Would you believe me if I said all you need to decorate your room like a pro is ... Wifi?
Well you should! It's a little more involved than just your fundamental Internet connection, but as my vlog demonstrates with the example of Alisha Marie's recent bedroom makeover, you can get inspired for and then shop an entire room online! I've broken it down into 6 steps, so press play above, check out the pics and details below, and study up!
Step 1: Analyze the room
As an interior designer, time spent inside the space is an undeniable asset. Since Alisha (and all the other OMGWACO recipients) are busy people, we usually only visit the rooms once before the install. It's important to get the lay of the land and to make notes of things that work as is in the space. In Alisha's room, I really liked the positioning of the bed, the vanity in front of the window, and the TV in the corner — and I ended up incorporating all of those into my design!
It is also is important to get measurements! Not just a few standard ones ... I mean measure everything. If you're not able to get back into the space before decorating it, you don't want to end up needing the measurement of a window to order some custom blinds and find out after the fact you never got those numbers! Joey has a system of drawing out the measurements, as you'll see in the vlog, that we find helpful, but your personal system is up to you!
Trust me, those numbers become super important in a few steps!
Step 2: Inspo images
Seeing a space is only part of the equation ... you also need to see what someone envisions in it. I like to ask my clients to send me 3-5 inspiration images, off of which I can base a lot of my design and find out the vibes and pieces that are most important to them.
Step 3: Moodboard
Anyone who has watched my shopping vlogs knows that a major step of my master design plan is the moodboard! This is the first time the client sees my vision for the room, which incorporates their inspiration images and some direction and brainstorming of my own.
Step 4: Floorplan
Here is where those measurements I insisted you take come into play! Your floor plan is completely vital to decorating and designing a balanced and beautiful room. There are great online programs that let you basically build the room Sims-style, add in its key architectural features, and fill it with hypothetical furniture to get an idea for placements and dimensions that work best.
Step 5: Budget
Budgets are never the most fun part of planning for a room, but they are important!! Once you know the amount of money you have to work with, you can decide which stores you want to shop at for larger or smaller pieces. I like sites like CB2 and West Elm for more splurge/ investment pieces, like Alisha's bed for example, but I can't go all out unless the budget allows.
A tip I have for budgeting is to make a spreadsheet of expected purchases and their estimated cost, then another list of actual purchases and their actual cost. This will help you know where to rein it in and maybe sub in a DIY, and where you can get a little more swanky.
Step 6: Shop online!
You've made it through 5 steps, and now you're ready to shop! Much like the moodboard, I like to create a shopping board as I peruse items online to make sure all the pieces I am buying will play well together. I create this board before checking out at any one store, so I am completely confident that I've found exactly what the room needs.
Shop this room!:
Yay, happy Alisha!! Looks like the 6 steps worked!
