Whether you've just arrived in a new home or you simply can't bear to look at that wallpaper a minute longer, once the interior stylist in you rears its head, it can be hard to resist jumping straight in and letting rip.
But before you start whipping out your credit card or ripping out the carpet and throwing your worldly goods into a skip, you'd be well advised to take a few deep breaths and take stock of the job in hand. There's more to creating the perfect room than filling it with the things you love - it's about striking a balance of practicality, style and the best use of space. And the key to that lies in the planning.
“When designing or re-designing a space, take a moment (or a few) to step back and assess the area or space you are planning to re-invent," says Rebecca Tucker, interior designer and co-director of Suna Interior Design.
"It may help to remove anything not fixed to the floor: furniture, pictures from the wall, curtains etc. This will give you a blank canvas and will help to open your mind to what the space may have the potential to become. This will also help you to assess what needs to be done and may save you from ripping out the flooring, for instance, that you may actually be able to or want to keep.”
Ask yourself these five simple questions before you pick up a paintbrush and you will be well on your way to creating your dream space...