We get inspired, plan, and organize — we have collected useful tips for those who are going to make repairs without the help of a designer.
1. Decide on a style
There is a stereotype that choosing a certain style makes the renovation more difficult and certainly requires the participation of a designer. A specific interior direction will greatly simplify the selection of finishes, furniture, décor, and even stores to which you will need to go shopping. You will also be able to make clearer search queries on the Internet: for example, “finishing materials for the Scandinavian style” instead of “which flooring to choose”. This way, you will get accurate and relevant information for your queries: search engines will return materials written by experts on exactly the right topic, as well as forums where people discuss such issues.
2. Delve into the topic
Observation is formed over the years, but it is not necessary to be at the level of professional designers before starting repairs. However, the more visual materials you look through (here the choice of a specific style will also help a lot to understand what exactly to look for) and the more articles on the topic you read, the more clearly you will understand what result you want to achieve and what is needed for this. Subscribe to social networks and free newsletters of interior magazines, create boards on Pinterest, scroll through thematic blogs, and be sure to save your favorite examples.
3. Organize communication
Most likely, you will not do the repairs all alone. Already at the stage of choosing a style, make sure that each member of the family who participates has constant access to all the information:
- Use online tools. For example, it is convenient to keep estimates and schedule repairs in Google Sheets: days of deliveries, trips for materials, deadlines for work, etc.
- In notes, you can store employee contacts, store addresses, and text notes.
- With virtual presentations or collaborative whiteboards on Pinterest, it’s easy to create visual collections for different rooms.
- In the planner app, you can schedule everyone’s tasks, set deadlines, and mark the progress of work.
This approach to planning will help you avoid long verbal explanations, misunderstandings, and quarrels because someone has forgotten or misunderstood something.
4. Create visual collections
The design project should be visual, so you can’t do without taking pictures. For those who own graphic editors, it will be easier: they can take a photo of the apartment and “try on” new furniture or wallpaper on it. But even if you don’t have such skills, don’t despair. For example, with Canva, Crello, Visme, and the like, it’s easy to create a mood board: put the furniture or colors you plan to use on the same page and see how it all fits together. Pictures can be saved in different formats, sent to other people, and co-edited.
5. Find like-minded people
At the stage of creating a design project, it is important not to be left alone with your doubts and questions. Register on forums, share ideas, and ask those who have already made repairs how they solved certain problems. Subscribe to blogs run by people who design their own homes. But don’t forget about politeness and ask only what you can’t find in search engines — then your communication will bring maximum benefit.
Don’t be afraid to contact designers or professional workers as well – often they provide verbal advice for a nominal amount or are simply ready to share their experience.
