9 Genius Tips to Make Your First Place Look Like You Hired an Interior Designer

Whether you own or rent your home, anyone who has ever moved into a new place knows that decorating can be more than a little daunting.

While hiring an interior designer is one surefire way to create a beautiful, cohesive space, it’s not always within budget. Fortunately, there are plenty of simple, straightforward things you can do to get that professional design-worthy feel.

With this question in mind, we turned to a few of our favorite interior designers to ask for their advice, and here’s what they had to say.

Don’t Be Hasty With Your Furniture Purchases

As interior designer Benji Lewis notes, excitement over your new place is understandable, but don’t let it get in the way of thoughtful preparation. One of the worst things you can do for a new home is hastily buy furniture without any measurements or advanced planning. 

That's why Lewis suggests taking stock of your home first by measuring each room’s usable floor space. This means measuring from skirting board to skirting board, if applicable. 

“Measuring rooms wall-to-wall at waist height won't give you an accurate idea of the space you have,” Lewis says.

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Highlight Your Home’s Unique Features

If your home has any unique elements, definitely prioritize these in your design plan, says Peter Spalding, an interior designer for Daniel House Club. In fact, if you can, look for these elements during your house hunt.

“Try to find a place with nice molding, pretty windows, and at least one memorable aspect you can build the story of your home around,” he says.

Other elements to look out for include fireplaces, beautiful French doors, and an interesting entryway. Then, once you design the space, make sure you celebrate this part of your home. 

Create a Focal Point

Whether your home comes equipped with its own unique features or not, interior designer Andrea Benedettini says it’s key to create a focal point in the room that draws your eye. Then, build your room out from there.

If the room doesn't have a defining feature, this can be something you add yourself, like a headboard, a media unit, or a sculptural piece of furniture.

Paint Before You Move In

If you’re planning to paint, Spalding suggests doing this first before any boxes arrive. A professionally finished space will look refined and neat, but unfortunately, paint supplies and splatters can make things feel sloppy. 

“Everyone I know is careless when they paint,” he says. “If you can do it before your nice things are in your space, that will help ensure nothing gets ruined.” 

Define Your Color Scheme

A foolproof way to create a cohesively designed room, says Benedettini, is to set a specific and cohesive color scheme. 

“Select a base color and one or two accent colors to create the look,” Benedettini says. 

Once these have been identified, let these colors guide your consistency throughout the rest of the room. These hues should be present in your wall paint, furniture, and accent pieces. 

Strike a Balance

As any great interior designer will tell you, beautifully decorated rooms are all about balance. Benedettini says this is another great way to make your room look professionally styled. 

Note though, that this doesn’t mean overly symmetrical and 'matchy-matchy'. Instead, it’s about the composition of the room. Benedettini suggests space planning, as well as taking note of the scale of your pieces. 

“There is nothing worse than having to change a piece of furniture because you suddenly realize it doesn’t fit,” he says. “It can be quite costly.”

Add Personal Touches

One of the most important things about a well-styled room is the injection of the owner’s personality. Benedettini suggests doing this with artwork, vintage pieces, and soft touches. 

“These things don’t cost much, and you can really make a difference!” he says. 

Prioritize Storage

If you’re looking to add accent pieces but you’re not sure what you want, Benedetiini says to prioritize storage. 

“You will never regret having extra storage,” he says.

Consider customized fitted furniture if it’s an option, but no matter what, functional storage is one great way to create a polished, finished room. 

Book a Virtual Consultation

Hiring an interior designer to come to your home, walk you through the project, and execute the design is, understandably, expensive. But as Lewis points out, plenty of designers these days offer virtual consultations that are incredibly budget-friendly—himself included.

Best of all, starting a service like his Zoom That Room option can save you money as you decorate. 

“It will help keep you from buying goods in error or choosing incorrect color schemes as well as offering advice on tricky things like lighting,” Lewis says.