Develop a decorating style and use what you have to create a home that reflects the personality of you and your family

Your home should be a collection of your life's events and memories

Whether you are just starting out and decorating an entire house or redecorating just one room, this should be an exciting adventure. You are creating a home that reflects the combined tastes and interests of your family. Don't get hung up on rules of do's and don'ts. This is your home and the only rule is that you should please yourself.

What do you really think of your home?

When you enter your home what is the first impression you receive?

Is it one of open space and light? Is is dark and cramped? Is it organized? Maybe cramped with too much stuff?

How did it get that way? Did you buy the house because of the way the light came through it's many windows? Maybe it was dark but the location was near the right schools and close to work.

Whatever you started with, do you have what you envisioned when your started developing your decorating style? What do you like about the house? What do you dislike? What changes would you like to make?

You have to know what you want before you can create it

Let's pick a room. Most people spend a large amount of time in the living room, so we'll use that one. Go into your living room and look at what you have. Ask Yourself these questions:

• Is it light or dark?
• Is it open or cramped?
• Is it comfortable?
• Is this a place we love to spend time in?

If you are not happy with your answers it is time to change your decorating style to something that reflects your tastes and lifestyles.

Assess everything that is in the room

Look at every item in the room. Some you will want to keep, some you will throw out, and some you will replace. Your room should contain only things you love and that make you happy.

Is your sofa a cast-off from another family member and your coffee table purchased from a flea market because the price was right? Did you put thought into your window treatment or do you still have the venetian blinds you quickly put up the day you moved in so that you would have some privacy? If you are not happy with your room decorating style it's probably because you haven't put much thought or effort into designing and decorating it.

Don't use the excuse that you are not creative. We are all creative in our own way. Good or bad, You have created the room you are looking at. There are no rules or regulations you have to follow if you don't want to. There will be no decorating style police knocking at your door if you use the "wrong" colors. Who's to say your furniture pieces don't fit together because they are not all from the same decorating style period? If anyone asks you "What decorating style are you aiming for?" your answer could always be the all encompassing "This is the Eclectic decorating style."

Decorate with furnishings and colors that make you feel happy

If a room doesn't feel right is because you made a choice that was not right for your taste and lifestyle. Did you choose a color because you thought it was "safe"? Maybe you wanted to use forest green instead of a neutral gray but you were fearful of what the neighbors would think. Now you hate the gray and still want the beautiful green. Well guess what. Paint is cheap. Go ahead and repaint the room the way you want it. Even if other people don't like the color, it's your home. You live in it and you have to look at it every day. Why not use colors that make you smile and feel comforted?

Are you happy with "put up your feet" furnishings and decorating style. Then why feel you have to have a traditonal decorating style because you live in a colonial style home? If you feel you are living in a showroom just so you can impress your boss and the neighbors, you will become very dissatisfied. Instead of your home being a haven of peace and harmony, you will always be unhappy there and it will affect your entire lifestyle.

Be Yourself, Please Yourself, Trust Yourself, Enjoy Yourself

The point I'm trying to make here is to decorate only to please yourself and your family. Surround yourself with colors, furnishings and objects that make you feel good. Whatever you do that makes you feel happy can never be a mistake.

If you really are unhappy with a piece of furniture, get rid of it. Give it away, sell it, or dump it. It is better to do without something than to deal with the dissatisfaction it causes you.

Once you have an empty space, don't rush out to fill it immediately. Take time to live with the emptiness. Think about what you really want there. Look around. Maybe you would rather live with the space than with more stuff. Think about how you live. Think about how you use the space. Consider how comfort fits into your decorating style.

Every room should be your favorite room

Be aware of your surroundings when you walk into a room. Do you love the way the sun shines through the kitchen in the morning? Do you enjoy the peace and quiet of a back bedroom away from the street noises? Do the colors in the living room make you feel comfortable? Does the hall table from your grandmother's home bring back great memories of summer spent with your grandparents?

These are things you are striving for. It is not the perfectly decorated room you saw in Better Homes and Gardens that make your house a home. It is the continuous feeling of welcome and harmony that surrounds you when you come home.

Strive to make every room your favorite room. Enhance the benefits you love and get rid of things that give you stress and bad vibes. This is the only way to develop your own decorating style and develop a home you are always anxious to return to.

For more information on various decorating styles check out the Types of Decorating Styles section.