Patrick

Have fun designing,

If your a design pro or not, don't overthink, just let go and have fun, this site allows us to play, if you don't like what you created, you can always go back to it later and edit or redo what you don't like. I usually start by creating a fictional client,a room for sisters their parents are well off, or a restaurant to accomodate 30 clients, they have a small budget. hopefuly soon, I will have a few real ones to design for, lol. Start by choosing a room shape, add in a favorite furniture piece, this will help you in seeing & understanding the scale and how they relate to one another. Change and play making your room larger or smaller, then start buiding . Add the door or doors, the windows, choose the color of the window & door frames, you can do it at this stage, or later on in the process. Add as many windows as you want, just click and drag as many as you want, on one, or on all walls. There's an option that allows you to view your room , in plan view or side view, clicking on the side view will allow you to move the windows where you want them, on top of each other or next to each other. Start designing, if you don't know where to start, choose an item that you really like, or an item that your real or fictional clients might like. Lets say a rug, the rug has a few colors in it, red, cream, black & orange. This makes creating a color scheme easier, you might choose the cream color for the walls, for a calmer scheme, or the red in the carpet for a wall, in a bold & vibrant scheme.Choosing accessories, lets say a vase, or a frame in black, this will help in grounding the room. Red could be used as an accent color, brought in by cushions, plates, lamp bases, flowers,etc, accents are used in small amounts, they add punch and life to a room, a little can bring alot of bang. Keep in mind & consider creating contrast, high versus low, depending on the desired effect, low contrast is calmer, softer and creates a more blended look. High contrast creates a bolder & more vibrant feeling, light versus dark, allows items to stand out more, thus creating a more dramatic look, lets say a cream colored carpet on a dark wood floor. I love layering, this really helps in creating depth, like lets say a chocolate feature wall, with a cream upholstered head board, layered again with pillows, covered in a solid or predominantly colored chocolate fabric with faint baby blue stripes, layered again with a cream and baby blue cushion which might be the color of the other walls and then voila a color scheme is born, don't forget the accents, bring in a bold color, try tangerine, add a cushion to the bed and add one to the brown leather chair in that corner, this brings everything together, they relate, they unify, they speak. I hope I don't sound to preachy, this is my first post, very scarey, lol. I am far from being an expert on design, I graduated in Interior Design in 93 and have not not much with it, alot of life, death and ilness got in the way, I never expected to still be alive 21 yrs later. I am stronger and better than ever and can no longer ignore my passion for living and breathing design. I am in the process of trying to start up my own, home based design business, this will allow me the flexability to work around my ilness. It was brought to my attention that this section had no posts, also I was asked to post a few tips. I am glad to share a few tips that may help newcomers feel more comfortable to dive right in and have fun. Remember to have fun and to "Dance like nobody's watching" This site rocks, if you don't like what you created, you can always save your work and get back to it at a later time and make changes. Design is a process, its ever changing & one idea always leads to another & they come at the strangest times. Have fun