Furnishing a house can be quite the chore both physically and creatively. From planning the layout of a room, to deciding on colours and themes to the donkey work of moving furniture into it's intended space, the art of home furnishing is something not to be taken lightly. With a little forethought though, even a novice can approach such a mountain of a task and reduce it to a mere molehill. Here are five top tips fom the experts that will ease the anxiety of decorating your home.



1. Measure, measure, measure!

One thing that is guaranteed to cause you stress when moving furniture into a room is getting the piece of furniture to the doorway or place it is intended to sit, and finding that it doesn't fit. Save yourself a headache and unhealthy increase in blood pressure - measure the space in the room, measure the access space i.e. doorway, window aperture, etc. and measure the furniture itself before even thinking of moving the furniture (or even before buying - retailers will expect that you made sure the furniture fits before purchase and delivery).

2. Know your limits!

If positioning furniture in your house involves either complex construction of the item or heavy lifting, make a judgement call on the task at hand and be honest to yourself as to whether you have the skills and/or strength to carry out the task. Sometimes all it made need is the assistance of a friend or family member but occasionally you might require the services of a handyman, removal expert or amateur strongman. Moving heavy loads without assistance can be dangerous for your health and making a mistake while putting together an expensive piece of furniture might end up being costly. Best to err on the side of caution.

3. Create a focal point with mirrors or paintings

Some rooms can seem empty and uninteresting despite having all manner of exquisite seating, storage and ornamnents placed throughout. If you look around, you might notice that despite the odd photo, the walls may look barren. it is here that you make your mark on the room. Mount a mirror above a mantlepiece or place an attractive and interesting painting on one of the walls to give the room a focal point. Be sure to match the painting or mirror with the style of furniture already in the room.

4. Use curtains to frame that beautiful view

Curtains can sometimes be seen as nothing more than devices to keep sunlight out and offer a sense of privacy. As such, they are often chosen to match the rest of the decor in the room. While all these points hold true, think about where they sit and how they offset the exterior view. Sometimes, the right set of curtains can add that dramatic touch to a beautiful country or sea view, or even a modern townscape. Think of the view out of the windows as a picture and the curtains as the picture frame.

5. Create a mood board to explore colours, patterns and textures

A mood board is a collage of that consists of images, text, and samples of objects that are composed to develop design concepts and to communicate ideas to others. Mood boards are used by many designers and their design teams but there is no reason why the amateur cannot use this technique to explore possible decoration ideas for a particular room. Vague descriptions such as of "we want to create a clean feel to the room" or "we want the room to have a very 'yellow' feel" can then be supported by a suggestive mood board with colours, patterns and different textures which show the atmosphere you want to use during the design of the room. As the old saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words".

These are just a few hints and tips for creating a great living space with as little stress as possible. Applying them to any decorating task should be an easy and stress-free exercise and will give you the confidence and skill to undertake similar tasks in the future. Look around the many decorating themed websites and blogs on the net for more inspiration and advice.