To ask if you have a nicely decorated house...

[StarlightIntheNight]

How did you do it? Did you get an interior designer or did you sort it yourself? Im at loss on where to start for selecting sofa, art, rugs etc. We moved into a house a couple years ago and just brought our temporary ikea furniture (possibly considered permanent as we have had for 5 years! lol). The idea was to buy nicer furniture once we own a house and when kids are a bit older...well we own a house and kids are older...but I am at loss on how to pick things...so nothing gets done really and I am feeling frustrated. Interior designers seem very expensive...but I am afraid if we don't get one, our house will always be unfinished. I am looking for helpful tips here on where to start or if you have used an interior designer - Thank you!

Wow, I got a lot of responses :) Thanks everyone.

EgremontRusset , I have ceiling lights, but I am not happy with the lighting. I wonder if lamps might be better option instead. I like soft cozy lighting. When we replaced the ceiling lights with LED, I said I wanted soft lighting....but they are not soft enough. Why do you think every room needs 4 light sources? Also, we don't really have art - so my decorating is starting from scratch! We have a few different pieces my MIL has been gifting us...some antiques and some family art. But not much so I need to find art - any good suggestions for print pieces?

Pishogue , its an old London house. It has gone through renovations and extensions from the previous owners. The kitchen has loads of light and sky light side return. I would say my style is classic traditional pieces. No plans of selling. So we want to decorate and make it nice (but we also have two young kids and a dog...so as nice as can be! lol)

I am joining pinterest and seeing if it might help me...I have never really used it...so here goes!

Decormad38 interesting mixture of art.

appleandpears, I have also considered using John Lewis! As the cost is redeemable against purchase...its only 250, which can easily be spent on some items even if you do not like all they suggest.

chasingmytail4 , did you like the design she had put together for you?

GraceMarks , I agree with the lighting. I currently hate the ceiling lighting we have and I want to change the bulbs. But how do you find LED soft lighting that is nice and cozy? I do also plan to buy some more lamps to have around the rooms.

SpanielEars070 thanks for the website tips :)

Use neutrals for expensive items that you aren't likely to change for years. Then add colour via accessories.

I've made the mistake of choosing a nice coloured sofa then having to replace it sooner than I wanted to.

One or two statement or expensive items can give an "expensive feel" and other cheaper things won't be noticeable.

Concentrate on good lighting and mirrors.

And a mix of textures is really important.

Group things in threes or five. Never even numbers. Different heights.

My suggestion is to actually start with the curtains, if you are having them. Find some you like and then get paint, sofa and rug to match. It's difficult to find matching curtains after you have everything else in place but paint is very easy to match to other stuff. Avoid a strong pattern for the curtains or rugs unless you want that to be the keynote for the room. I think patterns / interesting designs are best reserved for artwork, interesting objects and cushions as you can change those over time if you get fed up of them. For curtains I recommend an abstract pattern (e.g. stripes, dots, diamonds) but all in the same or a very similar colour, or something textured, so there is a bit of interest without the curtains dominating the room.

For cushions, look for up to 3 different designs - one with a motif or bold pattern or perhaps embroidered, one which is textured (we have some nice cream fleecy ones) and one which has a subtle, graphic pattern.

For cheap furniture you can make it look a lot nicer simply by replacing the door knobs with something a bit nicer.

. I wonder if lamps might be better option instead. I like soft cozy lighting. When we replaced the ceiling lights with LED, I said I wanted soft lighting....but they are not soft enough.

You should be able to switch the LEDs to dimmable bulbs & the switch to a dimmable one. My bathroom was fitted with football stadium floodlight level lighting & it took 10 mins for the sparky to switch it over to dimmable.

Also, bulbs have warm/cool temps: check the packaging. The whiter end of the scale is a bit "hospital operating theatre", the yellower end a bit 70s, you want something in between.

Definitely lamps for cosy sitting rooms – add them to side tables, bookshelves, and a floor lamp. Stick a couple of candles in the hearth or on the mantelpiece too.

I think two other things to note if you're emulating something from Pinterest or Instagram is not only the era of the house, but: (a) however much you like the look, can you actually live like that? E.g. I LOVE Emily Katz's kitchen as a visual, but in reality that much clutter drives me nuts. And (b) do you have the same scale & natural light. Again, kitchens: love Justina Blakeney's kitchen (the Jungalow) and tried to copy her green tiled backsplash. Only she has 3 large windows & a high ceiling in California & I have one small window in a basement level, boyfriend's-head-brushes-the-ceiling flat in England. Her sparkly green backsplash in my space = dank cave. 😭

Some sites I like for styling & decor tips: Apartment Therapy. Design Sponge (fave all-time house is Anna Potter's in Sheffield, it's cosy and perfect: www.designsponge.com/2015/02/anna-potters-home.html). Style By Emily Henderson. Also the blog Manhattan Nest.

We bought the show home - it is lush! It came with everything in it - down to plates and cutlery, bedding - everything! Totally love it.

Sorry so advice would be to go around showhomes as it helps to see how a space is put together

the problem is that show homes have specifically small furniture to make them look bigger, have notoriously no storage and are empty - so have a completely unrealistic use of space.

If you like a tiny bed, it's fine, but if you were planning on getting a king size, it won't fit in most.

It can be really nice to live in a neutral and completely impersonal space, but it won't look like a home and thousands of people will have the exact same space.

Commit to something you love: a sofa, rug, big painting, etc. Then gradually find things that complement it and which you will therefore like by association. If you try to choose everything at the same time you will be paralysed with indecision.

In our case we were given an old Habitat rug by family and a sofa by friends and both were too lovely to pass up, so we worked backwards from that. Narrowing down your options actually makes it a lot easier.

