Hugh over at gapingvoid is a favorite of mine. Completely unrelated to interior design, but he has great insight and ideas into marketing, and life in general. He has an ongoing section for readers to submit their own 500-words-or-less manifesto on any topic they choose. Did I mention he’s a hilarious cartoonist to boot? Without further ado, here is my interior design manifesto:
1. There are no rules when it comes to designing your own space.
There are tons of things to consider when creating a space that will suit you. See my five part series on the principles of design as a start. But you should ALWAYS feel free to throw all of that out the window and do whatever strikes your fancy.
2. You don’t need an interior designer for every project.
So what if I have a degree in interior design? Does that make me any better at designing a space FOR YOU? The true mettle of a designer is their ability to get inside their client’s head to pull out their desires and then implement them.
3. You don’t have to be “good at design” to make your space your own.
Being “good at design” is mostly a matter of visualization. Some people have a hard time visualizing what “could be”. It’s the main stumbling block, really. But you can train yourself to do it through trial and error. [Step 1: find cool item; Step 2: buy cool item; Step 3: put cool item in your home; Step 4: realize cool item looks like crap in that room. Repeat as necessary until Step 4 doesn’t happen anymore.]
4. If you aren’t sure about something, try it on for awhile.
This is the epitome of “Step 3″ above. Lots of stores will allow you to take an item home for a trial run. Or they will at least have a good return policy. Don’t deal with stores that don’t offer one or the other! You try clothes on, why shouldn’t you try on a new rug?
5. Color is not the enemy.
Paint is the least expensive and easiest tool you can use to transform a space. Do not be afraid of color. The worst that can happen is that you have to paint over it because you don’t like the results. It may be that beige is the color for you — that’s ok. My house has some beige walls, too. There’s a reason it’s so popular!
6. Don’t hang your pictures too high on the wall.
Ok, I know I said in #1 that there are no rules. But this is one of my biggest pet peeves when I do see it. If you have to crick your neck to look at the center of a picture, it’s too high!!
