Forget all those expensive interior design books: everything you need is here on the Web, if you know where
to look. To that end, we've painstakingly compiled a list of over 350 of the best
home decoration and furnishing pages, helping you to do everything from
choosing new curtains to sorting out your Feng shui.
Here you'll find: guides to most interior design topics—all on one handy,
uncluttered web page!
If you're looking for bigger scale DIY advice
(things like woodworking, electrical work, building, plumbing,
and plastering), check out our companion page
The Complete DIY Guide.
There is some overlap between this page and that one, but this
one is more about furnishing and design.
We've included several different guides to most topics, so you can compare the advice and choose
the approach you like best.
The links on this page are regularly checked to keep them all fresh and working.
Last updated: 5 March 2010.
Introduction: change your home—and change your life!
"Nobody is bored when he is trying to make something that is beautiful..." So said English author and academic William Ralph Inge, who could easily have been talking about interior design. How many people are unhappy with the look of their homes, yet sit in their living rooms day after day, night after night, staring at the same old boring walls? Why not set yourself the challenge, right now, of making your home more beautiful? In the process, as W.R. Inge hinted, you'll make your life much more interesting.
That all sounds very well, of course, but where exactly should you start? You can hardly remodel your home from scratch, especially if it's the center of family's busy life. But like all big and tough problems, the solution to a boring home is to tackle one small bit at a time. You could work your way around the house improving one room after another. And if that's too much for you, why not identify the problem areas in one room and look at those first?
Once you've got a room to focus on, you can tackle interior design in all sorts of ways. You can think about a style or mood you want to create, which will naturally lead you to particular colors, fabrics, and effects. Or you can think of a theme that really appeals to you—maybe colonial elegance, rustic country charm, or country house grandeur—and set about recreating that. One of the great things about interior design is that you don't have to do everything at once. You can convert the front room of a bungalow into a country-house drawing room little by little simply by browsing through antique shops, as the mood catches you, and gradually swapping your reproduction furniture for the real thing. A big advantage of doing this is that you can spread the cost of remodelling to suit your budget: do as much or as little as you can afford each time.
If money is tight, don't let that stop you. You'll be surprised how much you can change your home by spending little or nothing at all. If clutter is a problem, for example, why not transform your home and your life with a serious decluttering session? With a little bit of thought, most people can quickly build a pile of unwanted presents, outgrown clothes, and all kinds of other things they never use. Why not donate it to charity or give it to friends? You can even sell it on eBay to make money for remodelling some other part of your house.
The great thing about interior design is that it's such fun to think about how you want your home to be. Everyone is creative, given the opportunity, and what better place to make the most of your creativity than in the space where you will spend the vast majority of your life. Some people write books to be creative, while others paint or make music. But if you really want to make the most of your creativity, why not "write", "paint", and "compose" yourself the stunning new home you really want? Make the most of now. Browse through some of the Web pages we've dug out, get yourself some ideas, and set your compass for the dream home you've always wanted!
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Contents - what's on this page
Safety advice: before you start
Tool tips
Tips and guides
- DIY tool guide:
Impartial advice from the BBC.
- Painting
101: Tips for buying paintbrushes and other painting tools, from
DIY network.
- Choosing tools:
A great set of articles about choosing different tools, including saws,
drills, hammers, ladders, sandpaper, spanners... and more.
- OnlineToolReviews.com:
"Dedicated, professional reviews of popular woodworking and DIY tools
and devices for the home handyman".
- Ultimate Handyman: Power tool buying guide: Includes guides to drills, cordless drills, power saws, grinders, sanders, rotozips, routers.
- DIYnot.com: Buying and hiring: Looks at the pros and cons of buying and hiring and things to watch out for, including basic safety points.
- Tools and techniques: A guide from DIY expert Ron Hazelton.
General introductions to interior design
- ** BBC Homes: Design: A beginner's guide to home design from the BBC, including tips on colour, period style, lighting, trends, space, and more.
- Rules of design: Make it easy on yourself with "the golden rules" from BBC design and Nina Campbell.
- Interior design 101: A collection of basic guides for beginners.
- Interior decorating 101: A complete online course in home design.
- Design 101: Where to get inspiration, how to start, and different styles you can try to achieve.
- Interior decorating tips: A complete online interior design school from Sheffield School of Interior Design.
- Interior design 101: An introduction from Design Public.
- Interior Design Directory: Described as "the interior design and Feng Shui megasite".
- Martha Stewart: Decorating: US lifestyle guru Martha gives tips for the bedroom, lighting, decorating, and more.
- Grand Designs: The Channel 4 TV guide to self-build and conversion projects.
Magazines
Browsing home design magazines is a great way to come up with fresh ideas. Here's a small selection of the magazines we like:
Planning projects and getting ideas
Creating a certain "look" or design style
- ** BBC: Design inspiration: Enter your room, style, colour, and favourite designer—and this clever BBC website will suggest matching design ideas.
