Living room makeovers

With the right planning, your living room could be the centrepiece of your home. Find out how you can get the most out of your interior design just by following basic guidelines.

1. Decide on the interior design

Keep a file of the looks you like, with photographs and clippings from newspapers and magazines.

2. Plan room lighting before you start

Replastering is generally part of renovating, so install electrical wiring at the same time, which will need to be done by an electrical contractor. Don't forget dimmers and side lamps for mood lighting.

3. Compile a wish list for the room

List what you want and what you don't want in your new space. You might be surprised to find you can rearrange the existing space rather than adding an expensive extension.

4. Sketch the interior space to scale

Measure your furniture, decide what you want to accommodate and do a floor plan to scale. Make scaled furniture cut-outs and move them about to help you plan the new space so doors, windows and traffic areas are in the right places.

5. If in doubt, ask an interior designer

Hiring an expert designer could be the best thing you do. Even if you think you know what you want, the expert will help you understand what you don t want.