How To Plan Your Next Interior Design Project (+ A FREE Downloadable Project Planner Workbook)

It’s fair to say that when we start thinking about decorating, we can often get carried away on Pinterest and pulling out beautiful images from magazines. But without a plan of some kind, it can feel overwhelming when it comes to budget and timescale.

Which is why we wanted to create the ultimate project planner workbook which is free for you to download below. But before you head on down to grab this useful guide, we’re sharing the five things to consider when planning your next interior design project – whether that’s for yourself or a client.

PUT YOUR VISION TO PAPER

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First things first, you need to work out what you are visualising as the end result. What is the main purpose of the room? What furniture will you be keeping, and what do you need to buy new. It’s a great way to discover what you’ll need to spend money on, where you can save and how you need to approach the layout of the room.

SET A BUDGET

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It can become very easy to go over budget when it comes to decorating your home. We’ve all seen Grand Designs where they have a £50k budget and some how suddenly find themselves in £350k of debt.

Set a realistic budget, pricing everything up before you purchase anything – shopping around is a must – and work out where you can make savings and highlight what you’re not willing to compromise on.

For example, white subway tiles can be picked up relatively cheap, but that bespoke wallpaper you’ve had your eye on for ages? That’s something you’re willing to part with your cash for.

GATHER IDEAS AND INSPIRATION

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Potentially one of our favourite steps in the decorating process, pulling together inspiration and creating a moodboard.

Our favourite places to get interior design inspiration from has to be Pinterest (you can follow our Pinterest boards here for a raft of daily inspiration), where you can organise your projects into different sections, such as lighting, flooring, colour palettes. It also enables you to save images from the web into your project boards if you’re searching for that dream sideboard or rug, for example.

Other great places to gather inspiration including Instagram, glossy magazines, other people’s houses and hotels, bars and restaurants.

COMPILE A LIST OF MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

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Making a list of all the resources and materials you will need can save you both time and stress, especially if there is slightly more structural/DIY work than just painting the walls.

Starting a project with everything you need to hand allows you to stick to your timescale, and it also allows you to shop around for the best price when you’re sourcing products.

CREATE A PROJECT TIMELINE

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With our busy lifestyles, it’s often hard to find the time to complete a decorating project.

I can bet almost every single reader has a half-finished job or idea somewhere in the house right now. Which is why creating a project timeline and sticking to it is essential to maximising your time and those who you have outsourced.

Things to consider are shipping delays for furniture, contractor delays (which are common), and which days you have available to work on said project.

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If you’re in the initial stages of working on your next interior design project, our free downloadable planner is an essential part of your kit. Just pop your details in the boxes below and receive your copy in your inbox within minutes.

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And if you’re looking for a little more guidance when it comes to creating your dream home, why not join HomeEnvy Bootcamp – a one-stop shop for all things interior design, including masterclasses on creating your dream space, 20% trade discounts, access to professional interior designers, weekly design packs, and a private community of like-minded individuals.