Not sure where to start decorating new home

[HelenTheHunter]

Hi,
We are in the process of buying a new home which is really different to anything we've lived in before and I'm not sure what to do with it...
it's 1970/1980s with very large rooms. We've only ever lived in period properties.
We aren't sure how to best manage the layout and I don't even know where to start with choosing decoration. It's much larger than our current house so we will need a load of furniture too.
How would you approach this? Has anyone used an interior designer? Or even an architect to look at the layout of a property?

@HelenTheHunter is the decor kitchen and bathroom adequate to live in for 6 months? Sometimes it's nice to live in and get the feel of the natural light most used rooms?

Yes I think so!
The kitchen is actually fairly new just not to my taste and done a bit cheaply I think - probably as it was tenanted. But we will probably redo it eventually but last.
The bathrooms definitely need replacing and probably a change to the layout of them. But yes, they're definitely bearable for a few months.
We've heard a lot that it's best to live there for a while so we were thinking about six months :) glad to see you think it's a good idea too though!

Do you use Pinterest? I find it fantastic when looking for ideas.
Also some stores like John Lewis offer a home design service that might be worth looking into.

How about gathering pics/ colours onto mood boards, for each room?
Start with the living room and bedrooms as they will be the easiest to decorate, no major changes.
Have you looked under any carpets? This age of House often has parquet floors downstairs.
Buy some home styling magazines to help you. Don’t overfill the rooms with furniture until you’ve decided on the style.

That's a good idea to do the bedrooms first if you wanted to do something before you move in as in reality there probably a square (ish) sort of room and you know where/how you like to sleep. But the downstairs living areas I would wait 6 months and see what you want to change. When moving in to a new barn conversion, I rushed out and got a massive corner sofa which is always in the way but in hindsight it was late coming so we just brought a 2 seater sofa and that took up a lot less room and was more versatile.

We've lived in a number of newer properties with big rooms. I'm a fan of using room zoning techniques with furniture and lamps to break up rooms and create cosier living areas. Instead of lining the walls with furniture, try putting sofas in an L-shape where one of the sofas is in the middle of the room, then put a console table behind it and decorate with lamps and plants. I use our console table for book/toy storage for the children, which then helps to keep the sofa area clear for more 'adult' space and creates a play area for the kids. I hope that makes sense...

This is a good article: theinspiredroom.net/2013/08/28/10-style-tips-for-a-large-living-room-ideas-great-rooms/