Design Process: Making the Right Decisions

The design process can take some time, and if you haven't started your plan and budget, refer to my previous post to get started on that. Once you have your plan and budget, you can move on to the next phase, which is making the right decisions for your project.

To clarify: at this stage in the process, I'm not suggesting that you must make the correct decisions within a specific timeframe. This phase can last days, weeks, or even months, depending on your project and your desired pace for completion. If you're similar to me, you might take extra time contemplating your options until you are completely confident in your choice.

One thing I would advise against is a concept known in my profession as analysis paralysis. This refers to the endless loop of examining data and doing research without reaching a decision. I'm bringing this up because it can quickly become a challenge during this stage of the design process. You begin researching furniture and find yourself inundated with options, making it hard to decide on the one you want. Here are some tips to help you avoid falling into analysis paralysis.

Stick To Your Plan

Remember the bubble diagram I mentioned in the last post? Now it's time to use that when researching furniture. Take the largest bubble in your space and focus on the choices you want to make. Is it a living room space? If so, start researching where you want to place sofas, end tables, and a media console and TV. You can easily do this by drawing it out on a piece of paper as rectangles to start. No need to start drawing this in detail since this is part of your research.

Get detailed with measurements of your space. This is one wall in the two story entry of my house.

Example of a paper plan of my office layout with existing furniture moved into different places.

Next, refer to the measurements of your space and your drawing when you start researching and shopping for furniture. Before you focus on color, focus on the size of the furniture pieces. Ideally, you want to find pieces of furniture that fit the purpose of the space. For example, if you are designing a new living room and there are 6 people living in your household, pick a sofa and chairs that can seat at least 6 people. If your living space may need to accommodate other family members who visit, consider a larger sofa or ottomans that can double as extra seats. Remember that you're designing a space that you want to use, not a space that looks great on Instagram.

Research Your Pieces

Furniture shopping can be daunting and unfortunately, there are a lot of furniture companies that offer cheaper options but these pieces may not last more than 2 years. My recommendation is to choose more durable and expensive pieces for furniture you are going to use the most and cheaper options for accent furniture or decor. Here are recommendations for high and low, in terms of cost, so you can stick to your budget.

High (Spend more of your budget)

• Sofas

• Armchairs

• Dining table and chairs

• Mattress

• Bedroom dresser

• Area rugs

• Window shades or blinds

Low (Spend less of your budget)

• End table

• Accent table

• Lamps

• Picture frames

• Wall art

• Drapery

• Door mats

Based on the two lists, these should serve as guides for where you can spend more of your budget and where you can spend less. In my experience so far, when switching one of these items into a new list, you end up burning through your budget and may regret your purchase sooner rather than later. In my 20s, I didn't make a lot of money and decided not to spend too much money on my bedroom dresser. It was a dresser from IKEA, which held up nicely when I assembled it in one apartment but did not hold up too well after three more moves into different apartments. By the time I moved into apartment #4, the dresser would rock each time I slid open a drawer, and I needed to be gentle when putting away laundry. I learned the lesson that the next dresser I bought needed to be made of more solid material like wood, not particle board, since I am opening and closing those drawers at least two times a day.

You can find lower-priced options for furniture and items that won't have regular use by humans. Items like end tables and accent tables may have a cup placed on top of them, but you may not be moving them daily or storing things inside them. Lamps do get regular use, but in many cases, you can plug in lamps that are connected to a light switch, which removes the need for a human hand to touch them multiple times a day.

Save Your Furniture, Area Rugs and Other Decor

Once you start to find pieces you really love, begin compiling a simple table on a piece of paper or digitally in Excel or Google Sheets. Take note of the brand, product name, size (length, width, and height), price, and total number of the item. Save as many items that are interesting to you because eventually, you will narrow this list down. It's important to note all the choices that you like so you can review them again and start crossing off the ones that you don't like as much. This brings us to the next question: how do I come to a decision?

Design Decisions Time

If you feel like you can't make a decision, I would encourage you to walk away from your list and do an activity not related to this design process. Take some time to clear your head, and when you're ready, go back to the list.

If you find yourself thinking about a specific sofa or area rug as you're working out at the gym or driving your car, then that choice is the one you should go with. When I keep thinking about a particular piece after walking away, I make a decision to include that piece in my space. And guess what? When I buy something I love and can't stop thinking about, I am happy with that piece and I don't replace it after two years.

What do you think of this process so far? Let me know in the comments!