Design Your Home For the People Who Live in It

So often I have found that people have seen a design in a magazine, or in a model home, thought it was beautiful, and then either tried to duplicate it or hired an interior decorator to give them that look. More often than not, they are dissatisfied with the final outcome, either because they are uncomfortable in their new surroundings, or they have lost functionality, or they have overspent and are now house poor.

Just because a house is beautiful, and decorated in the newest color trends, it is not necessarily the perfect design for you and your family. The two most important factors that must be considered are function and budget, and they are of equal importance.

A large, rambunctious family, with energetic boys and a big dog cannot be happy in a French Provincial formal setting. They need well constructed, tough fabric covered furniture, easily maintained floors and indestructible tables in the family room and the kids’ bedrooms. In this situation, most of the budget should be spent on the family room in the living room that is used only once in a while for formal entertaining!

If Mom loves to cook and entertain, she needs a large, thoughtfully designed kitchen with lots of work space and storage. Fancy media rooms are superfluous if there are two working adults, and children who are heavily into sports, occupying the family away from home most evenings and weekends.

Colors that are beautiful to look at once in a while are not necessarily ones that will give you the comforting feeling you want in a home when you have to live with them daily. Most people will find that they are happier when they change accent colors rather than the main color schemes they have always had.