New Home Equals New Decorating Challenges

There's nothing quite as satisfying as moving into a new home. But whether you've found yourself in an apartment or a full-sized home, you have a world of decorating ahead of you. Before you pull out your letter art and start getting creative, make sure you have a solid plan to ensure your home comes together nicely. Fortunately, there are some relatively easy tips and fixes for some of the more obnoxious decorating dilemmas.

• Many challenges can be overcome simply by planning ahead for what you want each space to look like. From the overall theme and color scheme down to the individual shades of paint and pieces of furniture, planning ahead will avoid such problems as having more furniture than room to put it, or painting your walls only to find out that the color you've chosen clashes painfully with the color of your new carpet. Planning ahead will save you money, and on top of that, it will give that 'interior design' feel to each room in your house.

• Small spaces or closed-off rooms can be "opened up" with something as simple as a coat of light-colored paint. White is a common color, but if that's too bright or too 'blank' for your tastes, anything from off-white to a pastel shade of blue or yellow is just as effective. On top of that, try not to clutter the room with more furniture than it needs. The more cluttered it is, the more closed-off it looks. If that's still not enough, try hanging a large mirror. This adds the illusion of space where there is none.

• A space feels so much more comfortable when, upon walking in, your eyes can rest on a main feature such as a 'focal point'. A fireplace and hearth or a large window with any sort of view almost always function as a built-in centerpiece, which does some of the work for you. Otherwise, you'll have to figure out a focal point of your own. Ideas include such things as a large cabinet or set of shelves, an attention-drawing mirror or large painting, a collection of items (either hung on the walls or arranged on a table), or an ornate rug. Conversely, a room starts to feel cluttered if you have too many focal points in one space, so try to disperse them throughout the rooms as best you can.

• No matter how large your new home may be, you're sure to find yourself with less storage space than you realize you need. But don't sacrifice your room's design just to add more cabinets or shelves. Instead, try adding some storage space in places that aren't so obvious to the eye. For example, a sheet or tablecloth can turn a low cabinet or storage boxes into a table with no one the wiser, and a shallow rolling container can fit right under the bed and house all off-season clothes until they're ready for use.

These are just a few tips of many. Try more of these Quick Tips and Easy Decorating Solutions For Home Decor, or for a more Earth-friendly approach, Affordable Green Ways to Tackle 6 Home-Decorating Challenges.