Eight questions to ask yourself before starting a decorating project

Any decorating project, big or small, can seem daunting. How do you work out where to begin? How do you know you’ll like the results? How can you ensure you’re not making costly mistakes that will take time and money to put right? And social media, while providing lots of inspiration for our homes, often adds to the confusion. In fact cutting through all the noise – the trends, the opinions, the multitude of so-called ‘design rules’ – and working out what really resonates with you can be surprisingly tricky.

To make things easier, I’ve put together eight questions to ask yourself at the very start of the process, before you even plan a scheme. I know it’s tempting to rush straight in, especially if you’ve inherited decor you really don’t like from previous occupants, but taking time to mull over the below will help you hone in on your personal style and needs, and avoid acting on impulse. Whether you’re redecorating a single room or embarking on a top-to-bottom renovation, I hope they give you the confidence and clarity to set about creating a home that will work for you, your lifestyle and your budget, and that you’ll love for years to come.

‘How do I want my home to make me feel?’

For me, this is the most important question of all, and the very first thing you should consider. After all, interior design can have a huge impact on our health and mood, and I always say it should be as much about wellbeing as aesthetics. So, think about how you want to feel when you step in through the door – perhaps calm and relaxed, or uplifted and joyful? It’s only once you’ve identified the ambiance you want to create that you can start thinking about how to bring it to life through the decor, layout and furnishings.

‘How will I use the space?’

Map out what activities take place in your home and how you’re going to use each area. Make sure all your needs are accommodated and think about any non-essentials that you’d love to incorporate if possible – maybe a cosy nook where you can curl up with a book, or an open-plan space where the whole family can gather together. But be realistic here and base things on the life you actually have, rather than the life you think you should have. There’s no point creating an area for large dinner parties if you don’t enjoy hosting, or setting aside a room as a home office if you actually prefer working from the dining table.

‘Which existing elements work for me and which don’t?’

Take time to identify which bits of your home already function well for you and which don’t. You might love the sense of openness but get frustrated by the lack of storage, or adore the period features but find the layout has no flow. Working out where you need to focus your budget and attention is important, but you also need to ensure you don’t lose sight of the things that drew you to your home in the first place.

‘Which spaces have appealed to me in the past, and which haven’t?’

Think back to places you’ve visited where you instantly felt happy and comfortable – hotels, holiday rentals, other people’s houses, even bars and restaurants. What was it about them that had that effect on you? Conversely, which spaces made you feel on edge and why? Working out how different elements of design impact us (both consciously and subconsciously) can help us drill down into what we want and don’t want in our own homes and stop us being led astray by others’ opinions. For example, I know I struggle to relax in very vibrant interiors so I always avoid them, no matter how often friends and family tell me I should experiment with more colour!

‘What will make the biggest difference?’ 

Redecorating can be stressful, especially if multiple rooms are involved. Tackling one area at a time will give you focus and reduce disruption, so I’d suggest working out what change will make the biggest difference to your daily life and starting there – perhaps redoing the space you spend the most time in, or knocking down a wall to sort out a basic layout issue. If you’re embarking on a total renovation then things might be more set in stone, as structural changes, rewiring, plumbing and plastering etc will likely need to be done in a certain order. But breaking the work down into smaller chunks and plotting out what will happen when will make the whole thing seem more manageable, as well as giving you time to think ahead about decisions you’ll need to make further down the line.

‘What must-have items do I need to incorporate?’

Are there any non-negotiables that will need to be incorporated into the finished scheme? It could be a cherished collection, a favourite artwork, the world’s comfiest armchair, or a much-loved family heirloom that you never want to part with. Considering any such pieces from the start will avoid headaches and incongruities later on in the process.

‘Do I really like this, or am I being skewed by current trends?’ 

It’s great to draw ideas from magazines, Instagram and Pinterest, but try to work out why particular things catch your eye. If you have your heart set on a particular look or colour, is it because you truly love it, or are you only drawn to it because you’re suddenly seeing it everywhere? Similarly, don’t scrap an idea just because someone says it’s no longer ‘in’. I’ve lost track of the amount of times I’ve heard that grey is over, and beige certainly seems to be the neutral of choice at the moment, but I really like grey so I’m in no rush to redecorate my own (mostly grey) home.

‘Will this still work for me in a few years’ time?’

None of us want to spend a lot of time and money on a decorating project, only for it to stop working for us within a year or two. Of course it’s hard to predict exactly how our needs will change in the future, but being aware of potential issues helps us create spaces that can evolve and adapt with us. For example, if you think your home office might one day get used as playroom, choose hard-wearing flooring and leave space for additional storage. Or, if you’re rewiring as part of a renovation, add in a few extra conduits to allow for advancing technology. What’s more, focussing on timeless style and avoiding anything that’s centred entirely around current trends – particularly when it comes to big-spend rooms such as kitchens and bathrooms – will lessen the risk of spaces quickly looking dated.

Once you’ve worked through the above questions, you should have a clearer idea of what you want from your home and what changes you need to make. Then comes the fun part: searching for inspiration and planning your scheme! More on that in a future post… 

All photography by Abi Dare