*This series is made in collaboration with Chase Freedom Unlimited. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Planning is essential to any decorating project. A great plan will save your sanity and ensure the final outcome is what you truly desire. If you are anything like me, it can be very overwhelming to know where to start. Below are a few steps that I used to help break down my kitchen decor project into more tangible bites.
The first, and most important step, is deciding your budget.
We decided to use our Chase Freedom Unlimited card for this kitchen decorating project. The benefits alone in using this cash back credit card made the choice a no brainer. Currently, Chase Freedom Unlimited rewards new cardmembers with 3% cash back on all purchases for their first year. So, you might be thinking, what is 3% going to really do for me? Let’s take one 24-hour day; 3% of that is about 43 mins. My husband and I took those 43 mins, added them up and found that we stacked up 5 hours for the week. On Sunday, we decided to dedicate that time to develop a mood board and plan out our kitchen decor project.
If you put that same thought process into your financial plan, you’ll see how what seems small now can add up to some real dollars and cents. Now that we have the first step out of the way, let’s talk about the second step in making this project easier.
The second step is getting a folder, notebook and paper clips.
It’s time to put those doodling skills to the test. I sketched out our layout – yes, me, and it doesn’t have to be perfect. After that, I wrote down my notes and collected several images from magazines and what we have printed from online searches. With the paperclips, I pinned our paint, wallpaper and fabric samples on to specific pages that felt good to me. Over time, I literally started to see our style and color scheme emerge.
The third step is to make a priority list.
I found that making a priority list after I gathered all of my ideas into one place, helped me decide what I could keep and what I should get rid of in my space. Think about it, I could write down that I wanted a whole new kitchen, but after gathering everything, maybe I see that I only really needed new paint and light fixtures. The more original items we could keep, the further our budget could go – and I could get that amazing light fixture we thought would be out of our budget! You will hate this step, but trust me, you’ll thank me for it later on.
The fourth step is making a mood board.
We did all of this work and now it was time to decide what we wanted and how we wanted to see it come to life. This allowed me to see what my final cost was and if I needed to reconsider any design changes, this mood board would become our real-life playground before we ever had to spend one dime. I could move items around to see how they work and truly feel the changes before anything actually happened. Plus, this helped me physically show my husband how it would look and why that new kitchen buffet was REALLY needed.
While my steps are geared towards my kitchen décor project, they can be applied to other goals as well. By following these steps, you will be able to visualize your goals how you will achieve them from conception to execution.
Have you completed a kitchen décor project? What were some of your planning tips?
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