The range of decorating products now on the market is so vast that the design possibilities for the family home are virtually limitless. This has not always been the case. In the past, families often had to ‘opt out’ of the design stakes when their children were young because of a lack of products that were both stylish and practical. Thankfully, those days are now past. Fabrics can be purchased pre-treated with stain-resisting chemicals; there is a wide range of machine-washable textiles on the market; and wall coverings, too, can be found in numerous easy-to-clean solid vinyl designs. It is now a simple task to find products that offer both a wide range of colors and patterns as well as the practical, hard-wearing qualities required for a family home.

So what style is best for you? If you live in a period property, an historical theme, such as Georgian or Victorian, is the obvious answer. However, choosing a period style requires careful consideration. Beautiful antique pieces of furniture are certainly not ideal for decorating a busy family living room, for example.

Fortunately, there is a growing trend towards blending the old with the new in interiors. This allows you to take a more personal approach to decorating your home, rather than slavishly following the dictates of a particular historical period, and allows more versatility when making practical decorative choices. If an historical style does not appeal, a regional style of decoration may be the answer. Mediterranean, Scandinavian and Oriental styles are all regional decorative schemes and are suitable if you wish to evoke images of faraway places in your home environment. If you want to bathe your home in Mediterranean sunshine, for example, a blue-and-yellow color scheme may be what you need.

Home harmony

When decorating your home it is important not to view each room in isolation. Every room should flow effortlessly into adjoining ones, so that your home becomes a harmonious ‘whole’, without any jarring notes. Continuing your chosen theme or style of decoration from one room to another is the key to achieving this. The result will be a home that is both pleasing to the eye and has an impression of spaciousness.

One technique for achieving this is to continue the same flooring throughout the home, for this to work in a family home I would suggest wood flooring as it is the most hard-wearing and waterproof of all floors. Carpets, for example, may suffer in bathrooms and kitchens. Afternatively you could use a color theme throughout the home, for example, natural cream colors, using linoleum in high activity areas and carpet solely in adult bedrooms.