Do

Key colours: greens and pinks work well together, as do browns and creams

Choose a couple of key colours for a room - greens and pinks work well together, as do browns and creams.

Fired Earth's Elements of Colour paint chart offers a brilliant system, which allows you to see which colours are great together.

The paints are grouped into two-column families, one family to each page. You can refold the card to align different parts of the palette. Almost every colour will work with any other from the same line or column.

Do

Invest in things you can take with you rather than spending a lot on wallpaper or fitted carpets, especially if you are renting or not planning to stay long in your home.

Do

Moving is stressful: so sort out your bedroom and kitchen first, so you're in good shape for the rest of the house

Make sure you sort out your bedrooms and kitchen first - the other rooms can wait a little longer.

Moving is stressful, so you'll be needing a decent night's sleep too.

As long as you can make endless cups of tea and rustle up something edible, you'll be in good shape to get everything else sorted out.

 

 

Do

Pay attention to the details - rugs, cushions, throws and pictures all add an instant homely feel.

Big glass bowls full of colourful sweets look fantastic on coffee tables.

Cheap glass jars make good storage containers for cotton wool and other bathroom essentials.

Divertimenti is perfect for just this sort of thing.

Don't

Don't hide: display cookware and china on shelves - easier to find and cosier room

Feel you have to hide cookware or china away in the cupboards.

Instead, think about displaying it on shelves. It'll be easier to find and will make the room feel cosier. If you're in need of some new cookware or kitchenalia, check out Aga Cook Shop.

Don't

Try to make your home fashionable. Instead, go for an eclectic look and pick only things that are beautiful, useful or both.

Don't

Ignore the in-between spaces. Collages of snapshots in clear glass frames make a hallway or any other dead space feel more personal.

Don't

Bedroom: not just for sleeping

Think of your bedroom as only a place to sleep.

If there's room, it's nice to have a desk in the bedroom; it can double as a dressing table, but is also a nice place to write letters.

Don't

Forget, you cannot have too many candles. Perfect for long de-stressing baths and romantic dinners.

 

For lots of inspirational ideas, visit Fired Earth, Divertimenti and Aga Cook Shop online.