Decorating? Reveal your personal style

What are your favourite things? Perhaps an old tin, a quirky postcard or a beautiful vase? Why not use this group of personal objects as the starting point for styling decorating a living room or bedroom.

From your favourite fashion stores to flea markets, take pictures of objects you want to own, collect tear sheets from brochures or print out pictures from store websites. If you lay out all these images together, you’ll find that they’ll all reflect your personal style and can act as home decor inspiration.

We’ve all admired a friend or family member’s home and wished we could recreate the look. Make a list of features you’d love to have in your home decor, such as a sofa for friends to sit and chat in the kitchen or a desk by a window. Then, work those ideas into your home decor.

When choosing a colour scheme, the trick is to narrow down your choices. Start by collecting colour swatches or pictures of the hues you’re drawn to, and then edit these down to just one colour palette. Buy tester pots to paint your walls and live with the colours for awhile to discover if they really work for you.

Restaurants and hotels are decorated to make you want to sit and relax in them. If there’s somewhere you love to go where the lighting is just right, the furniture is really comfortable and the décor is stylish, then why not steal their look? Take photographs and create a mood board to build up a picture of your ideal space interior decor.