This guide provides essential tips for home interior design planning, focusing on functionality, budgeting, design themes, lighting, electrical work, plumbing work, and modular kitchens. It also offers a step-by-step guide to learn the modern process of planning a interior design project in Milanote, a free tool used by top creatives.
To start your interior design project, gather inspiration through images of furniture, textures, and materials that you love. Group everything into a folder or Pinterest board to keep a clear vision in one space.
For a great interior design, follow these 10 easy steps:
- Know what you want.
- Consider color.
- Find references.
- Learn the language of design.
- Ask and collaborate.
- Start from the ground up.
- Beware of light.
- Measure and sketch.
To create a cohesive style for your home, choose a color palette (and stick to it!). Layer different textures.
The first step should be to select a style for your home interior, promoting unity and harmony. Interior decoration is the finishing touch, and expert tips include identifying your decorating hero, picking a general color, making a space plan, bringing in major impact items, and focusing on the rug.
In summary, this guide offers essential tips for starting your interior design projects and ensuring a successful journey towards realizing your design dreams. By following these steps, you can create beautiful home interiors that reflect your personal style and preferences.
📹 TOP 10 INTERIOR DESIGN TIPS FOR SMALL ROOMS | BEHIND THE DESIGN
In this episode we’ll be sharing with you our top Interior Design hacks when it comes to designing small rooms whilst also sharing …
What is the 2 3 rule in interior design?
The 2:3 rule is a design principle that suggests that the largest piece of furniture, such as a sofa, should be proportional to the area, and vice versa, with the sofa serving as the point of departure and the other elements of the design working backwards from it.
Can I design my house myself?
Home design ideas can be found online through various resources such as interior design websites and magazines like interiordesign. net, thespruce. com, and elledecor. com. Home design apps can be used for building a house from scratch, redesigning a building, cooperating with an architect, or designing it yourself. These apps offer the same quality as professional designers but are less expensive.
The advantage of using a home design app is that you are in charge of the entire process, as you are the one who knows the functionality of your future home. By using these resources, individuals can create a personalized and cost-effective home design.
Can I design my own house plans?
Designing your own house plans can save time and money, and is also enjoyable. Local authorities often require a house blueprint with the permit application. If you have already designed the house layout, an architect can finalize the plan and convert it into a blueprint quickly. With your own house floor plan, the architect doesn’t start from scratch, giving you a good idea of your dream home design. RoomSketcher is an easy-to-use tool that allows you to draw up your house, remove walls, add furniture, and get a quick 3D rendering.
Can I teach myself interior design?
Interior design training is essential for success in the industry. While personal style and eye-catching are crucial, there are other skills that can’t be taught, such as lighting, understanding client needs, influencing social factors on design choice, communicating one’s skill set, and marketing. These skills are not self-taught but are essential for a designer’s success. An accredited interior design course in London can provide valuable knowledge on these areas, making it a worthwhile investment for future success. It is essential to note that these skills can take decades to learn on their own, making it a worthwhile investment for anyone interested in the field.
Can I do interior design myself?
If you’re creative and have the time to research, you don’t need to hire a professional interior designer to design your home. They’re only needed for structural changes in your house, and you can decide on other aspects. Here are actionable ideas to design a home without hiring an interior designer:
- Use space efficiently to maximize your living experience.
- Create a functional layout that maximizes the use of your space.
- Consider the overall aesthetic appeal of your home and consider the potential benefits of hiring an interior designer.
How do I start interior design from scratch?
Starting an interior design project from scratch can be daunting, but following these 15 steps can help you achieve beautiful results. First, set your budget. This will inform your decision-making process, as it will guide you through the process of choosing colors, textiles, and furnishings. It’s important to list the room’s necessary functions, choose a style, theme, or feel, gather inspiration, make a wish list, prioritize, measure, plan a tentative layout, find your first central item, and choose your primary fabrics.
Next, list the room’s necessary functions. Choose a style, theme, or feel, gather inspiration, make a wish list, prioritize, measure, plan a tentative layout, find your first central item, and choose your primary fabrics. This will help you avoid wasted time and ensure that your interior design project is within your budget.
How to design an interior of a whole house?
