If you are decorating it means you are probably knee-deep in fabulous fabrics, vivid colors and difficult decisions that can overwhelm even the hardiest home designer. Here are some helpful hints to ease your decorating dilemmas:

Pick a Starting Point

Choose your favorite object in a room, whether it's an antique armoire or a bay window. Make it the centerpiece and decorate around it. Let your favorite object suggest the color palette for the entire room.

Color Flow

Create a unifying flow of colors throughout your house by using the same colors in  varying roles in your rooms. If you've used lemon yellow on the wall of the kitchen, use the same yellow as an accent color in the adjoining room.

Use Varying Shades

Don't match carpet color exactly with wall paint or upholstery; the room will appear too rigid. Instead choose a lighter or darker shade to create variation and definition.

Accentuate the Positive, Conceal the Negative

Highlight the items that you love in a room, whether it be a favorite mantelpiece to a beloved lamp. Hide the things you don't like but can't change. Put carpet over horrible tile or curtains over an unattractive window.

Keep a Scrapbook

Collect photos and magazine pages of room designs you like. Keep them in a file for inspiration and ideas.

Have Samples

Keep a bag in your car with samples and swatches of carpet, paint and fabric you are already using. If you come across anything in your travels, you'll be able to determine quickly if it fits into your existing decor.

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