Yikes! It’s official! Yesterday Hubby and I signed everything with the builder and the bank. In a few short weeks (as long as this dry weather keeps up) we should start to see the foundations of our dream home taking shape on our block of land.

Eeek! Who would have thought it was possible to be simultaneously so excited and so terrified all at once?!

Serendipitously, a few weeks ago I was offered the opportunity to enroll in a short online course at the International School of Colour and Design (iscd) in order to be able to share my honest thoughts about it with my readers.

The course? iStyle Colour – The first in a series of leisure courses designed to give students the chance to learn how to create the home they love, (or dip their toe in the water of exploring a new career.) Absolutely perfect timing for me to start thinking about and planning how to decorate our new home!

Although the iscd offers design courses on campus, the online option is a major bonus for me, as it allows me to fit in study around work, family and sports commitments. There really isn’t too much ‘free-time’ going spare after all that – so being able to curl up on the couch with a hot cuppa (or a well-earned glass of wine) and my laptop while the kids are asleep works perfectly for me!

I’m a little over halfway through the course, and I can’t begin to tell you how much I am enjoying it, or how much I have learnt already. The course is presented in a step-by-step journal format, which incorporates knowledge, and tips, with projects and exercises to get you thinking about what you’ve learned, and how to apply it.

Not only am I learning the fundamentals of professional colour and design principals like colour, tone and mood, I’ve also discovered a lot about my own personal colour preferences and associations, and what effects certain colours have on me emotionally. It’s been quite an eye opener!

Read: ‘What Does Colour Say About You?’

One of the aspects that I am especially enjoying is the ability to create these online mood boards. I could spend hours trawling through the extensive online course library, mixing, and matching different colours, textures and interior images, to see what really inspires and appeals to me (and why) and also, equally importantly, what doesn’t!

Instead of starting the colour selection for our new home standing in the paint section of the hardware store staring at row upon row of colour swatches (until I go cross-eyed), I now realise that I have to think about each room individually and what the function of the room will be and what kind of mood I want to create in it. Seriously – this information would have served me well 10 years ago when I was pregnant with my first child. In my excitement at finally being able to turn one of the bedrooms into a kiddy room, I painted 1 wall bright red, 1 bright blue, another bright yellow and the last one bright green. It was like sleeping in a circus tent…and I wondered why my poor baby had trouble sleeping!

I’m looking forward to moving onto the next lesson in the course, and learning more about how to use other important design elements to my advantage, like lighting, textures, finishes, and patterns. I know exactly what the new house is going to look like from the outside from all of the building plans – but it’s exciting to be able to see the inside of it coming together in my minds-eye.

I’ll keep you updated on my progress with the course, and give you the full rundown on my thoughts when I have completed it.

Read Part 2: Learning to Create Mood Boards and Colour Palettes to Style Your Home

In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about this short course or any others offered by iscd you can visit their website here. 

The International School of Colour and Design (iscd) is a well respected and highly regarded school for adult learners established in 1983 in Sydney, Australia. The philosophy of nurturing individual creativity while offering excellence in design education has been the main focus of the school and has attracted a high degree of industry recognition.

The iSTYLE series of leisure courses offers academic quality, short courses for the homemaker as a first step into the world of design and colour education. The aim of iscd is to provide design education at all levels to a wide range of people throughout the world.

Contact the iscd for more information today. 

Disclosure: I was enrolled in this short course free of charge for the purpose of an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.