Begin with a feeling

Choose three words you would like your home to bring to mind. Calm, welcoming and playful might lead to very different decisions from tailored, quiet and collected. These words are a starting point for a conversation, not a test you can get wrong.

Then connect each word to an everyday moment. Welcoming could mean enough chairs around the dining table. Calm might mean a place to put bags and shoes before they reach the living room. A feeling becomes useful when it changes a decision.

Save the detail, not just the room

When you save an image, write one sentence about it. Perhaps you like the low furniture, the colour of the wood or the softness of the curtains. You may love one detail in a room whose overall style would never suit your home.

After a few images, look for repetitions. Similar finishes, shapes or contrasts tell you more than a single style label. Keep a separate small collection of things you dislike; those references often make a brief clearer too.

Let your existing pieces have a say

A favourite chair, a family photograph or a well-used dining table can be a strong starting point. A home does not need a completely new set of objects to feel intentional. Consider what you would miss if it disappeared.

Notice the colours and proportions of those pieces before choosing new ones. Repeating a wood tone or the curve of a chair somewhere else can help old and new feel comfortable together.

Bring it back to real life

A beautiful reference may have taller ceilings, more daylight or fewer belongings than your space. Keep its idea, then adapt it. An airy room might translate into clearer circulation and lighter curtains rather than white furniture everywhere.

Use our style gallery to collect a short list, then compare it with your floor plan and routines. The goal is a direction that feels like you on an ordinary Tuesday, not only in a photograph.

Every home is different. These notes are a starting point for your own brief, with the details shaped around your space and the people who use it.

Talk through your ideas