First ask yourself, "What feeling am I trying to convey in this room?" When planning a driving trip you will find yourself scouring over a road map to find your way. We all know that some routes are more logical than others or are better paved. We also know that the shortest route between two points is a straight line but sometimes the shortest route is not an option. Arriving at the right destination requires careful planning. Poor planning may mean you end up somewhere you didn't want to be, or the journey takes much longer than you expected. Well, the same careful planning is required with decorating: you need a road map. But where do you start?

You will generally have a gut feeling about the type of room you want to create. Will it be soft and romantic, bold and beautiful, or how about simply elegant or cozy and casual? This is where you start. It's even before you decide on a style or select your color scheme. Now close your eyes. Can you picture how you would like your room to look? Define the room. Is it formal or casual, comfortable or cluttered, classic or retro? Once you have a feeling about how you want this room to look, you will have a vision and be on the right road to success. But again, you're probably asking, "Where do I go from here?"

Start with a print. An old friend and mentor of mine, Gordon Cremers, taught me a long time ago that prints are our friends and that every room needs at least one. Your print could be your wallpaper, an area rug, upholstery or a drapery fabric. It could also be a piece of artwork on your wall. This is your starting point. I know a lot of you might think you have to start with the floor. I might call that "bottom up" decorating, but since many of you will be selecting a solid color carpet it will be easier to select it later. Why? Well, let's say you chose a beige carpet and next you go to buy your wallpaper and then select a Silhouette® shade for the window in your room. You find out your carpet is a rosy beige with a pink cast to it and your wallpaper has a golden beige cast to it and the Silhouette has a creamy beige hue. Did your beiges turn into gar-beige (garbage)? Did you think that all beiges are equal? If you had started with the print, you probably would have made better choices and selected beiges with similar undertone to them.

Think of the print as the glue in a room. It ties solids together. If you noticed, I said words like blend, and similar, not match. Matchy-matchy is boring! Remember, Mother Nature doesn't match her flowers in the garden, so don't think you have to match yours in your decor, either. So, now, I hope you believe in starting with a print.

Once that main print has been selected, look at it to see what story it tells. Is it a traditional print that will define the room as a traditional room? Is the print a contemporary design where less is more? Maybe it's a transitional pattern that can bridge the gap between several different styles, and be either dressed up or down accordingly.

Next, look at the texture of the fabric. Would you call it smooth or textured? I want you to use your imagination for a moment. Imagine smooth, sleek and shiny fabrics and surfaces. Think of silk and satin, mirrors and marble. What do they have in common? They are all dressy. Now think about fabrics or surfaces that have texture. How about Berber carpet, basketry, pottery stone or brick? Have you guessed their common thread? They are all casual. You could say that the more texture something has, generally, the more casual it becomes. What does this mean to you? Let me give you an example. If the purpose of decorating your family room is to create a warm and cozy room, don't introduce a shiny, sleek vertical window treatment in that room. A better choice would be a textured fabric vertical.

Next, look at the colors. What colors are in the print? Did you know that the most popular color schemes are based on three colors? Think of the color wheel. The triadic color scheme is three colors equally spaced on a color wheel. Think of the primary colors of red, blue and yellow. That's one example. Another is an analogous color scheme where three colors that touch each other are harmonious. Imagine a blue violet, a violet, a red violet. Another is a split complementary. An example of it might be yellow, red violet and blue violet. That way you have a base color, a contrast color and an accent color.

I speak a lot to consumers and I always ask, "What is your color scheme?" I have heard combinations like cream and taupe, or maybe blue and white. Then they say that something is missing in their room, and I know what it is. It's that third color. To update the look and add sophistication to the cream and taupe, try adding gray as the third color in that room. Or how about the blue and white? In that room, I'd add sunny yellow. That yellow would complement the blue and add the accent color. Many times, you just have the base color and a contrasting color with no accent color.

For a color to qualify as an accent color, it must be used at least three places in the room. For an example, let's start with some soft blues and greens. Think of watery colors. Nice color scheme but lets add a soft gold color to the mix. This color was in your main print. So that's number one. I might bring out that color in pillows, a floral arrangement, a matting on a picture or in the wallpaper. However you choose to do it, remember the rule of thumb for a color to qualify as an accent color it must be used in at least three places in the room. Less than three times it's not an accent, it's an accident!

Now take a look at your room. Let's get down to the basics. Find your road map and analyze it. Are you on the wrong road or are you on the road to success?


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