Picking a theme, such as Japanese, Minimalist, or Renaissance, can help direct your interior design plan and eliminate hordes of unnecessary options.

When starting your interior design project, one of the easiest ways to identify your direction and start making a plan is to choose a theme.

Theme is a fairly broad word, but essentially you should consider it the idea that you want your design to center around.  You could choose a locale theme such as beach, country or urban, a national theme such as East Asian, Mediterranean or traditional Italian, or it could be something more simple and direct, like a color theme.

You could make the theme of your home or space literally whatever you want.  Sports, outer space, the American Southwest – it doesn’t matter.  Just make sure it’s something you love and a place where you would want to spend time every day.

Choosing a theme makes the whole interior design process easier since it rules out a wide range of other options.  For example, you wouldn’t put a bamboo plant in a room inspired by The Yankees’ classic pin-stripe design.  Likewise, you wouldn’t put a traditional Italian cabinet in a room with a minimal theme.

Those are just two examples, but I’m sure there are plenty more.  What kind of theme would you choose for your interior design?  Leave us a comment and let us know.