Create a cohesive and interesting decor plan for your whole house by creating a moodboard, developing a color palette, mixing and matching furniture, choosing a loose textile theme, experimenting with artwork and decor objects, and using plants to tie the space together. Creating a cohesive decor plan requires combining different elements without feeling overwhelmed or causing a complete mess. It is essential to avoid a perfectly matched space that lacks character or fails to show what you truly like.
By experimenting with different styles, colors, and furniture, you can create a unique and cohesive look that showcases your personal taste and preferences. By following these steps, you can create a unique and enjoyable space that showcases your personal style and preferences.
How to plan the interior design of a house?
To create a home interior design, gather inspiration from various sources like magazines, websites, social media, and blogs. Create a mood board or digital folder to organize ideas, color schemes, textures, and furniture styles. Sketch out different layout options for each room, considering traffic flow, focal points, and functional zones. Experiment with furniture arrangements to maximize space and ensure efficient use of square footage. Leave enough clearance around furniture for easy movement.
Choose a cohesive color palette that sets the mood and reflects your style, considering factors like room size, natural light, and existing decor. Opt for a combination of main colors, accents, and neutrals to create balance and visual interest. Gradient can be a game changer. A comprehensive color guide for home interiors is available on our website.
How do I create my own interior design style?
To create an interior design that truly reflects your personal style, it is essential to know yourself, look backward to look forward, incorporate your interests, be honest, cocreate, avoid leaning on a theme, start small, and never stop evolving. This will help you create a space that feels authentic to you and your personal style, even in the face of fast-paced design trends and social media images.
Know Thyself: Identify your personal tastes and preferences by putting language to your aesthetic predilections and becoming confident in knowing what you like and don’t like. This can be done by taking a moment to describe yourself and your personality, such as being bold, adventurous, whimsical, or minimalistic. This will guide you in selecting elements that resonate with your unique style.
Look Backward to Look Forward: Incorporate your interests and be honest with yourself. This will help you create a design that lasts and feels good for you, year after year.
Start Small: Always start small and never stop evolving to create a design that truly reflects who you are and what you like.
How to design a simple house interior?
To create a beautifully designed small house, avoid cluttering with furniture and opt for simple rooms with light furniture. Avoid bulky furniture or excessive pieces, as they can create a cramped and cluttered atmosphere. Instead, opt for clean lines and sleek designs. The Scandinavian style of housing is ideal for small homes due to its streamlined, elegant appeal, and space-saving nature. Scandinavian designs are known for their lightning, simple lines, decluttered spaces, and clean lines with white colors. These designs are perfect for small homes that occupy less space.
Can I do interior design if I can’t draw?
Students starting an Interior Design Diploma or short-course often ask if they need to be able to draw, but it is essential to have some level of ability and confidence in their sketches. Sketches are the first starting point for planning room layouts and finer details of the scheme. Learning perspective and scale is crucial for the success of a sketch, and computer software can help, but hand-sketching is the best way to grow confidence. Naqiyah, a hand-rendering pro, shares a guest blog to help grow confidence in sketching in interior design.
The process starts with a dot and then a line, often overlapped with multiple lines to create forms or spaces. Lines are honest and represent what the student imagines. Before sketching, it is crucial to be sure of the objective of the idea.
📹 Interior Design Course for Beginners – Learn Design from a Professional
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We are about to move into a country cottage, the front door has no corridor through to the kitchen as the wall as been taken out. Choices is it best to use the furniture, flooring, lighting to allow a walk way. Or place the furniture against the wall and make the wall way through the furniture? You have inspired us, so much your ideas are just amazing! Keep on this fabulous work, please. Beverley and Derek
Thank you for this. I’m mid renovation of a bungalow we downsized to in January, because I can’t manage stairs anymore (multiple autoimmune diseases). Everything that can go wrong has. We are having the floors reconstructed this wkend after we discovered the floorboards and joists were completely rotten. That’s just one of many problems👿 This has given me loads of tips to make the most of the smaller space. Thank you
Loved this Sophie! I love vicariously living my big house dreams through the large scale projects that you share with us, but this small spaces article feels a lot closer to home and was full of tips and tricks that I can take into my own tiny cottage living space. The one large mirror versus lots of small mirrors tip was super interesting…never thought of it like that! Anyway, I’m fully subscribed (one of the subscriber OGs) so hope that helps you to get to where you want to be with Youtube. Looking forward to the next one 🙂 xx
I like your design style, it is not jut beautiful, but also calming and elegant. However I don’t have a big budget after I bought my new house so I found this kind of article is very helpful, it makes interior design achievable for “normal people’. I almost had burnt out when my daughter was sick ( for a long period of time) so sometimes we just need to slow down. Everything will be just fine eventually:). Take care!
