Do get the “bones” of the room right before you start decorating
Invest in the structure, the joinery, the fireplace and the architectural details before anything else as that is what lasts and it’s very difficult to go back and change that. No matter how much you decorate, the room will never look right if those elements are not in place.
Do begin with the furniture layout on to-scale drawings
Plot where your sofas and armchairs will go, make sure there are tables nearby for your drink and add the lighting. A furniture layout helps you work out where the furniture will go, what you can and can not fit into a room and where you will need to add sockets, wall lights and pendants.
Do invest in paintings
It’s disappointing to walk into a beautifully decorated room to find the walls covered in prints. They don’t have to cost a fortune and it’s fun scouring auction houses and dealers for works that reflect your taste and style.
When it comes to hanging pictures, try to avoid everything being at the same height
Mix it up – hang one picture above the other, a bigger one on its own and groups of smaller ones all together. Make the picture hang interesting.
Do use paintable sockets
Bronze and brass sockets draw your eye towards them and these are not features you want to notice.
Do invest in well made curtains
They can make or break a room and good curtains are about craftsmanship and proportion. They should be lined and interlined and should either break on the floor by and inch or graze it but should never be short.
Do add something old into your schemes
Antiques take the newness out of a room and add a level of depth that you can not get from contemporary pieces alone.
Don’t make your rooms too matchy matchy
Find some colours that work with the scheme but that aren’t in the scheme and don’t be afraid to add a contrasting print or two.
Do mix high and low
If every piece is perfect then the room will feel like a museum.
Don’t forget about comfort
Not only should the furniture be comfortable but the room should be about the colour, the lighting, the placing of the furniture as well as it being beautiful to look at.
