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Home › How to decorate

Decorating file

June 23, 2014by Christina
Happy Monday!  I’m sharing a tip today that I’ve been using for years: a decorating file. Whether you’re currently decorating your house or not, it’s very helpful to have.  All of your paint colors and fabric swatches can be kept together in one little folder.  It’s my favorite way to keep track of paint chips […]
Organize paint colors in a decor file

Happy Monday!  I’m sharing a tip today that I’ve been using for years: a decorating file.

Whether you’re currently decorating your house or not, it’s very helpful to have.  All of your paint colors and fabric swatches can be kept together in one little folder.  It’s my favorite way to keep track of paint chips (and you have the color on-hand if you need to go buy more).

It’s also small enough to fit into your purse, so if you’re out shopping for new pillows or curtains, or even something big like a sofa, you’ll have pieces of your room with you to make sure the new item will work.

Make a decorating file to keep paint colors and fabric swatches in.

Mine is a coupon organizer from an office supply store (the closest thing I could find online is this).

When I get a gallon of paint, I always grab an extra color card to add to the file.  If you’ve ordered your furniture or linens online, you can often get fabric swatches from the retailer mailed to you for free.

Organize paint colors in a decor file

Other good things to keep in the folder are dimensions of rooms or pieces of furniture, for example, if you’re shopping for a new media cabinet, it would be helpful to have the size of the TV handy.  Adding an inspiration photo or two would help keep you on track to if you use the file while you’re out shopping.

This little organizer only took a few minutes to put together and cost $6, and has saved me a ton of time and guessing if something will work.

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About Christina

I'm a full-time web developer with a dog sitting business, home renovations, and a blog on the side.

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  1. Leena

    Cool tip, thanks.
    I’ve lost all the paint chips we had from this house, I think I threw them away.

    Reply
    • Christina

      Ha, in the minimalist game? 😉

  2. Heidi @ One Creative Mommy

    Great idea. I’d kind of feel like a professional designer with a file like that! Your home is beautiful, by the way.

    Reply
    • Christina

      Thanks, Heidi! It does kind of feel like that. 🙂

  3. homestilo

    Clever…and more practical than having to consult a spreadsheet for a paint schedule all the time.

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Christina.

Little Victorian is your place for inspiration, education, and encouragement for how to be your own interior designer and decorator, and how to carry out your big plans yourself too.

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