Tips for decorating your new home

Buying a house can be the recipe for pure panic and stress, but there are ways to bring calm, cleanliness, and space into the chaos (read: my chaos). Until this week, I was still working like a Pinterest maniac, but now I think I'm getting the hang of it. The whole adult I-buy-a-house attitude. You have tricks to manage the buying, to get the house furnished, and especially to know how to do this.

Get an advisor 

This was the urgent (pressing) tip I received on Facebook after my previous epistle about buying a house. Fortunately, I already have one, and she provides me with to-do lists with bite-sized tasks. Send copies of your passport, check. Fill in your health declaration, check. Confirm the assignment to the appraiser, check. Without her, I wouldn't even end up in that house. A good idea to start with.

Buy vintage far outside the Randstad 

Our advantage is that we go down south at least once a month, where the thrift store is full of finds that Amsterdam and surrounding areas ask a lot of money for. Furnish that house with a lot of vintage for little cash.

Know your apps 

Wunderlist for your lists, which you can share in the app, which is very efficient. Palette Cam to see how a color will look on your new wall. An About Art app to see how a piece of art will look on your wall. With the Magic Plan app, you can measure that new house in no time.

Function, function, function

Think about what each room is for and what you will do there. Lounging on the couch, ironing, reading a book, watching movies, enjoying long dinners? By considering what you want with those square meters, it becomes much easier to furnish. Otherwise, you will definitely end up with a cluttered room slash guest room a.k.a. office, which you always quickly close the door to when you have visitors.

And your style

I was locked up for three years in a rental bunker where I didn't want to invest a euro, so you lose touch with houses a bit. Like a blind chicken, I started pinning on Pinterest, and after two weeks, I suddenly think I know it. My style is eclectic, that's a fancy name for a bit of everything. But anything is better than ‘industrial,’ which seems to be the style of every man in a home show these days.

Visualize more

The floor plan in the brochure is very handy for sketching your future house, so always take it with you. It helps to visualize how something should be. But also draw and color as if you are standing in your new room. This way, you achieve the best result. With Floorplanner, you can sketch an entirely new house à la The Sims.

Plan of action 

Think about the order in which you want to furnish the house. First the bedroom, then the living room, or should you start with an office? Whatever space you tackle first, work in the same order. First floors, walls, and curtains, then the lighting plan and the large furniture. Finish it off with accessories.

Wait with painting

If you want white, you can get started right away, but if you want a specific color on the wall, wait to paint until you live there. You might think it's inconvenient, but by looking at color samples on the wall in different types of light for a few weeks, you'll ultimately choose the best one.

Do it differently

Don't create a living room from a home magazine, don't copy your friend's kitchen, and especially don't live in a showroom. The most important thing is that your house fits you and that you feel at home. Don't worry if someone else doesn't like that style; they can do that at their own home. But of course, it's perfectly fine to copy-paste cool elements.

Forget the TV

Whatever you do, don't build the living room around the TV. Go for a separate viewing corner if you have the space, or make sure the TV can be moved/pulled towards the seating area. It makes it cozier.