Never rush into a decorating project. whether it involves one room or a whole house.   Plan carefully, since a desirable result is more than worth the time and the energy spent.

         Familiarize yourself to as much good home design, both old world and modern.   Because only then will you be able to know of your personal taste and to decide on a preferred style of decorating.  Do not be content on the designs shown in the mock-up rooms in the big department stores, but study the glossy home decor magazines too.   If you do not want to go to the expense of buying European magazines, you can always see the designs showcased in the internet.

         Find the best furnitures, fabrics, accessories and antique experts and study their displays to familiarize your eyes to know good design.

         Then make an assessment of you and your family’s habits and lifestyle.   Are the children given the freedom to go anywhere in the house, or are they usually kept away from adult areas in the house?   Do you favour a casual approach to life or do you delight in formal entertaining?   Even take household pets into consideration: a dog’s muddy paws will play havoc with the white carpet.

           Sum up all these considerations and your budget and start with your master plan.   If you are sure of all the details that you want to place inside your home but do not know how to correctly measure the floor areas, an architect can do this for you.   There is a vast list of architects in the internet, ready and willing to guide you through the entire design process.

          Do lots of paper work, and try to see your house as a whole, even if you can decorate only a single room at a time.   Bring home big carpet samples so that you can really get an idea of how the finished room will look.   Collect swatches of fabric for curtains and upholstery and live with them for a little while.   Do the same with paint and wallpaper samples.  Some furniture shops would let you take pieces home on approval.

           There are more risks, however, in having too many alternatives to select from than in a shortage of means.   If you can afford to decorate the whole house fairly lavishly but you still feel confused, get professional advice.  If you are renovating your bathroom and would like to transfer the fixtures, never do the pipe extensions yourself.  Contact your local Plumbers or plumbing company to do this for you.

           The most important thing is, do not buy anything unless you really love it.   A mediocre pastiche of ‘what it should have been like’ will be a constant source of frustration.