When you are ready get as many samples as you can. Match color swatches to fabric, hold pictures of different furnishings up against different colors, try out carpets and be sure that you feel comfortable with everything.

Don’t agonize; important thing is to have fun. When you have fun your mind relaxes and works better, it pulls information from different places and creates impressions that make up your artistic insides. Listen to your instincts, and test everything.

When it is time to actually decorate, use room as a canvas. Place items and hues into room carefully, judging their effect on rest of space. If you have to, throw some things out. You can even start over. The important thing is satisfaction you get as you apply your décor.

When you are done you may feel unsatisfied. Finish project, and then walk away. Try not to dwell on it for a week at least. When you return you will see more clearly. Then you will be able to judge your work. Be gentle, this is not a contest. This is about you being comfortable and happy. If you aren’t, change things. Even if you are, it is good to think of decorating as a constant work in progress. One day something belongs here, another it belongs somewhere else. Only you can tell where it needs to be. Experiment and have fun, and things will turn out beautiful.