It’s easy to get excited when you’re planning a makeover on a home and the first hurdle is the one homeowners often fall at. While you may love a piece of furniture, colour or wallpaper, it doesn’t mean that it will work in the space. Plan the layout of your home or room first and work out exactly what you need, and where. What will you be using the room for? How many people are likely to be in it at one point? What kind of lighting do you need to consider for those functions? These are all of the immediate questions to ask that will stop you from ending up with a room that doesn’t really work for its intended function.

After planning the functional side of the room, it’s time to kick things off with a mood board. An interior designer would always come back to you with a brainstorm of colours, patterns and textures after having an initial consultation, but this is easily something you could do for yourself. Head to Pinterest and start pinning inspiration or browse glossy magazines, pulling the pages of the pieces you like the most. Pair these with colour testers and fabric swatches and voila, you’ll have your mood board to refer back to.

Don’t assume that just because you like a colour on paper that you’ll like it on your walls. Colour is one of the most important factors when it comes to achieving that high-end look and you need to be mindful and considered when it comes to choosing paint. Purchase some testers of the shade you like, as well as some or the neighbouring hues, and swatch them in different areas of the room. Colour reacts differently to certain light situations so you should test how it looks in a light-filled area compared to somewhere the natural light doesn’t hit.

While all four walls painted in the same colour complete with white skirting and a white ceiling is perfectly fine for some, an interior designer would always challenge you to think outside the box with your interior decor. What can you do to make your design scheme stand out? Consider painting the ceiling or skirting boards in a slightly darker colour. Painted doorways will always help to keep the look luxurious. Be brave with wallpaper or really go all in with a statement piece of lighting or furniture. Push yourself to get out of your comfort zone and be courageous with your decisions, it’ll pay off in the long run when achieving your luxury interior.

Adding a touch of luxury to each room is a sure way to create talking points throughout the house. Plus, luxury furniture is likely made from higher quality materials and by craftsman who care. Always opt to spend a little more on something that you know you’ll love even if your tastes change. Purchasing something for the sake of a trend isn’t very sustainable at it’s unlikely it will last. At AUTHOR, we work with chosen artists, designers and makers from around the British Isles to create luxury pieces made for stylish spaces and contemporary lifestyles.

We’ve spoken before about the importance of luxury lighting and we simply can’t stress the need for considering your lighting options carefully enough. Creating the perfect ambience in your home is one of the key building blocks in interior design. Refer back to the function of the room here and work out whether you need wall lighting, task lighting and even decorative lighting to create the ultimate luxury setting. Remember, that statement chandelier will always help to set your room apart.

Texture plays a huge role in making your decor warm and welcoming. Any interior designer will tell you it’s all about layering. Cushions, rugs, curtains and blankets all play their part in helping to bring about the perfect ambience and you should mix and match different materials to bring a sense of opulence and interest.

One of the most important factors that an interior designer would take into consideration when planning your room would be your personality. They want the interior design of your home to reflect you as a person so they’ll take the time to get to know you and understand what’s important to you in a room. Of course, you know yourself better than anyone so this should be an easy task for you to undertake, but often people get lost in trying to make the room look a certain way. Don’t be afraid to put your own stamp on your home by injecting small but noticeable snippets of your personality. Artwork, statement furniture pieces and objet d’art that you love are a great place to start.