help me with sitting room

[morethanpotatoprints]

We have decided on cornflour blue and yellow for colours, have a blank canvas but don't know what to choose first.
DH and ds2 reckon we need to start with sofas and chairs as these are harder to match.
I thought feature wall paper and paint, my argument is that people change their seats without decorating every time.
Please help, where do we start and what order do we choose furnishings to match. We will be carpeting as well.

Order a range of of wallpaper samples, fabric swatches and tester pots first? Then it will be easier to see how easy the matching would be IYSWIM?

Thank you, had never thought of this, stupid I know.
We usually do a quick job and then wonder why its not right

I think you should pick furniture you love first and decorate around it. There are thousands of paint colours to choose from. You'll always be able to find one that works. Finding the right sofa is much harder. It has to look right, feel right, wear well, fit in the space, be within budget and be comfortable. If it also has to match paint work that you've already done you're setting yourself up for a mammoth task. Choose a general colour scheme but finalise the exact shade of paint last. At least if it takes a while yo get it right you won't be sitting on the floor in the meantime.

Choose the rug or curtains first, then match/co-ordinate the paint to that.

Definitely get a bunch of samples and have them together on a mood board type thing. If you are lucky enough to have budget to do it all new this is the only way, IMO.

I always start with the thing I like best and choose things to go,with it. For me, it's normally curtain fabric.

Always choose the most expensive least likely to replace items first. In the 10 years we have had our sofas we have decorated (and changed colour schemes, accessories etc) three times now. Furniture and carpets first I say :)

Furniture and carpets are generally more neutral and then you decorate round those - i'd probably do curtains next as I like plain walls but if you prefer patterned wallpaper and plain curtains then go for wallpaper next. Or choose a nice picture and pick the colours from that.

having said all that, we had a very unusual sized space for our sofa so we picked that and it only came in 3 colours, black, brown or red - for some reason we went with red and have been tied into that scheme for years as we have neither the inclination or money to chane the sofas again :o

It always looks lovely at Christmas!