Are you about to set off on the adventure of revamping your living space? You will be spoiled for choice when you shop in the bobshop Home & Living section. However, before you start placing orders left and right, stop for a moment to consider these
3 furniture buying fundamentals
Know your style: The first rule about buying furniture is this simple maxim (and if it is not, it should be): Do not be guided by fashion. Instead, allow your personality to guide you. There is nothing worse than a home permeated with that impersonal show-room look. Your interior should be the mirror of your soul. So, look deep inside yourself and decide (no cheating now!) what kind of person you are: casual, modern, rustic, traditional, eclectic?
If unsure, the items that surround you should give you a clue. The car you drive. The magazines you buy. The clothes you wear. Especially the clothes you wear. If your wardrobe is monochromatic, you will probably feel best in similarly coloured living room. If you like prints and bold colours in your wardrobe, find a place for them in your home too.
Know your measurements: It sounds like a no-brainer, but it's simply unbelievable how often we buy sofas or cupboards that are either too big or too small for the space they are to reside in. There are no two ways to go about this. You have to draw to scale (probably in 1:15 ratio) the floor area of the room to be refurnished, with all the windows and doors. On a separate piece of paper, and using the same ratio, draw the sofas, tables, etc. you want to put into that room. Cut out your furniture and position the cut outs onto the room plan. All will be clear to you at a glance!
Of course, you'll have to imagine the third dimension, that is, the height of the furniture. If you are a perfectionist, you may also draw a plan of your walls and proceed with the cut-outs in a similar fashion. This is highly recommended if you need to figure out where to position shelves, photographs, paintings or mirrors (do this before you start drilling).
One more thing, though. The above exercise will be useless if you have to tear down a wall in order to get that antique armoire into your living room. The moral being, take care that the furniture you buy can enter through the doorway you have.
Know your budget: Skip this one if money is no object. The rest of us will want to budget carefully and prioritise. It is a good idea to buy the most important pieces first, and then build around them. Don't feel that you have to furnish the whole room (let alone the whole house) at once.
You will live happily for a long time with furniture and decorations that reflect your personality. However, do remember to leave room for change. Our circumstances, and our personality too, evolve with time. So should our homes!
Also see: Furnish your living room on Bob Shop
