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[stevieb]

@Twins Mom  Why not avail yourself of the free suggestions and advice of in-store design services as was suggested. Just be sure to proceed with extreme caution, remembering that those folks primary goal is to sell you something. You need to be at least minimally savvy about what you want and what will work for you. I had a neighbor who bought into one of the kitchen plans suggested hook line and sinker and while everything they sold her was very attractive, the overall room just didn't work. The island they suggested was far too big for the kitchen and the eat-in area became completely dysfunctional. Flooring and paint should be a little less risky and as for furniture you're going to have to have some sense of what you like and how you want the rooms in your home to function and of who will be using them for what purposes.

[ECBG]

@Twins Mom I taught Interior Design and also wrote the curriculum for our state 10 years.

Because we easily tire of color, it's always best to have your backgrounds a neutral.  

I would first decidt on the type of flooring you want.  If you chose carpet and have a lot of shadows in your house or smaller windows, I would suggest a light beige.

As far as walls, make a canvas you can put anything against.  Go to the paint store and ask for "oyster whites" which should be a winter white.  Whites with a gray background make cold rooms.

My favorite off white is Sherwin Williams oyster white.

I would do a matching window treatment.  Over several decades we have relied less on pinch pleat drapes and have gone with larger rods, rings, and curtain hooks.

You might want to look at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

While you are doing this go to a good furniture store if you want furniture to last.  Ethan Allen is very expensive they will give you an interior designer for the rooms you do where you buy their furniture.

Decide on the colors you want in your house.  Do you like florals, stripes, checks, plaid houndstooth? 

(I always wanted a room that would look good at Christmas.  Rist and yellow green would have been very hard.).

Look on pinterest and find some rooms you like.  Take a picture with your phone.

Your hometown stores will have good brands.  Tell them you want to see examples  of "mid" quality furniture.

Most of the national "name" stores where they're all over, sell the kind of furniture you may not enjoy after 5 years.

An Interior Designer will be a very costly purchase you can put into furniture.  To do a whole house would be over $1000.

Good luck, it's an enjoyable project.

[Mom2Dogs]

Years ago I hired an interior decorator to help me with my living room.  

I just needed a starting point and she helped me with that.  

There was an hourly fee, and I only needed her for 1 hour.  It was well worth the money.  For some reason I was 'stuck' and just needed a nudge.

[kittyloo]

when i remodeled my kitchen, i went through many magazines.   

not only did i tear out things that i did like, but also things that i didn't like.

so when i had my consultation with my designer, i could show her he thing i definatey DID NOT like.  

i talked to several designers, and it was very eye opening to see the ones who came up with designs with elements that were on my "hate this look" list.

not everyone is good at listening, or hearing your wants and needs.

[Lucky Charm]

So it's not the kitchen.  That makes it easier.

If you have hardwood flooring, do you want to have it refinished?  Or is it in good shape and you may want just an area rug?  Do you like the idea of tile?  Prefer wall to wall?

My biggest pick (after knowing I want beautiful hardwood) would be the furniture.  I'd go to furniture stores and browse at the different settings.

Once I picked something out that I absolutely loved, I'd figure out paint colors.  Maybe go above and beyond for a living room and do some different moulding.

Accessories would be my last choice and I wouldn't hurry, but wait until I saw things that I knew would be perfect.

I love decorating, definitely don't dread it!

[ScrapHappy]

I moved into a 3 story 7500 square foot home four years ago and been making improvements and remodeling since.  With the exception on the basement, there is not a room that doesn't need something done.  I look a lot on line.  Try to get ideas.  And then visit stores.  I like choices, a lot of choices.  Not just what one remodeling store has to show me.  Most places such as tile stores, flooring stores, even painting stores and painting companies have some one within the company that they consider a decorating consultant.  

[stevieb]

@Twins Mom  The all neutral shell suggested makes a certain level of sense, especially for folks who don't easily adapt to change or who are a bit on the color phobic side. Of course, as far as walls go, it's generally recommended that paint be refreshed every five or so years so I've personally not shyed away from colors and you know, I've never tired of the colors I've chosen. Carpet, which is more fixed and not changed out as often, is a different matter. Even there, area rugs are reatively easily changed out whereas, of course, wall to wall isn't. The area rugs on my hardwoods are not neutrals. The bedroom floor coverings, which feature wall to wall, are...

[ninjawife]

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@Twins Mom wrote:

I enjoy looking at pics posted here but don't know how to attack decorating my home: flooring, paint, furniture.  I need new flooring and don't want to make a costly or regrettable mistake.  How to select decorating advisor?   

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Are you planning to keep a lot of your decor but are just changing the flooring or do you feel additional changes will be needed after you change the flooring?  I would first decide how much of you flooring you want to change and then decide what decor in those rooms do you want to keep and incorporate into your new design.  Then I would shop for flooring samples and bring them home to see how they go with the decor you plan to keep.  If you can't decide or want professional advise at that point seek a interior designer.  They can help you incorparate the old with the new and make suggestions for making it all work.

[Twins Mom]

• @ninjawife 

I guess I would like to keep as much as possible but feel it not that likely.  I 

 have a master bedroom, family room, dining and office all off central hall.  I need help making breaks in floors if I decide on wood and wall to wall combo.  Family room has challenging configuration so I would appreciate advice.

I guess I can see myself going to furniture store to get furniture advice and then work down to floor.  

[ninjawife]

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@Twins Mom wrote:

• @ninjawife 

I guess I would like to keep as much as possible but feel it not that likely.  I 

 have a master bedroom, family room, dining and office all off central hall.  I need help making breaks in floors if I decide on wood and wall to wall combo.  Family room has challenging configuration so I would appreciate advice.

I guess I can see myself going to furniture store to get furniture advice and then work down to floor.  

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I have a study off my main floor that has a door.  The main floor has hardwood flooring and the study has wall to wall carpet.  Both are neutral in color as are the walls except for a blue accent paint color on the celings in the dining and living rooms.  The blue came from the area rug in the living room and a painting in the dining room.  The powder room is the same color blue in a lighter shade.  

If your furniture is in good condition, you might be surprised how much you can keep.  When we moved to a larger home, I kept all my furniture from my previous home and added what was missing.  I had a decorator to help me decide where to place the furniture I had and fill in the missing pieces as well as design custom window coverings for me.  I did not go with all of her suggestions but it helped me get a good start.