Guest Post - These 3 Design Rules Will Never Fail You

Today the team of Decor Aid have joinedme with a little guest post. It's all about designing your new home and since Imoved last year, I thought this post would be perfect for me blog. Make sure you check them out: https://www.decoraid.com

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In the world of interior design, many things are subjective to individual taste. What one person swears by may be deemed unnecessary or unattractive by another. And while we’re encouraging many to break design rules in 2019 and go with what they truly like when designing their home, there are just some things that have aesthetic appeal that can’t be countered. Here are three design rules that Decor Aid’s interior designers have emphasized for ages, and swear you’ll never go wrong with.

Hang art at eye level.

The way your eye takes in, analyzes, and determines the space of the room has to do with the way you’ve placed your furniture, art, and fixtures around the room. Many think they can alter the appearance of ceiling height by hanging their art higher or lower, but it usually results in a crowded and disproportionate look instead. Alternatively, you should really hang your art at eye level, or even slightly lower.

Furthermore, once you’ve figured out the height that works best with your art and space, you’ll want to keep this consistent with the rest of the pieces you hang. Differentiation in hanging technique will look jumbled and messy.

If you are hanging multiple pieces, especially of different sizes, the most important trick is to make sure they all have the same center height so they remain unified and aligned, and your center height should be the predetermined eye level. Even if pieces are taller, they will appear more structured and apparent when all center points match at the same height, instead of lining up edges or frames.

Layer your lighting.

The easiest way to make a room feel lifeless is to have inadequate light sources. Most rooms will not always get the best natural light, and when the sun sets it’s up to your chosen light fixtures to bring some brightness back to the space. However, a single floor lamp or ceiling light is not going to do the trick, and often leaves your space looking flat and bleak. The best way to keep your space lively and vibrant is to layer your lighting in different ways throughout the room. They should vary in intensity to create depth and allow you to feel the dimension of the space—and the different opportunities for new decor through different fixtures certainly don’t hurt either.

Choose your window treatments carefully.

It’s easy to be blinded by a gorgeous color or alluring pattern when choosing curtains, but just because the material is ideal does not mean the size and shape of the curtain is too. Before making any decisions with your window treatments, take full measurements of the size of your windows and understand the sizes you’ll need. If you choose a size that’s wrong for your window height, you’ll be left with a disproportionately looking space, making your curtains appear visibly ill-fitting.

The ideal way to hang your curtains is to place your curtain rod halfway between the window and ceiling, and let your curtains hang just above the floor, ideally about a half inch or less.

This gives a more elegant and polished look, and lengthens the appearance of the room. Contrary to what you might think, a shorter curtain cuts your room and tend to have a cheaper appearance.

Curtain rods should also be wide enough to extend past the width of your window, instead of meeting at just about the same width. This is useful for bringing more light into your space. A wider curtain rod will allow you to open your curtains fully, and let them hang outside the frame of the window so that light can be allowed in fully. A rod that is less wide will keep your curtains hanging over the face of the window, even if they are fully opened.