Congratulations on purchasing your forever home! What an exciting time for you and your family. Now that you’ve gone through the whole process of searching through home websites, touring dozens of places and, finally, filling out paperwork, the house is finally yours.

As all the dust settles, you may be wondering what’s next. How do you decide what furniture to buy, what colors to paint the walls or which drapery to hang above your windows?

If these questions sound familiar, then there’s no need to worry. Let’s walk through the important items to consider before getting started on your dream home’s design.

Before decorating your space, you should establish your home’s aesthetic.

Define Your Style

You bought your home for a number of reasons. One of those may be that you love the home’s style. Victorian, modern, cottage. You name it, and it’s probably a type of house design. Now that you own the home, you get to decide if you want to amplify the existing style of your new space, shift the arrangement slightly or completely start from scratch.

If you love the vintage touches in an older home, then you may want to lean even further into it by incorporating classic pieces and charming, more old-fashioned furniture. Or if you bought a sleek, modern house that you just adore, you can stick with the contemporary style with neutral colors, abstract art and furniture that focuses on straight lines or funky shapes.

Often, you purchase a place based on the existing style. It’s okay to make changes to the interior, but it can be extremely helpful and fun to use the home’s style to guide your design. Consider the architecture and niche aspects of your rooms as inspiration for decor and furniture. That way you can add pieces to the space that will work with the existing design rather than distract from it.

Ultimately, defining your style is important. Whether you switch up everything from head to toe or opt to use the space as a foundation for your decorating, it’s vital that you determine this before jumping in.

Look Back: What Pieces Are You Hoping To Add From Your Previous Home?

Because this is your forever home, you’ve most likely lived in other houses previously. That being said, you’ve probably collected tons of different furniture throughout your life and now have a pretty hefty collection of pieces. This isn’t a bad thing! You just need to determine what items you’d like to keep as a part of your new home’s design and decide which products you can wave goodbye to.

Just because you have a new home doesn’t mean that you have to get brand new furniture. But, you’ll want the furniture and decor to work with the design you’ve set your sights on. The beautiful heirlooms and sentimental pieces that are important to you don’t have to be forgotten about. There’s a way to make them shine without sacrificing style in the process.

The contrast between old and new can be a creative and beautiful thing. It can be a strategic way to make a room look interesting and dimensional.

Let’s say you have a beautiful collection of decorative plates, but you don’t want to have a china cabinet. You can hang them on the wall in your dining room to make a gallery wall, mixing the modern setup with a traditional touch.

Here are some tips for including heirlooms in your new home’s design:

• Use frames: If you have a handful of important papers like concert tickets or old postcards, elevate their presentation by putting them in frames and hanging them on the walls or putting them on side tables.
• Mix and match: Often, older pieces can’t live alone without making the total design look more vintage than you may desire. A great way around this is to mix sentimental pieces with more contemporary decor.
• Scatter decor: If you have a large collection of existing furniture, it’s best to not put them in the same space. Spread them out and blend in newer decor to keep a consistent look and feel throughout your home.

You don’t have to put your heirlooms in storage. Mix and match the old and the new by incorporating special pieces throughout your house.

Unlock Your Home’s Perfect Layout and Design

After going through the home-buying process, you may be ready to take a break. Decorating Den Interiors would love to help you sit back and relax while we do the hard work of getting your house ready to be enjoyed.

Contact our team to be assigned a personal decorator who will look at your heirlooms, existing furniture and home design to come up with a fabulous decor plan specific to your needs. Reach out today!