First of all what is a home?  It is so much more than choosing a wingback chair or a four poster bed.  Home is a place created by all the people who inhabit the space.  By paying attention to the lifestyle, the wants and needs, and the hobbies of the inhabitants, you create a comfortable space where everyone wants to "come home."

Do you or your family members love to cook?  The design of the kitchen will be important to this family.  Do you love to read?  Bookcases will be required to make this home functional.  To make a home truly your own you don't want to replicate what a neighbor has or glossy magazine articles show is "in."  What you want is for your home to reflect you and your loved ones, and it is as simple as choosing the colors and the furniture and the accessories that you love.  If you just choose what you love it will all work together.

Everyone has their own personal, unique style and you need to let yours shine through.  Without your style to light up the space all you have is furnishings in a room with no soul.

When decorating your rooms think about your senses.  Sight, touch, sound and smell.  Things should look harmonious and pleasing to your eye.  Fabrics and finishes should feel wonderful to the touch.  Music played throughout your home delights your ear and scented fragrances are music to your nose.  Fresh baked bread smells and delights your senses as much as a fabulous perfume.  Please all your senses.  But first, color...

The first decision is how you want the room to feel and where is its location in the house.  Do you prefer cool colors or warm colors.  Is the room located in the cool north or the warm south.  A room located on the south side with lots of windows and sunshine would look too hot with red walls.  You need to think about the room and its location in order to make the right choice.

Once you have decided on a cool or warm color your next step is to get paint and fabric samples.  The fabric samples do not have to be the actual fabric you will use.  They only need to be in colors that appeal to you.  The colors used in fabrics have already been designed to go together by the professionals so let them help you with colors that are safe together.  Using paint samples choose three colors.  These are the colors you will use on your floors, walls and upholstery.  If the room opens up into an adjoining space you may want to use the same three colors in the adjoining room but on different applications.  If your walls are sage green in one room, you may want to use sage green in a carpet in the adjoining room.  You get the idea.  Play with and use these samples.  Leave them out all over the room and live with them until they feel right to you.  You may change your mind after living with them and want to start over.  That's okay, just try another three until you come up with the colors that speak to you and your family.

Once that decision is made you need to decide what will go on the walls and floors first.  They are your biggest areas and the most important to pull it all together.

Wallpaper is a wonderful medium for providing warmth and charm in a room.  Walls can also be upholstered for a whole new level of warmth.  Be creative and daring in making your home all it can be.  When looking through wallpaper books think about how you want your home to feel.  What style is your home?  Is it Contemporary, Cottage, Federal, Colonial, Farmhouse or a simple Ranch?  Again, the professionals have helped you there as well.  Wallpaper books are generally in categories that go with a particular style of house.  Choosing wallpaper can also help you with the three color choices for a room.

I designed a dining room for a school teacher in a country home that is so warm and inviting you just want to sit down and wait for dinner to be served.  She has warm mission oak furniture and we used wallpaper with an "apple" for the teacher motif.  The bottom of the wall is a soft, dark red plaid, and the top is soft beige with tiny little apples, but the border on top of the chair-rail is apple baskets filled to overflowing with soft, dark red apples.  Your eye goes straight to that border and makes you feel "at home" instantly.

Whatever feeling you decide you want for your room don't discount wallpaper as an alternative to paint.  It can finish the room completely.