Lived in our house for just over two years and have only just come to grips with what we'd like to do with it. It's not only tastes that will dictate what you choose, it's the house itself.

My last place was south-west facing with large windows and done mainly in bold, dark shades. These wouldn't suit the new place at all, which cries out for New England colours (but not style): decided on one lovely 'contemporary' neutral throughout with greens and peacock blue as accent colours. I want it all to blend seamlessly from room to room.

What I love about this place are some of the one-off antique shop finds I've collected since moving here: a pair of bronze urns, all weathered and green, on either side of the conservatory door containing sago palms, some small Japanese style bronze urns that stand over the inglenook fireplace, a Victorian dressing table and a little copper kettle I picked up in Norway for about a tenner. I also have large candles and huge lanterns everywhere. Slightly eclectic but they all really suit the house!

Choose items that shout out to you, which you'll grow to love, rather than necessarily opting for things that suit your house and scheme.

May sound slightly kooky, but to accentuate the gothicky/churchy style of the house (it has wood, bricks and arches everywhere) I've set my heart on a painted monk's bench and some chapel chairs for the kitchen-diner! Each to their own as they say :)

Hope you'll love your new-look house!

We started by paying out big for a pair of leather Chesterfields which have aged beautifully. We laid the same carpet throughout and chose tonally cohesive paint. I think good paint is worth the spend and we have the entire house done in F&B and Sanderson - mind you, no kids so don't have to worry about it getting scuffed etc.
After that, things have come together over the years. If I love it, I buy it and will find a place for it. I love Persian carpets so we saved hard for a really good one which is everything-proof and literally indestructible.
My colours are Abigail Ahern inspired but my other bits tend to echo more Ben Pentreath and Rita Konig - except I'm not posh.
We do save for really good art too - none of which matches but does look good IMO.
I think if you love it and your house it welcoming and not to over-styled and precious, it will always work.
I love all this shit so wouldn't consult an interior designer personally but they are brilliant for the less confident and a really good one can help you realise the style you never knew you had.

What a great thread with some terrific advice.

I am one of those people who is constantly redecorating - my friends benefit as they get my cast-off furniture!

Currently, my sitting room is Old School Chinoiserie with a big fireplace with built-in bookcases on either side, huge windows, an antique oriental rug, two enormous squishy sofas, faux bamboo armchairs and two chandeliers (the room is two rooms knocked into one) with dimmer switches, floor lamps and table lamps.The room is longer than it is wide so I have used one sofa to create a sort of visual barrier and in the space between the wall and the sofa back I have put a desk, chair and leopard print rug. I have paintings, rather than prints, which are a mixture of Victorian and Georgian portraits. They always get commented on.

Someone came to my house today for the first time and when they walked into the sitting room they first thing they said was "Oh! This is a nice room!" (I'm still smiling because the comment made me so happy.)

The room is decorated to my taste and I love it. There are people who would hate it and that's fine with me.

StarlightIntheNight I did like the John Lewis suggestions, she came up with several pictures with variations of fabrics, layouts, etc. Obviously she only recommended items from John Lewis, but was happy to help me pick and choose which ideas I took from the design. I was very dubious of using a designer, didn't want the rooms to be someone else's style, but I'm really happy that I did.

starlight I think I read the thing about four light sources on Apartment Therapy, it seems to work well as a rule of thumb. It means you have more layers and textures of light rather than just ceiling light. More flattering on the skin too!

For art - we have a complete mix of things I’ve gathered over the years, mostly prints of old paintings, framed textiles, etc. No antiques etc sadly! But a great place to start is with either the location or era of your home. Eg if you’re in Yorkshire you could get big Hockney print, or if it’s a 30s era house maybe Ravilious, and so on. We live in a little Edwardian terrace and I’ve been getting really into Arts and Crafts era fabrics and so on.

The four sources of light makes sense: at least one window for natural light, one overhead light, one floor lamp and one table lamp so that lighting is at different levels.

I decided on stuff myself, but get inspired online/magazines.

I've bought from all kinds of places including charity shops, antiques, supermarkets even. Start with the main items you need eg the sofa as you will have a budget for that that dictates the shops you can use, then choose paint to compliment it, other furniture (not forgetting what you already own!) then pick up accessories, pictures etc to finish your look. I've done large renovations and the key is to remember you don't have to do it all at once, get the paint, floor and big furniture in place then choose occasional furniture (when we had more money) etc

Yes I feel your pain OP. We've lived in our house for 1.5 years and so decor is still the previous owners.

Have a decent sized living room but I don't know how to lay it out as the images you see on Pinterest etc are never the same shape as our room so wouldn't work. I'd love to pay done one to do it but couldn't justify the cost.

I have started saving images to pinterest and decided to take the leap and book in John Lewis consultants. Its just 250 and I could really use the nudge to make first steps. Otherwise, I feel like I will never move forward. I gave myself two years...at least I managed to do our bedroom and the kids bedroom....which I love and did a great job I think! But, definitely need help with the living room and kitchen.

I got ideas off Pinterest. Also some You Tube 'my flat' tours. Tho I remain unconvinced a white sofa looks pristine for more than 10mins in real life. Wall art is expensive but wish.com do mega cheap 'modern scandi art' for as little as £2 each (leaves, animals, feathers, sayings etc)

Wall art is expensive but wish.com do mega cheap 'modern scandi art' for as little as £2 each (leaves, animals, feathers, sayings etc)

Go to Desenio online, some lovely stuff there.

For art also try antique shops and fairs, often it's very well priced and timeless, as well as originals.

Can we resurrect this thread ... I’m in full decorating mode right now