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Renovations can be fun and exciting, but they also require careful planning and preparation. Here are some tips from an interior designer to help you avoid costly mistakes and stress while offering ways to save money in the process.
We spoke to a current BankSouth customer and Interior Designer, Aline Spears, on ways to plan a successful renovation after she, herself, finished renovating her own home.
Before you do anything, even getting an estimate from a contractor or speaking with a designer, it’s a good idea to get inspired for how you would like your space to look when it’s complete. Something as simple as searching for “modern living room design” or “kitchen renovations” can yield thousands of results for you to be inspired by. Make it more specific by incorporating the different styles of interior design, such as farmhouse, minimalist, or contemporary, to name a few.
Interior Designer, Aline Spears, suggests having a single piece of inspiration. If it’s a piece of art, pull from the colors in the artwork,” she says. For example, the inspiration for her bathroom design came from artwork that she already had. From that, she chose the wall color and décor for the rest of the space.
If you think you don’t have taste, think again! “Taste can be learned, it’s not innate,” states Spears. She strongly recommends utilizing inspirational websites such as Pinterest. From there, you can pick colors, textures, styles, patterns – anything you like, really – and based on the pins that you save, see what your tastes are. Now, you can start to put together some concepts or a rough idea of what you would like your living spaces to resemble after your home renovation is complete.
From the past designs of rusts, browns, burgundy, and textured walls, many homes now utilize a more neutral color tone for it to both, last longer and be more flexible with accent colors and textures. “Gray is a wonderful color,” says Aline, “we can pop it with a yellow or we can pop it with a green.” The largest trend that Aline says she has seen in the past year (2022, at the time this article was written) is the introduction to mother nature in the home. With the pandemic that lasted from 2020 well into 2022, her clients wanted to bring the outside indoors after spending so much time in their home. That’s when she introduced her clients to yellows, blues, greens, and various textures and patterns as accents that remind her clients of the outdoors.
Without hesitation, Aline suggests three design elements that always work for a room:
Aline also mentioned pillows, plants, and throws with a lot of excitement. Pillows, plants, and throws are a great interior design benefit. They are all very versatile and are an easy and effective way to refresh the look of a space. They can also help bring cohesion to an open floor where two or more rooms are paired together in a single space.
“Knowing how to place your furniture is probably one of the most important parts of a room,” says Aline. One pet peeve of hers is walking into a room and seeing a sofa placed against the wall. She suggests floating your sofa or sectional to the middle of the room, if you have the space, and seeing how much of an impact that makes to the look of your room.
Good interior design comes from your personality as well as your lifestyle. Aline states that if you are a minimalist, your interior design style would include very few pieces of furniture in a room. It’s best to stick with what you’re comfortable with instead of going too far outside your comfort zone. This is your space that you have to live in, so before you make the updates, make sure your space resembles who you are as a person.
“The room is finished when you feel it’s finished,” says Aline. Do you feel comfortable in the space? Can you sit back and feel relaxed in your room? If so, there is a good chance that you can say, “I’m done!” However, your lifestyle can change in an instant, styles evolve as time passes, and most importantly, it’s your home and you can make it whatever you want it to be.
Whether you’re looking to update your kitchen, bathroom, basement, living room, big or small, BankSouth is here for you. We have several home renovation financing options to fit you and your family’s situation.
Are you ready to get started, or even curious about what products we have? Take a look or get in touch with a lender today to explore your personalized options.
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