I do have a question- I’ve bought a pale yellow armchair as I wanted something just for me – sofas are navy at the moment but I do regret buying them as their those half back ones – now I’ve placed the chair facing the tv (for me 😂) but I’ve watched your design article and you usually place 2 on either side and the main sofa in front, what do you think x
Hi I have been perusal your website for sometime now and have found it hugely inspirational. I wonder if you could do a article with tips and tricks for those in rental properties. My house is fairly big but I will be here for sometime so would like to give it some extra touches. Any feedback back would be appreciated.
Thank you so much for doing these articles 💛. I appreciate the time and effort you & your team put into them. Gives us a great insight into the work/projects you do and you always make sure you give us advice on how we can make the most of a room, etc. Love your classic and timeless style (+ your calming voice), I often watch your articles twice because there are so many beautiful details to take in – a pleasure for the eyes. My husband and I built our house two years ago. We live in Austria but I’ve spent some time in London and we both love a classic but cozy interior style with lots of texture, earthy, natural materials like marble/stone, wood, … and natural colours & whites too. We have two large nurseries, very bright rooms that overlook the garden. They have big window seats, like many British or American houses do, and I can’t wait to decorate those once we have a family. I’ve been trying to incorporate your tipps into our home! Have been a subscriber since the first article I watched. Keep them coming 🤗🌷
Every time I watch your website, I feel like I found a new idea that I should incorporate into our retirement home some day. Loved the tip on the shelving units incorporated into the small spaces. I also loved what you did with the smaller space in smaller England townhome with the family. Such smart designs….love it!
From Canada and LOVE all of your work….stunning and inspirational. You are my favourite designer and so glad I came across your site. I notice a lot of the homes in your portfolio have beautiful ceilings (e.g. tray ceilings with lighting). I would love to see a article dedicated to ceilings. I think a lot of designers overlook this area. Thank you for your consideration. Many thanks for sharing your work.
A welcome article for upgrading my home studio/tiny condo with tall ceilings. I can wait to start painting what I can with similar tones (and not just all white!) I’m glad to see some of these I’ve already incorporated into my work studio. I will save up for joinery (here in the US, it’s millwork). A million thanks! Looking forward to more like this!
Absolutely gorgeous all of it, I watched my first article that you presented and thought immediately how brilliant all your tips and designs were! I subscribed straight away! Looking forward to as much content as you can manage. Please can you do a planning renovation article? By that I mean at what stage to you plan the electrics and joinery? Thank you 🙏
Absolutely gorgeous, stunning. Sophie Paterson has changed the way I view and appreciate timeless / glam / classic / luxury inspired aesthetics within the built environment from smaller house rooms to large open living spaces. Attention to detail, just in awe every time. As a designer I’m so inspired by her work, thank you so much for the insights of Sophie Paterson Interiors!
I have put up with my rather drab interior for too long… It’s time to breathe new life into my little abode, and this article has got me itching to start. I’ve already got someone coming to do some fitted wardrobes and shelves in the alcoves and I can’t wait to see where the journey ends! Thanks for these tips!
Quality, editing, and content wise, this website is top dog. I think the low viewer subscription retention rate is because most people on YouTube are more accustomed to a louder and engaging host. In the real world, Sophie is likely a loving mother, professional designer, and amazing boss and friend. However, as a spokesperson and online personality, the monotonous voice can fall flat and fail to captivate viewers. Perhaps adding some humor and excitement throughout the article can help! I subscribed early on and hope this website will grow 🙂
I am really enjoying your articles. This article is one of the best luxury interior tips I have ever seen. Your explanation is straight forward and easy to follow and understand. I was able to learn a lot from a short article. I want others to enjoy your designs too, so I keep your sharing your articles on my Linked-in website.
I have decided to REDUCE my stuff to just 101 by trying to give away at least 101 every weekend. It has made me analyze the clothes I have and I have realized they are clothes that I hardly wear. So now by aiming to have 101 things I am going for less but a variety of colours and better ones. So instead of having 10 bags maybe a few from River Island. It feels good.
