A Guide for Decorating Your Space from Scratch

Few things get an interior decorator's blood flowing quite like an empty room.

An empty room allows you to create a truly personalized, unique space.

Whether you’ve just moved into a new home and want to start from scratch or you’ve decided to just start over, the Baer’s Furniture Design Team has several tips and ideas to help you get started. As always, if you stop into one of our many Florida furniture stores, our trained sales representatives are always happy to discuss your design visions with you.

There are so many styles out there it might help to answer a few questions before you commit. Here are a few prompts to help you narrow your selection:

So, for instance, if you prefer maximalist décor, darker colors, and have a smaller space, you might consider tropical décor, which is characterized by busy jungle prints, dark greens, rattan, and works well in a smaller space. If you’re disappointed because tropical isn’t your style, there are many alternatives that will fit these criteria.

While this may not be the most exciting part of interior décor planning, it is essential. You need to not only know the dimensions of your room but where various obstacles are positioned. Important measurements include:

Bring your measurements with you whenever you shop for furniture.

If you determine your décor style first, this should make your color selection much easier. If you’re not sure how to choose your color palette, try entering the name of your chosen décor style into a search engine with the words “color palette.” That will help you get started.

You can never go wrong with neutral colors. For instance, this Bernhardt Addison Casual Sofa would fit with nearly any color palette. It’s a truly versatile piece.

Whoever said there’s no such thing as a free lunch never saw a vision board.

Most professional decorators use some fancy version of a vision board to create mockups of their project plans. You can use a site like Pinterest for inspiration and a free site like Canva to create your vision board. This will let you compare colors, furniture pieces, flooring, curtains, etc. side-by-side.

Don’t like the way a coffee table looks with a sofa? Delete and replace.

If you’re anything like us, you probably want to head right to your local Baer’s and start measuring sofas or bedframes. We get that, and you shouldn’t put that step off for too long.

However, it’s much easier to paint and install flooring before the room starts filling up. Paint your walls first because that tends to be the messiest step, then you can replace curtain rods, switch plates, door knobs, etc.

We might be a little biased, but choosing furniture pieces is one of the most rewarding parts of redecorating. Still, final selections should come later in the process. Unless they’re buying an entire bedroom set, most people choose a centerpiece to build around. For instance, the bed in a bedroom, the sofa in a living room, a dining room table, etc. Then you can match pieces and accessories that complement that piece.

Look at how the Bernhardt Mid-Century Modern Sofa from the Colette Collection draws together all other elements of this living room.

No matter what your design aesthetic is, there are going to be items that you really don’t want left out in the open. Either they’re delicate and need to be stored, or they detract from your design. If you’re using it to camouflage your electronics, we recommend choosing a storage console with cable management, like the Nara 4-Door Entertainment Credenza by Bernhardt. In addition to being a gorgeous piece of furniture with interesting texture and design, it’s extraordinarily practical.

When you are at the point where you’re ready to purchase furniture, stop in at one of Baer’s Furniture’s 16 Florida showrooms. Bring your measurements, paint cards, and vision board, and talk to one of our knowledgeable sales representatives about your home decorating project.