- ** Designers' Portfolio: Hundreds of room design ideas for bathrooms, bedrooms, children's Rooms, dining Rooms, entryways/halls, home offices, kitchens, living Areas,
and outdoors from HGTV.com.
- ** Design styles in architecture, interiors, and furnishings: An A-Z list of all the main styles.
- ** Design styles: Short but useful introductions to Bauhaus, minimalism, country, mediterranean, and Feng Shui.
- ** Home makeover: Lots of great articles showing how to remake and remodel virtually any problem room.
- Historic American interior design: Covers a wide range of design styles, including Greek revival, Victorian, tudor, colonial revival, and arts and crafts, with interesting photo essays for each.
Art deco
- Art deco style and the "moderne" look: An art deco color palette for your home, from Behr.
- Art deco bathroom: How a London design company improved an original art deco bathroom.
- BBC home design: 1920s: Key aspects of 1920s and deco design explored.
- Art deco: This introductory article from Wikipedia covers visual arts, decorative arts, and modern applications, and considers briefly why deco went into decline.
- Art deco: This introductory article from Wikipedia covers visual arts, decorative arts, and modern applications, and considers briefly why deco went into decline.
- Art deco world: A store specializing in art deco homewares, collectibles, and gifts.
Arts and crafts
- ** The arts and crafts look: An introduction from Bricks and Brass website.
- The Arts and Crafts Home: Inspiration for those who like William Morris, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and similar styles. Covers furniture, decoration, wallcoverings, accessories, and more.
- Arts and Crafts House Styles and Examples: Includes a brief history of the movement, some example homes, and links to other useful sites.
- William Morris: A short (mainly historical) biography from Wikipedia.
- Arts and Crafts movement: Another introduction from Wikipedia.
- The Arts and Crafts Society: An online home for people interested in arts and crafts in modern times.
- The William Morris Society: "...aims to present news of Morris-related events and publications; information about the worldwide William Morris Society; materials relating to the life and work of Morris, his friends, and followers; and links".
- Arts and crafts movement: paint colors: An arts and crafts color palette from Behr.
Asian and Oriental
- Asian style: An introduction to home design styles inspired by Japan, China, Vietnam, Thailand, and other Asian cultures,
from Home & Garden Television (HGTV).
- Oriental living room: A step-by-step project from the BBC.
- Asian Decorating Style: An introduction to Asian style and color, foundation pieces, rugs, windows and lighting, and accent pieces. Also briefly mentions using water fountains, silks, and Shoji screens.
- Asian home decor accents: This article from the DIY Network offers ideas: "for adding a touch of Asian decor to your home with fabric, wallcoverings, ginger jars and antiques."
- Asian lifestyle items: A shop selling a wide range of decorative Asian items.
- Asian home decorating made simple: More tips from HGTV.
- Colors of the world: Worldwide design inspiration from Behr, includes vibrant Mexican, cool Japanese, exotic Moroccan, and many other styles.
American colonial
Country cottage
English country house
Gothic
Home office
- ** Designers portfolio: home offices: Lots of projects you can follow from HGTV.
- Working colors: How to brighten your working environment at home. A quick guide to interior design for the home office.
- Some handy articles from About.com:
Loft
Stores selling loft-style stuff
Mediterranean
Minimalism
Modernism
Period homes
- ** Bricks and Brass: "...comprehensive and easy-to-find information for people who are looking for an older house, own one, or just love them."
- ** Period style: A BBC introduction to styles from all different periods, from 1920s glamour to Shaker, Victorian, and minimalist.
- Period Homes: A magazine for people who love classic character homes.
Romantic
Shaker style
- Shaker: An introduction to this timelessly simple, classic, functional style.
- Shaker Style: A short introductory essay about the Shaker movement from the National Park Service.
- Shakers: A fairly detailed introduction to Shaker religion, beliefs, and culture from Wikipedia.
- Shaker Style: A family-run business selling Shaker-style furniture.
- Decorating Shaker style: Tips from the HGTV website.
- Shaker house tour: A brief photo tour of a Shaker house from the 19th century.
Victorian
See also "Gothic" up above.
Other styles
Home lighting
There's a much-extended list of home electrical links on our
Complete Guide to Home Electrics page .
Color schemes/colour schemes
- ** BBC Design: Planning a colour scheme: "Start planning your scheme with that indispensable tool, the mood board." Covers how to use colour, inspiration from nature, colour psychology, and more.
- ** Digital color wheel: The psychology of color explained by the Paint Quality Institute's interactive website: "The Digital Color Wheel teaches you about different Color Schemes, i.e. which colors go with what."
- ** Colors for your whole home: Stylish website from Behr explains how to create a color palette that flows from room to room. Explains how to use a monochromatic (one color scheme), an analgous scheme (using nearby colors on the color wheel), and a complementary scheme (using opposite colours).
- ** Creating color schemes fast and easy: A color design program for your computer from Tiger Color.
- The magic of color: another great lesson from the online interior design school at Sheffield School of Interior Design.
