplash in the kitchen!

    These tips are really helping me. I'm currently trapped in pattern overload and am trying to step away, ha!

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  7. SUCH great tips and photos!! Love it all...need to go back and re-read and digest!

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  8. Thanks for the tips Michaela! (:

    I definitely love how you talked about the myth of pushing furniture to the edges of a room and how that doesn't make the space feel bigger. I watched an episode of Candice Olson's show where she 'floated the furniture' and it was amazing how much bigger the room felt after she re-arranged everything. I can't wait to have a house where we have a living room where floating the furniture is possible.

    p.s. I love that headboard in the first pic. Lovely colors.

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  9. Beautiful post!! Now I just need you to come and do this to all my rooms. Haha.

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Thank you for stopping by! If you have a specific question, please email me at hello@michaelanoelledesigns.com. I always reply to emails! Have a blessed day! xoxo

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