Stylish design choices in your interior decoration are a great way to freshen up the feeling of your home. One of the most important spaces in the home, the living room, can have a particularly positive effect on the feel of y our home to you, your family and guests when the decor is carefully selected and makes use of the latest trends in interior design.

The 2011 trends for interiors used bold colours and contrasts in design and visual elements. Many design blogs recommended thinking “outside the box”. Over the next year this trend will go further, vivid colours balance with softer tones. 2012 will see resurgence in the use of neon colours, used as an highlight that creates an arresting impact. In creating sleek and elegant spaces in your home, subtle use of metallics, particularly gold, is making a comeback. For a simple way to improve your living space on a small budget, a little careful painting to smarten up a space can be highly effective. If you are able to invest a little more, look for unconventional pieces of furniture that fit your personal style and tastes and combine sofas, tables and chairs in combinations which reflect your chosen style.

Lighting is a key part of your living room’s appearance. In a room with ample natural light look for lights and lamps which throw smaller areas of light and will offer a soft, soothing atmosphere in the evenings. In rooms lacking sun facing windows consider the different areas of the room and how they will be used. Plan adaptable lighting options giving the greatest longevity and adaptability to the designs as you live in the space. Understanding your “canvas” before you begin is the critical element in creating a stylish and effective result which you will enjoy living in.

Due to the current economic climate one key to this year’s decoration trends is to gain the most impact for the least cost. A great way to do this is to introduce luxury through the smaller decorative items. Lush fabrics, for example on cushions, and decadent designs on ornamental pieces can bring class and luxury on a budget, particularly when combined with a well thought out colour scheme. Putting these luxury elements alongside simple design elsewhere can create “featured” pieces in a space. For example an eye-popping chandelier can draw the eye. This type of design scheme should avoid clutter and overcrowding.

Alongside the basic décor, you can also do a lot for the aesthetics and ambience of your living room by investing in the home appliances in the space. Traditional, piped central heating systems can be clunky and expensive to maintain and the copper piping itself can create major problems in planning the decoration of the space. Those looking for a truly chic design solution should consider installing electric heaters – they are available in numerous designs, from small, low-profile electric heaters to those designed to look like a fireplace or small stove. The bold designs will fit with this year’s trends, while also adding value to your day-to-day experience of your living space.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Moving can be a very stressful and exhausting time, and once you have finally arrived at your new home, there is still a lot to do in terms of unpacking and furnishing the empty rooms. It is important to be methodical and organised at a time like this, even if you just want to throw any old furniture in the rooms so that you can settle in straight away, as this can to save you a lot of unnecessary work and cost in the future.

Step 1 – Furniture Plan
Before you arrive at your new home, take a tape measure and camera, and measure all the spaces and take pictures of the basic furnishings. When you get home measure all of the furniture and furnishings (curtains, light shades etc) you already have, and work out which pieces will fit into the new house. Also review the basic décor of the new house, and make a plan of which rooms will need decorating and new carpets, curtains etc. Once you have decided what you will need for your new home, and start making plans to dispose of all those pieces of furniture/furnishings you will not need when you move, such as by taking them to charity shops or advertising them in a local paper.

Step 2 – Budget
Once you have decided what new decorating and furnishings the new house needs, figure these costs in that of the overall move, and keep this money aside. Lots of people move into their new homes without setting by any money to buy furnishings, and are then stuck with worn, outdated carpets and drapes, and mismatched furniture for months to come.

Step 3 – Do It Yourself
Professional decorators, builders and interior designers provide that special, perfect finish, but this comes at a high price, so if you are on a tight budget you must be prepared to be spend some time and effort on decorating and furnishing yourself. Start on one room at a time, and if you have no experience with decorating, then just do simple jobs such as stripping and replacing the wallpaper, and repainting the windowsills and skirting boards. Don’t attempt big jobs such as re-tiling the bathroom if you have never done it before, as this may look simple but does take a skilled hand to achieve a smooth, polished effect, and in these cases it is worth saving up to have difficult jobs done professionally.

Popularity: 69% [?]

Home furniture is a very important feature of your humble abode. While old furniture can emanate a somehow unpleasing sight; the thought of buying new ones can cause pain in your pocket especially if you are faced in a financial turmoil.

However, there is still remedy to this predicament. You can still transform your old furniture into new ones again through furniture renovation. There are ways to achieve this, either through refinishing or refurbishing. Those who need some fixing up will go well with repairs in order to achieve its original appearance when you first bought it.

For painted furniture, refinishing is achieved by removing the paint and wiping out the stains by means of sandpaper or stain removing solution, after which a new paint of your choice will be applied in order to look new again. Refurbishing is performed by minor sanding to remove dust and wax build up followed by application of wood polish to achieve its brand new look. This option is usually done on antiques and other unpainted old furniture.

With these options, you need not worry to spend a lot. With just a minimal cost, you can make old furniture look new again.

Popularity: 100% [?]

Kids love brightly coloured and fun bedrooms, and there so many different types of paints, furniture and fabrics available that it is cheap and easy to get creative, and have a go a creating a fun room yourself. Thinking up a theme can be a great starting point, and this can help you achieve a more interesting and harmonious effect, and here few simple and easy ideas that are easy to do on a tight budget.

Under the Sea – this is a very popular theme, and gives you great scope to get creative. If you are confident with a brush then you could paint the walls a simple blue (perhaps graduating to a light colour at the top to indicate depth) and then paint some brightly coloured tropical fish and coral reefs over the top, or to make it easier you could cut fish shapes out of cardboard and then simply use them to stencil fish patterns onto the wall in different colours. Posters of fish and sea life are widely available, and you can also buy many sea related toys, patterned fabrics, rugs and ornaments.

Space Invaders – lots of kids are fascinated by space, and a bedroom based on this theme can be easy to create. Avoid painting the wall or ceiling black (which is not very cheerful or practical colour for a bedroom), and instead look around for some space themed wallpaper (there is lots of merchandise including wall paper and bed spreads based around space movies such as star wars for example). You can also get lots of excellent luminous stars and planets from toy and model shops, which can be stuck on the ceiling so that they glow softly at night.

Princess – this is one of the simplest themes to try out and is perfect for those on a really tight budget. Princess bedrooms will invariably involve a lot of pink, which can be a garish colour scheme, so think about toning it down a little by painting the walls a basic white or cream, and then hanging different coloured pink fabrics in drapes across the walls and around the bed. If you are handy with a brush then a mural of a princess’s castle would be a lovely addition, or you could find a large poster or print of a fairytale castle to hang on the wall.

Remember that this is your child’s room, where they will be spending a lot of time playing and socializing with friends, so it is important that you consult them on what theme they would like best before you get started.

Popularity: 60% [?]