- Color: Decorating tips from Sherwin-Williams, includes color tools and charts you can download. Also a handy "Color 101" section for beginners that explains why color matters and how to choose them.
- Decorating with color: Advice from Home and Family Network, includes how to use color wheels, how to use colors that reflect your personality, how to combine different colors, and lots more great tips.
- Location, location, location: An example color scheme chosen to reflect sea, sun, and sand.
- 10 typical home color schemes: A coloring book for home designers: blank templates you can use to try out your ideas.
- How to choose a home color scheme: About.com guide Coral Nafie explains how "to mix colors and fabrics and how to repeat color throughout the room."
- Choose a color scheme like a pro: Explains how to use a colour wheel to choose perfect colour combinations for your home. Also covers colour selection tips and special colour effects.
Feng Shui
- ** A beginner's guide to Feng Shui: Art form, skill, or simply mumbo jumbo? How to live your life in Asian harmony.
- ** Feng shui: the ancient art of color harmony: An introduction to choosing colors with Feng Shui in mind, from the Behr paint company.
- ** Interior Design Directory: Described as "the interior design and Feng Shui megasite".
- What is Feng Shui?: A basic introduction to the philosophy of "wind and water" inspired design.
- How to Design a New Home With Feng Shui: A simple, step-by-step guide from eHow.com.
- Feng Shui for Home Design: Articles from About.com designed to "help you learn how to incorporate Feng Shui into your home design."
- About.com: Feng Shui: How to clear clutter, cure home layout problems, and design your garden with Feng Shui in mind.
- BBC H2G2: Another beginner's guide to Feng Shui.
- Feng Shui for Absolute Beginners: Sensible, practical advice from Diane Kern who, one senses, knows what she's talking about.
- Fast Feng Shui: Not sure whether "fast Feng Shui" is a contradiction, but you'll find plenty of great tips here all the same.
- The Spiritual Feng Shui: A deeper approach to Feng Shui—as a process of personal transformation.
- Feng Shui House Plans: Complete house plans you can download.
- Feng Shui: A more detailed introduction to the theory of Feng Shui from Wikipedia, includes the history, the doctrine, skepticism, and uses in the West.
- Feng Shui lighting cures: Improve your home's vibe with better lighting.
- Feng Shui light and lighting cures: Learn the value of warm lighting.
Clutter-clearing (decluttering, dejunking) and organizing your home
- ** Freecycle: Find a good home for old things you no longer need.
- Get Organized: Organize Your Home: Articles from About.com, including how to clean and organize rooms, how to organize kids' rooms, how to organize desks and files, and more. Describes the four-container method for battling clutter.
- Live Simple: A complete guide to downsizing, decluttering, and reducing the complexity of your life from John December.
- DeClutter Your Environment: Lots more decluttering advice from the About.com healing department.
- Clutter busting: As Chatelaine website explains: "Good clutter can make you happier—here's how to decide what to keep and what to pitch".
Flower arranging
- ** An introduction to flower arranging: Lots of very useful how-to articles on all aspects of flower arranging.
- ** BBC gardener's corner: flower arranging: Some step-by-step photo guides to basket arrangements, continental displays, wedding pew ends, terracotta pot displays, roses with ivy, and more.
- ** Flower arranging 101: Arrange your flowers the Martha Stewart way. A seven-page article with lots of ideas and great tips
- Flower arranging 101: Another basic introduction, this one from Perfect Entertaining.
- iParty: Flower arranging 101: Covers flower arrangements for special occasions, such as St Patrick's day, Mother's day, Easter, and Christmas, and how to arrange flower memorials.
- Flower arranging basics: A quick run-through of the basic tools and materials you need for flower arranging, tips for different flowers and materials, and how to achieve particular effects.
- Flower arranging ideas: How to cut stems, use basic household containers and liven up boring vases.
- Easy steps to flower arranging: A few handy step-by-step guides to arranging the flowers someone just bought for you.
- How to arrange flowers: About.com's guide tells you about the different kinds of flower arrangements, how to prepare blooms, the tools for flower arranging, and much more.
- BBC Woman's Hour: The History of Flower Arranging: "In the first of a series tracing the history of flower arranging, Corinne Julius met Daphne Vagg, a past President of the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies, and Mary Rose Blacker, a social historian."
- ODP: Shopping: Crafts: Supplies: Floral: A directory of floral product suppliers.
Dried flowers
Making your own dried flowers
Commercial suppliers
How to hang pictures
How to make picture frames
Tapestries and wall-hangings
Ornaments and accessories
Painting
Preparing to paint
Paint calculators
Painting factsheets from Focus DIY
Other painting sites
Wallpapering
Basic wallpapering
Stripping old wallpaper
Choosing new wallpaper
Tiles and tiling
Curtains, drapes, blinds, and upholstery
Making curtains
Making blinds
Making a shower curtain
Sun shades, conservatory blinds, and heat-reflecting curtains
Cleaning and repairing upholstery
Other soft furnishings
Eco-homes and green homes
Careers in interior design
Websites of famous designers
