Designing A New Home? Here's Where Queer Eye's Bobby Berk Recommends Starting

Whether you're renovating a room or an entire home, everyone starts in different places. However, if you have no idea at all where to begin, "Queer Eye" star and home design expert Bobby Berk has some helpful advice. Via his blog on bobbyberk.com, Berk shared, "Bigger is better when it comes to where you should start with design. Consider larger pieces of furniture and rugs the 'anchors' of the room — and the pieces you should be selecting first. Once you've chosen those grounding elements, it's easier to build the rest of the room and layer in those finishing touches."

Berk's advice is a great starting point for anyone who feels overwhelmed about figuring out a layout for a room or entire home. Having to start from scratch is exciting but can also feel nerve-wracking due to the sheer scale. By focusing on the main objects in a room before anything else, you can then build up a plan of where you want other things to go.

For example, if you're designing your living room, it's best to focus on the area rug and larger pieces of furniture first. These are pieces like a sofa, coffee table, and entertainment center. For a bedroom, it would be the bed and dresser. And, when designing a dining room, choose your table and sideboard or buffet and hutch first. Smaller items such as side tables or nightstands can be added later. If you get too caught up in thinking about accessories, like a lamp for the sideboard or a vase for the windowsill, you'll start to lose the overall picture. By sticking to the largest items, you can work around them when it comes to picking out smaller ones. This is especially useful for creating a cohesive space.

If you don't do this, you could start to run into issues. By picking accessories or smaller items first, your living room (or any other room) might end up looking like a thrift store backroom instead of a curated space. However, if you focus on the style of items you choose first, you can start to build up an aesthetic carefully instead of just throwing one together. For instance, you may love a mid-century modern lamp, but if your sofa is a traditional chaise lounge, the overall look will be a clashing one.

In the same blog post, Bobby Berk dished out another key tip for home design — that planning is the key to making a room perfect. "Taking time to think about the layout of a room, the overall feel, and the furnishings — before making any purchases — is really an essential part of any successful design," Berk wrote. "Start by pulling inspiration and then begin to build your room with larger pieces and all your colors and materials. You'll then have a direction — and can easily add in accessories, art, and the finishing touches."

This design advice is especially useful in conjunction with the above tip Berk gave on starting with bigger items. You can gather inspiration in numerous ways: by searching Pinterest, visiting furniture shops, looking through magazines, scrolling Instagram, or even browsing our inspiration page. Figuring out what you like before purchasing will help you make the right decision instead of opting for something you later feel stuck with. Then, you can feel confident in buying larger items first, a tried and tested formula that will help you design your perfect home.