Create your own 'favorite project' with these tips

Working on hundreds of interior design projects over the years, the question always comes up: What is my favorite project?

Yes, there are projects that may have turned out better than others, some which received more praise and press than others. To be truthful, whichever project I am working on is my favorite. I relish in the design process, therefore I am almost equally enamored with the process as much as the final product.

Each designer has his or her own criteria for a good project. Here are 10 tips to help you on your way:

• A good welcome mat is a very first impression. Don't overlook the point of entry. As insignificant as it may seem, your front doormat speaks volumes about what is to follow. Your welcome mat should reveal your home's overall style. Add something special at the point of entry — such as a bench or cachepot with a beautiful flower or plant.

• Lights! Action! Take a cue from those famous words. The movies know a thing or two about lighting, and so should you. Even in an entry hall, use as many as three types of lighting source — it's best if you have overhead lighting, a floor lamp and table lamp.

• Can I have a light? Borrowing light using reflective or sparkling wallcovering or accessories helps to brighten any room up.

• But what color? Choose your color from your own closet. If you have a favorite shirt, jacket or dress, why not bring it to the paint store and have them color-match the exact hue. Matte or glossy: whatever finish you choose for your walls will change the color a bit. Matte finishes will read truer to your color selection. Glossy finishes will change the color a bit … maybe for the good.

• Invest in one good piece of art or antique. It will give your room the coveted WOW factor.

• A skirted table or console in almost any room can hide everything from stack of dishes to piles of shoes, or anything else that is best kept out of sight.

• Wallpaper or fabric. Lining your walls — even a small room such as a powder room or hallway — gives your home an air of elegance and luxury, not to mention that they help the acoustics and dampen the sounds of shuffling shoes or conversation.

• Rather than running out to any furniture store and feeling the impulse of filling a room full of inexpensive furniture, seek out a special piece of furniture, one that you can see keeping for many years and use that piece as your room's building block. This is the best advice, even if it means paying off the furniture using a payment plan.

• A new home or a new interior design project shouldn't mean everything has got to be new. Reusing a few furnishings you now own may help add a bit of history to your project and keep it from looking like a showroom.

• Highlight any features a room may have. If your room is tall, use long drapery panels hung from the highest point near the ceiling to bring attention to the height. If the room is dark, find a rich color for the walls that will make it feel warm and cozy.

• Joseph Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pubillones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Florida.

© 2018, Creators Syndicate