5 tips to simplify your next interior decoration project

How to make planning your next room redecoration easier

Planning to redecorate a room in your home can be both really exciting and really stressful. Who else gets that eekitsalltoomuchidon'tknowwheretostart feeling? Where you have so many ideas, thoughts and things to remember it's completely overwhelming and you end up distractedly browsing a few websites then panic a bit and give up. Not the most productive use of time, but this was about as far as I kept getting with the plans to redecorate our new bathroom. So I sat down and came up with these tips to make the whole process easier, quicker and less stressful. Seriously, they’ve opened my once-disorganised eyes. I’ve written the tips with a bathroom focus, but you could apply to any room or redecoration project.

1. Work out what you want to achieve with the redecoration Is it just a new look? Or do you also want to create more space? How about more storage? Pinpointing this will help focus the rest of your ideas, and will ensure by the end of the project you achieve what you set out to. For our bathroom redo we want to achieve more space, more storage and make the room feel brighter.
2. Gather inspiration  We all know I'm going to mention Pinterest here, but I do find Pinterest can sometimes be a bit overwhelming, too much inspiration, you know? For example, my bathroom board is full of characterful country bathrooms and roll top baths (neither of which are suitable for our current tiny bathroom) as well as the more realistic small space ideas I've gathered since thinking about the project. So either set up a new board specifically for your project and keep all the roll top pics for the next house, or print off and create a mood board of all the relevant pictures. You might be amazed what it suddenly shows you when all the most appropriate stuff is in one place... clearly our bathroom will be blue and white!
3. Samples, samples, samples Nothing helps you make a decision faster or reduce risk of costly mistakes than getting in some actual samples. Lots of online stores like Victoria Plumb and Tile Mountain offer free samples, or you can buy samples of tiles, flooring and paint from most DIY stores for a few pounds. 
4. Take measurements and keep them to hand What's the point of thinking 'oh that might fit' when out shopping or browsing online, when you could check the measurement and know for sure? Measure the whole room and keep them in your handbag or on your phone, it's a massive time saver. Also if you're tight on space like our bathroom is, draw the measurements out to a small scale onto some graph paper and you'll be able to see exactly what space you'll have to work with.  
5. Get a rough budget in place In a similar way to tip 4 once you have a rough budget you'll know what you can afford and decision making will become easier. Fallen in love with some expensive wall tiles? Then you'll know you might have to economise on the flooring, or find a cheaper shower. Keep a running total so that you can assess and readjust as necessary.
Right, if you've done all that you should be feeling far more decisive and in a much better position to get on with the project! I’ll keep you posted on our bathroom progress. 

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