By Gina Novelle, copyrighted 01-26-2010

What is the first question you should ask yourself? What is the feeling you want this room to grant you? One of people's most common design mistakes is they let someone else pick out their room colors, or they let the room décor style dictate the color. Then they can't figure out why they grew tired of the room in a few months.

Step 1: Find Colors for Your Perfect Room.

How do you do that? Look within, and I don't mean within your mind. Look within your closet! People buy clothing because they are attracted to the color or style. What color are your favorite pair of shoes? Do you have a favorite shirt, or dress? Check out the colors in your closet. You purchased these colors by emotional passion. I love tan and black, and my favorite coat is tan with black trim. Use the hues of your favorite colors to design your room. Start with just three colors, one for walls (the lightest color,) one for furniture, and one for window treatments.

Step 2: Get Samples of Your Colors.

Take a quick trip to any department store, and go to the bath towel area. Look for washcloths in the three colors you have in mind. I love earth colors, and never grow tired of them. I wanted a green sage sofa, with a bold burgundy contrasting color. I discovered during my sample hunt that green sage came in many different hues, from greenish gray to greenish gold to greenish brown. I hate greenish gold. I also discovered that burgundy went from reddish purple to a raspberry color. What I really wanted was more of a dark brick red. Thank goodness, I only paid $3.50 for those washcloths rather than $1800.00 for a new sofa in greenish gold!

Step 3: Determine Your Décor Style.

What style of furniture feels the most comfortable and inviting? Again, don't let the latest fashion create your room. This is your room, your perfect room. How do you find your style? Go to different pictures in books, art galleries or room galleries on the internet. Do you like the traditional type of furniture? Do you like the overstuffed contemporary sofas? Do you like the straight lined, no curves of the modern furniture? What if you like a mixture of furniture styles? That is called transitional approach. I personally like transitional flair, our web site is a great place to discover your style. We take one room and design it using the different styles, traditional, contemporary, modern, southwest, and transitional. When you find what you like, print the picture.

Step 4: Find the Paint Color and Paint.

Take your washcloth color sample to the paint store. Purchase and paint the walls before you furnish the room or put in window treatments. You don't want paint spills on your new décor. Remember paint may lighten or darken as it dries. That is why it is best to work with light colors.

Step 5: Purchase You Window Treatments Next.

Wait, you thing to yourself, people tell you to do that last. Be different this time, do it first. You already have your three contrasting colors or three colors of different hues. Dress your windows with a matching color to the floor, a contrast, or an accent color. For example, in my room, I bought the windows drapes in the dark brick red. I painted the walls a light tan. Imagine the boldness the dark brick red drapes gave the room. In this room, I actually had six windows that broke up the walls. By the way, the picture I found was a favorite painting by T.C. Steele titled "A Child With Flowers." It was painted in 1918. Look it up on the net, and you will see why I loved those colors and the feel of that painting. It took me back to my grandmother's strawberry farm where I spent many happy, safe, and beautiful moments in life.

Step 6: Measure Room Before You Buy.

Before you order, measure the room, so you know if the furniture will fit into the room. Do not rely on a guess. Most furniture you purchase today is ordered and takes six weeks to be delivered. The last thing you want is to wait six weeks and then return it because it was too large for your space. Measure again and write down the measurements. Double-check the manufacturer's measurements also.

Step 7: The Fun Part; Go Buy the Furniture.

Furniture is negotiable and even more so when you purchase a group in the same store. Take your color washcloths with you. I looked at over 200 fabric swatches before I matched my washcloth colors. Make sure you sit on the furniture, and it is quality made. Ask to see all the fabric swatches for that furniture. Often a sales representative will not tell you fabric options. The cost to pick a different fabric is not that much. If you have children, pick a polyester cotton blend. It will wear like iron, and clean up great too. Pick tables that match each other. This gives the room a continuity of style. If you are the transitional type and don't want matching tables, then at least match the wood color. I went with light oak wood, very plain tables.

Step 8: Pick an Accent Color.

This would be a color you want thrown in for elegance or flamboyance. I actually used black as my accent color. I used very little, but I found a brick red rug with my sage green, and black accents. Therefore, I purchased black vases, and a stunning black lacquer pot. In addition, pictures were framed in black. When the room was finished, it actually looked like a room from 1918. My husband sealed it with the old fashion style lampshades. Why did my husband love it too? I looked in his closet. He not only wears those colors, but his favorite wood is light oak!