Loved this article so much!!! Subscribed since the very first one! I would love if you could make a article about color palettes. Your interiors are the most cohesive I’ve seen. I wonder if you could also entertain giving design tips for your youtube subscribers’ design dilemmas? I know you’re super busy but that might be a great idea when you hit your 100k goal.☺️ always a fan! Love you Sophie!
Hello I’m new, I just subscribed. I love design and I admire your sense of style and great advice on maximising small spaces. I will certainly be checking out more of your articles. I currently work in mental health and whilst its a humbling career it is incredibly stressful. I would love to become an interior designer, do you have any advise on where to start?
Sophie, thank you so much for the beauty of mentoring and sharing. You are truly a real inspiration to all of us your subscribers. Could you please share about your beautiful wall panels, what fabrics or material do you use? When is the right time to add them? Is it very expensive? how to find the right person to do the job for all of us who don’t have the joy to be in your same country. Also could you please teach us about Wall paper. Once you installed wall paper do you have to do it in the whole interior?Every room? Or do you alternate with paint, fabric panels as well? How do you choose a neutral wall paper to go throughout the whole space? Basically how do you transition when using wall coverings and mixing them? How many different styles can you put in a same house (with the right palette of course) Again thank you sooo much!
Yes I have a 2 bed modern house keep most off the floor I can clean also much better I’ve just looked at a large sofa just keep round table and chairs I was going to get cubard for bathroom but put none rust floating shelves and black trays for bits to make it look tidy. I hide my cleaning bits behind sink I have a gap. U use lerge plants in hall and stairs and framed my pictures making it look much more luxurious. I found a slim wall mirror for hallway to put by lift up lid velvet seat and shoe cubard putting our socks so we can put coats shoes and socks on in one go. I’m so organised and do not buy unless u can store items or hover under. I use my flash floor mop put a microfibres pop head on it and wash my walls too as dust lies on paint. My elegies are to a minimum now
Thank you for sharing these tips. We have an open space living area with a rug in the living room. I was wondering if we needed another tug in the dining room. Your photo showing a similar layout with only a living room rug helped. Love your design style and the way you explain the reasons behind the look.
Hello, this is the first time I have watched you and I must say I’m so impressed by you!! You take the time to really show people what to do and not just talk those other designer lingo that I don’t really like!! I learned so much from your article today and I can’t wait to see others that you have done! I live in a small apartment that I rent so I can’t really do much to the walls, paint, flooring, etc do you have any articles on what to do for renters? Thanks! I’m off to see what else you’ve done!
Thank you so much. I am new to your website and I’m enjoying learning some new techniques about decorating ideas for my small space👍My family room is very small and it was a challenge to place the couch in the room. I wish you can see how I decorated the best way I could! I wanted to capture the water views from all angles and still face the fireplace which is located opposite the couch not on same side as the television. It was definitely a challenge!
Dear Sophie and Team, Thank you for the beautiful and informative content you add to this YouTube universe. I have watched every article – some multiple times. I love your aesthetic, how you present, and the authenticity you let shine through your brand and business. I also love that in your work you clearly think deeply about what your clients need to enhance their lives and enjoy their families. The results are stunning. It is hard to pick a favorite episode, because they are all so good, but I loved seeing your kids spaces and hearing your journey. I watched those multiple times when I was pregnant with my second child and dreaming of a beautiful space to welcome her home. I’m sure you will get to 100k subscribers and beyond. Keep going … we are in your corner! I would love to hear more about how to achieve a high level of finish, joinery (yours is always so beautiful and unique), and lighting design. Wishing you the best, Sarah
Just saw this come up on my feed, and I’m not a fan of the h u g e sofa, it is really big . I detest wall mounted tables in bedrooms because you can never rearrange your furniture. Mirrors in the bedroom, especially closets is such bad Feng Shui. A few points you covered were good,but some are well known tips. I’m not being critical, just my observations.
Love your articles Sophie, found this one especially helpful so Thank you! 😄 In upcoming content, could you speak about how you mix older pieces into your designs? I really enjoy the mixture of antique pieces and older furniture with newer bits, however sometimes struggle with mixing the two- any advice for an amateur? Would love to know your thoughts 😍