It can often be daunting to know where to begin with a redesign project. With so many options available for furniture and lighting – so many tasks to get done – where do you even start?! If you have been following my social stories you know I am in the midst of redoing our basement right now and it’s the perfect project to highlight the design process – whether you are taking on the project on your own or hiring the pros here are my tips on where to start.
1. Find your Inspo
A great place to start is by doing the research. Save magazine clippings, read design books & blogs, start a Pinterest board – all these things are there to provide you inspiration. If you know exactly what you are looking for it can help organize the concept in a visual way to document everything you are wanting in a space. Save spaces, fixtures, textiles – all the elements of a space that speak to your style. That will help in defining what your overall aesthetic is. Look for common threads – styles, colours, textures, prints – that exist across all your findings and that will help ground you in your future home design planning. Another thing to consider is not only saving things you like but also things you know you definitely dislike. This too can help in your own personal planning or when working with a designer – to set very clear parameters around what your style choices are.
For our basement project I did just that – I starting pinning concepts and pieces I loved for my overall vision as well as noted ideas for the overall function of the space. Defining your style is important, but the actual purpose for the space is even more so. A thorough understanding of how you want the space to function for you and your family is an essential part to the design process and will be what makes your renovation last. (Some inspiration for our project below – we want extra storage, a designated media area and some great space for entertaining).
2. Set the Scene
Now that you have all of your inspiration gathered, have a clear understanding of your style(s) and know the direction you want to go for the space, you are ready to create a mood board. This is a tool that designers will use to best frame the textures, colours and overall feel that they want to achieve with a space. It is not an outright concept, but a really good representation of what the design of the space is going to become from an overall aesthetic. It’s a source you can use that is a great frame of reference when you are buying for your space – as I said, there are SO many options out there that sourcing furnishings and fixtures can be so overwhelming. Having a mood board with direct elements you want to stick to is a helpful guide to stay on track. It’s also something that if you find a piece you absolutely love and it doesn’t seem to fit your initial plan – you can tweak elements of the mood board to accommodate a new style choice. Design is fluid not rigid. If you love something that you didn’t expect to, don’t feel like you can’t change the room vision or plans. This is your home and it’s important you love it!
Note: If you are designing a space that is not the first in your home to be redone something to consider is flow. You don’t want a room or area in your home to feel out of place, you want it to lend to the overall style and design of your home. That doesn’t have to mean one colour for your whole home though! I suggest picking an overall palette for your home and applying that throughout. I like to stick to 2-3 neutrals and a couple complimentary colours that I vary in saturation.
For our basement I stuck to the colour palette that I created through our main upper level living space – beige-grey, white, black and green. The green and black being feature colours versus the base tones. While I want some dark colours to be used for focal walls in the basement I have to note I am doing this with a few things in mind: we have low ceilings and are dealing with smaller spaces with minimal natural light. To avoid the space feeling small and confined I am using those dark colours sparingly and paired with softer tones. Our green feature wall will be more textural and draw the eye into the space but the remaining walls will all be white to keep the room feeling spacious. Our black feature wall will be in the larger living space and incorporate natural slatted wood to give dimension and keep the space open.
Overall my aesthetic for our basement space is classic and cool. The classic being represented in the more traditional furnishings and textiles that provide a more lived in comfort that you want from a lounge space. We are incorporating an office space into our basement as well and with that want to be mindful of keeping it calm and neutral – for a mindful workspace – with pieces that allow for inspiration. The cool side is where some of my contemporary and boho décor and feature elements will come into play. I want the space to feel young and fresh but also timeless. A tricky balance to achieve, but with careful consideration to detail can definitely be pulled off.
3. Draft a Concept
Now is when you – or your designer – can pull together pieces that tie in your inspiration and vision and apply them to an overall concept for your space. Build all the elements on a page in order to best plan out what your end result is for the space. Label your choices for your flooring, paint colours, and inspiration for core elements, and then layer in your décor, furnishings and textiles. You can be as detailed as you want here – I often bring in even minor details when I work with clients to provide concepts because it can help provide the full scope of the design vision.
Here is an example of a digital concept that I put together for our basement living space. I included examples of the finishes including the colours, flooring and different feature elements. These help to best frame the bare bones of the room and direct some of the other sourcing decisions to be made.
The launch point I used for this concept was my colour palette. Much of our home is already done and this is a space we want to be a continuation of that style. I have noted items that I have already purchased and want to fit in the space – the loveseat, ottoman, rattan arm chairs and mid-century bench. With those pieces in mind I layered in my design inspiration for elements such as the built-in credenza for out media wall, and the white paneled ceiling to brighten the space. The lighting is crucial, especially for spaces with minimal natural light – determine which kinds of fixtures you need and apply the style set in your mood board to source the best options. For us we have many sconce and ceiling light options to source for. With that I chose options that are minimal in size to best fit the layout and offered effective down-lighting. Then come the textural details – such as pillows, area rugs, fabric for upholstery – these provide much needed warmth, character and interest to the space. Lastly are the finer details to round out the concept – for instance the small drink table for the bench seating area, the woven tray for setting items on the ottoman and leather-brass pulls for the media credenza to provide contrast and texture to the black finish of the unit. No detail too small!
I will share more on the concepts I have created for our basement project in my next blog post so you can see how I have taken these points above and planned out multiple spaces for our entire lower level. Once the base work is done, the plans are made and the vision is ready – then comes the fun of getting the project going. I am going to share these processes each step of the way to best help you in prepping for your redesign projects or to simply better understand what information you need to best equip your designer in bringing your vision to life. Now what are you waiting for – get planning!
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