GoCeilingMedallion

We are an on-line store offering home decorating products, specializing in ceiling medallions and crown molding, as well as numerous other decorative ceiling items, including tools and supplies for creating your own custom ceilings.

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Saturday, July 25, 2009

How to Organize Your Home Decorating Ideas

The first thing that anyone considering a decorating or remodeling project should do is to get organized. Your decorating project will go so much more smoothly. To do so, you can utilize a decorating file.

Your decorating file will contain everything that you need to coordinate your project. What should you include in your decorating file? You should include items such as carpet samples, fabric cuttings, paint samples, floor plans, wall paper cuttings, photos, and any pictures of inspiring rooms. When you keep all of these items together in one place the job goes smoothly from beginning to end.

Any type of file that is convenient for you will work. You can use a small canvas tote bag or briefcase. You could also try a notebook with file pockets or an expanding envelope. File boxes work well also. Just make sure that the container you select will be easy for you to carry from store to store or from store to home and that it is large enough to contain all of your samples.

The most important thing to remember about your decorating file is to keep it with you at all times, because you never know when you will need to access your samples. More than likely, you will accumulate many items in your decorating file, especially the longer you work on your decorating project.

Following is a list of the seven most important items that should be found in your decorating file:

Pens and Paper

Keep several of them with you as well as having a pad of paper or a notebook for taking any notes. The notebook will also come in handy when you need to note the particulars for ordering an item or when you see something that you really want or need to remember.

Tape Measure

When out on shopping trips, a 10 foot measuring tape will usually be adequate. However, for measuring rooms, windows, and ceiling heights you will want to have a 25 foot measuring tape. Builders tape measures are heavier, so try to find something more lightweight that you can carry around with you all day if needed.

Floor Plan

No matter what size the project you are embarking on, you need a drawing of the room or rooms with all measurements noted. Use either a simple sketch or a scale drawing on graph paper. Measure walls, windows, and distances between doors and windows accurately. Make sure that your sketch shows the placement of windows, doors, and any architectural details present with accurate measurements.

Photos of Your Room

You want to make sure you take some "before" photos, with all of the angles and details shown. They'll serve as a reminder to you of details as you're working and they are also handy when you're talking to a salesperson about your project.

Calendar

A calendar will come in handy for keeping track of appointments with carpenters, plumbers, painters, or any other reminders that are important in your schedule. Just make sure that you always have it with you as there is nothing more frustrating than needing your schedule and not having it available.

Magazine Photos

Magazines, decorating books, and photos from the Internet are great sources of inspiration for your decorating project. Keep pictures of ideas that you would like to incorporate in your own project in your file. You may see colors that you like, prints that you want to see in your own place, or arrangements of furniture that you feel would work in your space. Tear the pictures out and keep them with you or make or download copies.

Samples of Fabrics, Colors, and Flooring

While you are shopping, you will collect samples of carpet, tile, flooring, fabric, and paint chips. Keep these with you to coordinate your project later on at home. Also, keep samples of anything from your room that you may not be replacing so that you can coordinate colors, textures, carpeting, fabrics or colors. Use a small piece of fabric for your upholstered pieces. Trim off tufts of carpet fiber from an inconspicuous place or use an 8 inch square piece of carpet to carry with you in your tote. You can easily coordinate fabrics with paint and paint with flooring by using combinations from the samples that you have collected. As you settle on a scheme for your decorating project, you will be able to put together all of the elements in your decorating file.

There are several additional items that you may also find useful and wish to include in your decorating file. You can add these items and be ready to go at a moments notice:

Keep your phone list of contractors handy for easy reference.

Keep scissors and tape handy for placing items together, such as paint chips and fabrics.

Envelopes or Ziploc baggies are useful for small pieces of information or samples.

Post-it notes can be used in a variety of ways.

Color boards are useful for attaching fabrics, trims, inspirational photos, or any drawings that you have made.

Organizing your ideas into a decorating file is not only a useful tool but it can be a fun project as well. After all, you are making some major changes and you want to enjoy the process as well as the finished project. It will be that much more special.

Visit GoCeilingMedallion or GoCrownMolding for home decorating ideas.

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