So, you have just moved into to your first home, but don’t know where to start with the decorating. Don’t worry, that’s where we come.

There are very few things that are more daunting that decorating your first home. With so many styles and design rideas available, it’s difficult not to become stressed out and overwhelmed.

Many first time buyers opt for comfort and choose a plain, simple and somewhat disappointing decorating style. Don’t be tempted to do this, you will regret it.

Instead, take the time to work out exactly what you want from your new home. To help you do this, we have put together a simple, step-by-step guide to decorating your new home.

Step 1 - Think about what you like

A lot of people who are new to the property market, don’t really know what decorating styles they like. It is not that they don’t have ideas and opinions on certain styles, it’s that they don’t know how to use these for decorating.

One of the easiest ways to find out what styles appeal to you most is by looking at other houses. You can either do this online, by looking at interior design sites and on Pinterest for ideas, or you can have a look in home magazines.

Make sure to save all your favourite home design images, online you can do this by creating a new mood board on Pinterest. For magazine images, cut them out and stick them all into a small scrap book. Once you have enough images, sit down and compare them. Look at what connects each of the images, in terms of colour, style, pattern, and room layout. This will indicate what type of design styles you prefer.

Make sure to keep in mind the size of the space you have and whether it will pose any restrictions to your ideas.

Step 2 - Consider how much you can afford to spend

Work out how much you can afford to spend and calculate how much you will need to redecorate the entire house.

If you can’t afford redecorate all at once, choose a couple of rooms to start off with. Make sure to choose rooms where you spend a lot of your time, such as your bedroom or living room.

Step 3 - Create a floor plan

This may sound overly complicated, but it is necessary for designing the perfect home. Plus, with so many different apps and types of internet software, creating a floor plan can actually be a lot of fun.

Opt for an online floor planning site that is free to use, easy to use, is flexible, and offers a wide variety of furniture templates.  

Creating a floor plan will allow you to get a good understanding of how much space you actually have available. As well as any additional storage space you may not have noticed before.

For example, until you saw the amount of space in your basement, you may not have realised just how useful it could be. To find out more about converting your basement, have a look on this page for tips and ideas.

Step 4 - Choose a style and colour pallette each room

The first thing to do when decorating a room is to think about the style and colour palette you would like to decorate it in. Think about things like the flooring in the room. If you aren't planning on getting new flooring, it is important to take this into account when picking out your colour scheme and style.

To help you come up with a colour scheme you like, pick an item that you love, such as a piece of art or furniture and use that as your inspiration. Or, if you have a favourite colour, start with that as a base and work from there.

Once you have chosen the style of the room and the colour palette, the rest of the decoration and furnishings should come easily. When choosing expensive pieces, like sofas and tables, it is a good idea to opt for neutral colours so that you can reuse them if you decide to redecorate in the future. Add your chosen colours into the room with an accent wall and other accent pieces, such as a rug, pillows, pieces of art, and table lamps.

Step 5 - Paint

Although wallpapering can give a nice effect, it is more expensive than painting and more difficult to do. To keep your costs as low as possible, painting is the best choice.

If the room is already painted in a neutral colour, save yourself money by just painting one wall in an accent colour. You could also use a printed paint roller to create a patterned accent wall - this is an excellent way to get a unique effect without the hassle of wallpapering.

Step 6 - Invest in your furniture

Photo credit: pixabay

Ideally, your furniture will stay with you for many years, so it is important to invest in the best pieces. For example, your sofa will probably stay in your home for a long time, so make sure to buy a good quality one.

Make sure to choose neutral upholstery colours for your investment pieces of furniture, so that if you redecorate you can do so without having to buy new furniture.

Step 7 - Make sure to measure

There is nothing worse than buying a brand new sofa, only to find that once it is delivered it will not fit through your doorways. That is why it is important to measure your rooms and doorways before heading off on a furniture shopping trip. Don’t forget to take your measurements with you.

Step 8 - Know where to skimp

Not everything has to be expensive, there are many place you can save money when decorating your home. If money is tight, make sure to take advantage of low cost items.

An excellent way to cut costs is to buy items like mirrors, lamps and pillows at cheap warehouse stores, like Target and Ikea. If you mix a few low cost items amongst your expensive pieces, no one will even notice. So, don’t worry about skimping.