Where does great design begin? You might have seen pictures of perfectly-put-together rooms and wondered how they evolved and came together. Well today I thought I’d share a little bit of our design process with you, and since we’re working on a great room project right now, it’s the perfect chance to illustrate it all step by step.

People often tell us that when they start decorating they feel overwhelmed by how much there is to do and don’t know where to start. But the truth is, though every project ends up different, they should all start the same way.

Every time we start a new project – and I mean every single time – we always have the same first step. You might be thinking: Selecting an inspirational fabric? Running out to the shops to get ideas? Nope, not at all. The first place to start is to measure your room and draw up your floor plan. That’s right, just one room. One of my design rules is to focus the work on one room work rather than trying to complete the whole house. You will be far happier when one room is complete rather than having all of your rooms barely started.

Our Current Project:

The house we are working on is still under construction, so it was the perfect time to swing by and jot down all the dimensions.

 As soon as we got back to the office, we entered all of this into our computer and started drawing up our floor plan. Now you don’t have to do that, you can always use your hand-drawn sketch, as this also gives you a guide for what can actually fit in your room. Or, if you want, you can use any of those fun room planners that can be found online.

Design Concept:

Here you can see that we placed the TV to face the entertainment wall. We decided to go with this pretty gray and pale blue thick linen upholstery fabric on the sofa. And in order to give it some richness and plushness, we added a few luxurious velvet pillows and pillows made from this pretty linen fabric.

Apart from the sofa, we wanted to add several layers of additional seating and plan to use separate berbers on either side of the sofa. Since we kept the sofa a little neutral with a pretty gray/blue linen, we decided to bring in this rich chinoiserie pattern on the side chairs. (Curious about what chinoiserie  is? Click here to read more.) I just love this gorgeous blue/celadon green color, and the pattern is so pretty! What do you think, do you love chinoiserie too?

We are tying the whole space together with a pretty antique oushak rug which is one of my favorite underfoot options.   

For tables, we’ll pick out a few from the selection of side tables and coffee tables at the shop. Here are a couple we are considering right now.

And last but not least, when working on a project we always budget for art and accessories. A room just doesn’t have that finished, polished, cohesive look unless those are planned into the project. Of course you can add these over time, as you travel and shop, but do consider them as part of your entire design. Here are a few accessories and pieces we hope to incorporate into our final installation:

So if you’re about to start a project, be sure to start with the most basic information. What is the size of the room you are working in? You’ll want to keep at least 3′ in any major walkways for circulation – so keep that in mind when you’re figuring out sizes of furniture. 

Once you do this for your room you will know exactly the size and scale of the pieces are you looking for and will really enjoy the search for those special one-of-a-kind items so much more. We all want to create moments of happiness and nostalgia in our home, and it feels so good when you select things with care and love and they fit like a glove when you get them home! 

I’ll be sure to share pics when we get it all installed!

Till next time.