Decorating your Home in Ghana

Decorating your home in Ghana is an exciting opportunity to embrace the rich cultural heritage of this West African country. Ghanaian homes are known for their warm and inviting atmosphere, often decorated with vibrant colors, natural materials, and unique handcrafted items. By incorporating traditional textiles, local art, and natural elements into your space, you can create a warm and welcoming environment that celebrates Ghanaian culture. Whether you're looking to add a touch of Ghana to your existing décor or you're starting from scratch, there are plenty of ways to infuse your home with the beauty and spirit of this fascinating country.

Interior Decoration: Laying the Ground Work

Moving into a new house may be one of life's greatest joys, but it can also be a source of anxiety, particularly when it comes to decorating. How can you make your place appear great while still expressing your particular style? If you do it correctly, you will have a pleasant and happy house. If you do it incorrectly, you will end up with a mishmash of furniture, textiles, and paint colors that never come together to form a pleasant whole. You'll have a far better chance of success if you prepare ahead of time and follow the same processes that experienced interior designers use.

Don't Begin at a Furniture Shop

Many people have heard that going grocery shopping while you're hungry leads to poor decisions. The same is true for furniture stores: don't go in a frenzy just because you have an empty house. Yeah, you do require a sofa. But if you choose the pink-striped sectional solely based on its appearance at the store, without collecting measurements or considering the rest of the room, you're stuck with it. The remainder of the room will have to be created around that sofa, and if it's too big for the area, it'll look weird for the rest of its life.

Begin with a measuring tape and a notebook in the space you want to equip.

Know Your Measurements

It is vital to match the scale of furniture to the scale of a space. A large sectional sofa may easily overshadow a tiny space, while slim line chairs might seem lost in a large open loft. Before you begin planning, measure the length and breadth of each room you wish to decorate, as well as the ceiling height and any obstacles such as stairs, columns, radiators, or other impediments. To prepare for window coverings, measure the window openings as well as the wall space underneath, above, and to the sides of each one.

"The first mistake most people make is buying the wrong size - sofas that don't fit in the room, sofas that don't fit through doorways, tables that are too small, desks that are too big, nightstands that hang into the doorway," said David Kleinberg, founder of New York interior design firm David Kleinberg Design Associates. Avoiding such issues might be as simple as carefully gauging your area.

Make a Floorplan

After you have your room measurements, you can use them to create a floor plan that offers you a bird's eye view of the entire house. "Every work should start with a floor plan," said Alexa Hampton, head of Mark Hampton, her father's New York interior design business. "You must be familiar with the area."

One alternative is to sketch a floor plan on paper with a pencil and a ruler the old-fashioned manner. Nonetheless, the majority of professional designers utilize drafting software such as AutoCAD. Between those two extremes are programs like Planner 5D, Floor Plan Maker, and RoomScan Pro, which promise to make it simple for homeowners to produce simple floor plans (some even automate measurements using your smartphone's camera, but double-check those numbers).

Alternatively, you can reach out to NextHome Ghana in Accra. They are professionals who will come into your home, take measurements and model the whole area in 3D. They have softwares that can help your select a wide range of items from upholstery to carpet, wallpaper and so on. Once your space have been modeled in 3D, you are able to view the entire space in virtual reality for you to appreciate the room and space.

Choose Your Way of Life

This is the difficult portion, because there are no correct or incorrect responses. Rooms might be formal or relaxing, classic or modern, and aesthetically warm or chilly. "You have to attempt to understand how you would like to live in a specific environment to the best of your abilities," Ms. Hampton said. "What are your plans? How many people do you think dwell there? Are there any kids? What are your goals for how you want to live?"

A home for someone who routinely throws huge dinner parties, for example, should be decorated differently from a home for someone who eats out every night. Someone who wishes to hold costly fundraisers should have a separate living room than someone who just wants to nap in front of the TV.

Imitate the Pros

To hone your personal style, go through design books and publications, as well as online sites like Houzz, Pinterest, and Instagram. "Develop a dossier of favorite photographs in the style that you respond to the most," said Brad Ford, an interior designer in New York City.

Once you have images you like, study the details, advised Mr. Kleinberg. “See where pattern is used versus where solids are used, and where color can be used successfully or not,” he said. It will also help inform everything from the type of furniture you might like to a potential strategy for window coverings.

Tape It Down

Use painter's tape in the real area to define where furniture will be placed on floors and against walls to take floor plan ideas a step further.

"We use blue tape on the floor to block out different aspects," said Anne Maxwell Foster, owner of Tilton Fenwick in New York. "Will the rug be there? Is it necessary to clip it? How far does the coffee table extend? Even though we have everything down to a sixteenth of an inch on a furniture plan, picturing it in the room and being able to move about helps."

Create a Budget

There's no way around it: if you splurge on an unusually pricey chair, you'll have less money for the rest of the house. "You want to make sure you're spending your money strategically," Mr. Ford remarked. "A budget shows you how to split the prices of goods amongst rooms." You may still make an exception if you locate a one-of-a-kind dining table, he says, but you must consider where else you might cut back to pay for it.

Schedule the Phases

Completing drywall, refinishing hardwood floors, and painting ceilings are all time-consuming and dirty tasks. If at all feasible, perform this sort of work before putting any furniture or accessories into the room.

If it cannot be avoided, cover large furniture by wrapping it in plastic drop cloths and placing accessories in boxes with tape.