Five Steps to Designing Your Dream Space
When thinking about a home renovation, people generally have the same questions: How do I start designing a space? What steps should i follow to transform a room? How can I design my dream house? Learn about five steps to designing your dream space in this D.Signers video:
1. Identify your needs and dreams: The real meaning and purpose of design is to change and improve our quality of life through both beauty and functionality. Designers normally start their projects by meeting their clients and interpreting their personalities and identifying their needs and dreams. Make a wish list to organize your ideas. Some of these questions might be:
- What is the purpose of this renovation?
- How do I want to feel in this space?
- Who uses this space?
- What do I want to improve?
- What activities will I do in this space?
- What is my budget?
The answers to all these questions will help you identify your priorities, and they will provide the key things that you need to do to achieve your final goal. They will also help at the time of making choices because you will clearly know what is the purpose of the renovation.
2. Define your style: Defining what we like and what identifies us is crucial since it will serve as a guide in all steps of the design process. It will help you make the right decisions to achieve a harmonious composition. A great tip for defining your style is making a mood or inspiration board – a mix of images, illustrations, colors, textures, patterns or anything that inspires you – that will in turn define your project. Making a mood board helps you to get inside your head and explore your creativity as it shows what you are feeling towards any creative idea and reveals our vision. There are many ways to make a mood board. You can use Photoshop or an app like Canva which allows you to diagram all your images and create your mood board in just minutes, or make it physically by printing the images and pasting them onto paper or cardboard. You can be inspired by the colors of nature to define your color palette. You can include textures, reference projects, specific decor pieces, materials, landscapes or any other thing that defines your style. It will be easier to make choices when it’s time to shop because you already have your goal visualized. Remember that the mood board will guide you throughout the design process until you have achieved your goal.
3. Define your budget: It is necessary to establish the scope of your project. Be realistic with the numbers and don’t forget to include the project supplies, materials, installation cost, transportation cost, and the little things that add up. Going step by step, organize the things you have to do to complete the entire renovation. Be very specific and don’t forget any detail so you can have as accurate a budget as possible. Remember to leave a little wiggle room in the budget to help with unexpected and additional expenses. Know your budget and evaluate the priorities. Think and invest in things that generate a real change in your space while taking into account the final appearance. Remember that everything is a process, and you can go at your own pace according to your possibilities.
4. Plan your space: Once you know your needs, style, and budget very well, you’re ready to plan your space. The next step is to plan a layout according to all your needs. Start choosing the color of the walls, the materials for flooring, the design of the ceilings, the lighting plan and everything related to the general aspects of the space. This is also the time to position your furniture and make your floor plan according to the needs you have already identified. It’s important to take precise measurements of the space and distribute furniture to define the specific dimensions of each element that you need to buy, such as sofas, tables, and rugs. Remember to take into account situational space to be able to move freely and comfortably in the room. Take your time and diagram your space, making sure you have a result that suits what you need. While professional design software is helpful, you can also do a sketch by hand. The key is to take precise measurements and know the detailed dimensions of what we need to buy to fill our space.
5. Make it happen: Once you have identified your needs, style, and budget, the layout of your space, and the type of furniture that will fit your space, it’s time to go out and shop for the pieces that you need. Before taking this step, however, it’s good to take along samples of the paint colors, flooring, fabrics, or any other type of materials you have chosen so you can visualize how everything will look together in the space. You also need to take into account the natural light of the space at different times of the day as this will affect your perception of materials and colors. At this point, you have time to make changes without any problem. When you are sure of your plan, feel free to start shopping because you’re ready to do it. Remember that you made an entire design process – all the ideas, notes and guides are there to help, so feel confident about what you want to achieve and what you are looking for. This space is yours, and it must be special for you, not for anyone else. Make sure to make a list of the online or physical stores that you have available for shopping depending on your location. Bring your mood board with you to serve as a guide; it will help you stay on track with your style, color palette and materials when certain doubts arise. Finally, take your time shopping and enjoy the process. You don’t have to buy everything together or in the same store; sometimes it is better to buy little by little so you can better visualize the pieces in the actual space.
