Create ambience with furniture, lighting and accessories.
The ambience of your home can be characterized in three words: display, display, display. The orchestration of color, furnishings, lighting and accessories create the mood, tone and atmosphere of the environment. Are you soft and fuzzy, needing an upholstered nest, or do the clean lines of high-tech attract you? Asking questions about what surrounds you is the first step in creating an ambience for comfort and usefulness that signifies the essence of the occupant. Does this Spark an idea?
Utilizing Space
Preferring open or closed space is a personal decision. A room full of clutter may be heaven to some and hell to others. Make the most of interior space in either case. Simplify and clear out dust-collecting knick-knacks, clean off kitchen counters, then remove piles from table tops and bookshelves. Keep essential belongings and display them. For the high-tech or contemporary home, cantilever shelving off walls instead of using free-standing bookshelves. Built-in cabinets and shelves help open up space and can be designed in contemporary or traditional looks. Keep children's areas separated from those used for entertaining.
Choosing a Design Style
The amazing array of design style choices can make a beginner's head spin. Start searching different furniture eras online until one speaks to you. The two major groups are contemporary and traditional. These break down into subgroups that have developed within regions of the world over time. Some examples of period looks include American country, French and Italian provincial, Scandinavian, Tudor, Victorian, Mission, Art Deco and Bauhaus. You might want to go Southwestern or pull together an eclectic mix of furnishings and be "chic bohemian." High-tech is still in vogue and has transferred into many American kitchens via stainless steel appliances. Fen Shui is the ancient Chinese art of arranging furnishings to seek harmony and balance and creates sleek Asian styling. Mid-century modern furnishings from the 1950s and '60s are a look unto itself.
Color
Color affects the ambience of a space.
Color warms and cools interior ambience depending on its shade and hue. Reds are warm and exciting, blues are generally calming, while greens and yellows can be vibrant if strong and dark or muted when lightened. An entire home can be painted in neutral tones of gray or beige, leaving the furnishings to add color. Color affects emotions on a psychological and spiritual level.
Lighting
Lighting changes the mood.
When observing different design styles, notice what lighting has been used. Dramatic lighting can create ambience. Installing dimmers, either at the wall switches or on the lamp itself, helps change the mood of a room. Freestanding floor and table lamps, chandeliers, pendants, recessed ceiling cans and wall sconces fill the general areas with light and act as task lighting. Dim lighting is romantic but also disguises a not-so-tidy environment.
Flooring
Flooring can make a strong statement.
If the budget is tight, begin with the floor that exists and build around that. Improve old wood floors by cleaning or painting them. Use area rugs under seating groups. Wall-to-wall carpeting can be purchased in any price range.
Accessories
Accessorize with things you adore.
Here's where simple furnishings can be pulled together to create the selected ambience and really show your style. Sleek, high-tech interiors need little, and bohemian chic can take as much as one collects. Accessorize slowly using family heirlooms, beloved objects, books, pillows and personal collections. Buying "accessories" at discount stores can be a waste of money and normally appear cheap. Keep large walls of family photographs in private areas, away from entertaining areas. Framed reproduction posters can substitute for high priced authentic art. Artistic friends can also be a great source for paintings, drawings, pottery and sculpture.
Obtaining Furnishings
Furnishings can be collected from family and friends, found in thrift shops, retail stores or purchased through interior designers. Trading and buying online can be an adventure. Local newspapers offer furniture for sale at garage sales or directly from the owner. Terrific bargains can be found to complete or add to the style and mood of your home.
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