Great interior design for the home. Some homeowners, no matter what they throw together in terms of fabrics, furniture and furnishings, just seem to get it right. Some however, no matter how hard they try, just don’t! So what makes good interior design for your home?

First, remember that your home is essentially a backdrop to your life. It should reflect your personality, your style and your interests. It’s your home so it should be unique, not pretentious! After all you’re going to be spending most of your time there aren’t you (even if it’s sleeping)?

Interior scheme

Let the interior scheme reflect who lives in your home, rather than just be a cold interpretation of somebody else ideas. Above all your house needs to be a place you all enjoy living in; it’s not a showroom. If you don’t consider who uses the space, the interior will look staged and uncomfortable. It will forever be a den of visual conflict rather than a haven of comfort and hospitality. Some styles, lovely as they may be to look at, just won’t go with certain lifestyles.

To illustrate, if you and your family are outdoor types with dogs galore and the mess that goes with them. It would be restrictive to live in a minimalistic interior predominantly featuring glass table tops, white piled carpet and highly lacquered wood. Life would be hell, as every spare moment would be spent cleaning, polishing and vacuuming up dog hairs! However, you could still achieve a similar minimalistic look, by being creative with the finishes and the furnishings to make it more practical for your family’s lifestyle. Change the unforgiving glass tops for wipe-clean tiles, the lacquered wood for reclaimed unfinished timber and the pale carpets for tartan plaid or sanded floorboards. It just takes a little imagination.

Practicality

Practicality is the key to great home design. Striving to create the perfection of a glossy magazine photograph is a recipe for failure. Remember that those images are staged by interior stylists, professionally lit by experienced photographers, then digitally retouched in an artwork studio. The chances of us mere mortals creating that same ‘perfect look’ are minuscule. By all means use the images as inspiration, as a guide, but then adapt them for your personal circumstances. That way you’ll create something special.

Each room in your home needs to be considered separately like a mini-project rather than forcing a blanket style throughout the home which will just look clumsy and forced. Create and experiment with simple mood boards for each space with samples of fabrics, photos and splashes of colour. Create atmosphere.

Teenage dens, toddler nurseries and elegant granny flats require completely different styles and decor to suit the occupants whereas communal areas such as hallways, lounges, kitchens and living areas can use common finishes to help a design theme flow through the house.

Still unsure of your next steps? Take inspiration from My Home, and be guided by the responses of fellow ‘interior designers’ on the site. But be brave and keep it personal, so that the scheme you put together is your very own creation.