Before choosing colours, fabrics and finishes, the first essential step when styling your home is deciding on what the space is to be used for – or space planning. When done well, the finished product is often a larger and more efficient space for you and your family to live in.
What you need from your space will greatly depend on your lifestyle, are you a parent with young children, are you a single professional, are you a newly married couple?
Assign functions/needs within each space or room in the home, think about the size of your furniture and how many people will be in that space at any given time.
Think about what functions should be next to each other to suit your lifestyle, ie. the dining table next to the kitchen, a play area for the kids next to the kitchen.
Think about the existing shell of your space. Unless you are completely re-modelling, your style makeover will need to work around existing doors, windows, electrics etc.
Think about paths in your space that allow people to move through them easily.
Sketch out your ideas re furniture placement and space planning until you have come up with a plan that works.