Design Lesson: How to go all the way

6 Keep your focus, right down to the finishing touches. By this stage in the planning, you've chosen approximately 80% of the elements you require to create a finished room. Now it’s time to select the remaining 20%: decorative accessories like mirrors, artwork, vases and so on. Sometimes we tell ourselves that we'll shop for these items later, when the room is done. Usually, that's when things start to fall apart and you're at risk of developing DI. Be as discerning when hunting for accessories as you were when deciding on bigger pieces like the sofa or chairs.

7 Purchase everything simultaneously. If you buy the living room sofa and then wait six months before shopping for the chairs, you'll already be dissatisfied with the sofa because it sat in a room that wasn’t prepared for it.

8 Hold off on delivery. Delay the receipt of your new furnishings until all electrical work, painting and wallpapering are done and carpeting is installed. Hang your window coverings just prior to furniture delivery.

9 Arrange for all furniture and accessories to arrive at your home the same day. Hire a moving company to pick up from each store the night before and deliver to you in the morning. You'll need a day to install even a single room, so start fresh. Experienced movers will place everything for you, including accessories.

10 Hang the mirrors and artwork in the afternoon, following furniture placement. For a mirror as large and heavy as the one shown in the dining room above, it's best to hire a professional installer.

11 Try to reserve final judgment on the room until every single chair, lamp and vase is in place. Often homeowners panic because something looks too big or too small; however, when viewed within the context of the room as a whole, the piece usually ends up being just right.

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