Everyone loves the look and feel of a newly renovated home. There’s nothing like putting your feet up and enjoying a room that’s freshly done out with new furniture, a lick of paint or just-put-down carpet.

However, renovating your house can be stressful; it takes a lot of time and planning as well as blood, sweat and tears. To help you get through the decorating process as smoothly as possible, here are our top ten tips on everything from how to remove glue from clothes to choosing realistic timeframes.

  1. Source inspiration from everywhere: One of the most fun aspects of decorating your home is the initial phase when you’re getting ideas and making plans. Let the whole world be your source of inspiration: whether it’s stately homes you visit, a nice fabric you see at a coffee shop or even some unusual colour combinations you notice in nature, always keep your eyes peeled.
  2. Create a mood board: When you’ve got some inspiration, collate everything onto a mood board – add images, fabrics and colours to get a sense of the look you’re going for.
  3. Use samples and swatches: One great way to try out your decorating ideas is to get some paint samples, wallpaper mini rolls and fabric swatches. There’s nothing like bringing the potential item into the room itself to get a sense of how it’ll look in the light.
  4. Get advice on trades people: If you’re employing people to help with the decorating process, be sure to get recommendations, whether they be from other customers through online reviews, or from friends.
  5. Have a plan for emergencies: However much you plan your decorating project, something – either big or small – will inevitably go wrong. Be sure to have a plan in place for common emergencies such as knowing how to remove glue from clothes if you’re putting up wallpaper, or having a back-up plan if a desired piece of furniture is unavailable.
  6. Set realistic timeframes: We all know how easy it is for projects like this to get delayed. When you’re planning be sure to set realistic timeframes that reflect how long similar decorating endeavours have taken in the past, not simply how long you’d like it to take.
  7. Create a decorating-free haven: While you’re doing some renovating be sure to keep a bit of space in your house as a haven. You’ll need somewhere to go to get away from all the paint fumes and dust.
  8. Check thoroughly every time something has been done: Whether you’ve done it yourself or a tradesperson has, be sure to check through any piece of work when you think you’ve finished. There’s usually something that will likely need sorting out before you’re truly done.
  9. Focus on details: Which leads us to an important tip, decorating is about detail, detail, detail. When you’ve got the big things sorted (walls painted, furniture in) focus on the small stuff and it’ll make a big difference to the overall look.
  10. Constantly revise your plan: Finally, while you might have a very certain idea of how you want the room to look at the start, things are likely to change during the process and that’s absolutely fine. Remember to be flexible and see whether the process takes you.

Those are our top tips for decorating your home. Just remember to enjoy the process and you’ll be even more likely to enjoy the results. Good luck and happy decorating!