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Form and Function: Why Excel is a Marvelous Tool for Interior Design

Posted by on Monday, June 10th, 2013

Whether you are a professional or just fixing up your home, we all consider some degree of interior design when buying furniture or renovating. Take the mundane and make it marvelous. By using Excel with a PDF to Excel converter, busy interior designers or amateur designers can make home and office a better place to be.

Paint Chips Colors

Image source: Homenewconcept.com

A home or office design project can be costly and time consuming. Interior designers know that it isn’t just about buying furniture and accessories. Color, form and function play an important role in making that living space comfortable and improving the ambiance by introducing some special features.

While professional designers have access to expensive software programs, you can use Excel to design a floor plan for your home improvement project.

 

The first thing you need before starting any design project is a budget. How many of us have gone over budget on home renovations because we didn’t keep our eye on what we were spending? A spreadsheet is the perfect way to determine how much you have to spend and to monitor the costs as you go along.

If you are using contractors you will need estimates. If you are out looking for those deals, make sure that you have a shopping list of items that you need.

By using a PDF to Excel converter, you can convert that PDF or word estimate to an Excel spreadsheet and make sure that things don’t spiral out of control.

Choosing colors is one of the most difficult decisions to make. There are literally thousands of colors in the world of interior design and hundreds of color combinations. Paint companies come up with new colors all the time. The wrong color or combination can ruin the look of your new room.

Pittsburgh Paints Chart

Image source: Materials-world.com

Make a spreadsheet of the colors you are considering using, the brands of paint, the colors of the furniture, drapery, carpeting, wood or laminate flooring.

There is no reason that you can’t convert those paint charts or photos of the products you wish to purchase into a spreadsheet so you have everything in one handy file.

If you are building cabinets or bookcases, you can also use Excel to plan out your project. It’s great for planning a project that involves tiles, such as a back-splash or a bathroom renovation.

More people are becoming DIY types. Not only does it save you money, but it is a fun hobby and it is always great to see what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it. Make your home a welcoming space or your office a creative sanctuary by thinking like an artist and taking a risk.

Area Rug Size Guide

Image source: Bedifferentactnormal.com

By using Excel, you won’t get sidetracked by minutiae that can be irritating and put you off of your project. You won’t go into debt because you lost track of your budget. You’ll know to the last penny just how much that new bathroom or kitchen really cost.

When your project is finished, take a break and enjoy the fruits of your labor.