Hints and tips

• Common sense - If you love how an entire room is decorated inside the pages of a magazine but you live in an apartment, then try to duplicate the look on just one wall and not the entire room.

• If you have low ceilings, paint the ceiling a lighter shade of color than the rest of the walls, because this will give the room added height.

• When adding light, study up on the different levels of light and how each is used - general, accent and task lighting.

• When picking a color scheme, it's best to pick furniture or cushions and fabric first, since it's easier to match paint to fabric than vice versa.

• Don't be afraid of mixing and matching fabrics and textures, but you best be afraid of mixing and matching colors.

• Be careful how you use high contrast patterns, as they can be disorientating. Use them subtly instead.

• A mantel piece and fireplace will be the principal focal point of a room, but if you don't have one, you can buy smokeless fireplaces that aren't too expensive or you can introduce stunning central pieces such as a painting or vase.

• If you're bored of your carpet, look at rugs as an easy way to dramatically change your room.

• To create balance inside a room, place your favorite collection of candles or photos together. Try to steer away from placing two same objects together, but instead place three as a grouping.

• Add your own personal touches - your personality should shine through with any decorating scheme used.