A common mistake in decorating a home is choosing your furniture before checking the dimensions of the room in question.
Oversized furniture can make a room appear small and crowded, whereas smaller furniture can open up a room and give it a more spacious feel. Furniture in a showroom will often appear smaller than it actually is, so always check dimensions before you buy.
With so many shades and tones available, and with each looking different in changing light, it is a good idea to hold off on painting until you are able to see your furniture in your new home, and then find a paint to suit. This way you can find the colour that best suits your artwork, furniture or whatever else you may have.
Mirrors allow a space to feel larger and brighter as light is reflected around the room, put mirrors on walls adjacent to windows to best achieve this, as mirrors opposite windows can sometimes bounce light back out!
Interior lighting should come in three ways, ambient, task and accent. Ambient lighting provides overall illumination and will often come from ceiling fittings. Task lighting provides light for a certain task, reading for example. Accent lighting is more decorative, illuminating artwork or photos. By using these three types of lighting and layering them effectively you can create an exciting depth to the room.
If you’re decorating a new house always start at the top. Begin decorating in the smaller bedrooms before moving on to the master bedroom and downstairs, as by the time you work your way down you will be efficient and more skilled in the areas that are most on show. Decorating in this way also prevents taking paint and other materials up through the finished parts of your home.