Hello.  It’s been a long time between posts.  After an extensive trip to Europe, I am back all inspired and refreshed, but now it’s time for a change.  Time to open a new door. Stunning entrance door on the Isle of Capri, Italy DIY Decorator turns 5 Yes.  DIY Decorator is now 5 years old.  I hit the Publish button for the first time in October 2013, and continued to publish regularly until mid-this year.  There is a wealth of decorating information and tips on this blog, including my personal step by step approach to create a decorating plan for your home. But af ..read more

Winter is the perfect time to entertain indoors next to the fire.  Here’s how you can create a beautiful winter table setting for your next dinner party. Watch the video to see how I created this table setting. Here’s how I create my table settings in 5 simple steps: Decide on a theme or colours for the setting Choose your base layer – tabletop, tablecloth Create one individual place setting using height and layers Repeat for as many place settings as you need Create a low table centrepiece with fresh flowers/foliage and fairy lights or candles. The magic of this table setting really ..read more

In Australia, Christmas falls in the middle of summer.  So it’s no surprise we choose to celebrate Yulefest or Christmas in July.  Yulefest is the celebration or festival of yule; a mid-winter feast.  It’s a chance to enjoy a roast dinner in front of the fire, and experience Christmas as they do in the northern hemisphere in winter.  So grab your fairy lights and join me in celebrating Yulefest. To celebrate Yulefest, I’ve partnered with Balsam Hill Australia to show you how quick and easy Christmas in July can be.  Here’s a quick video to show you how to set up your ..read more

Welcome to week six, the final week of How to Create a Decorating Plan.  This week, we’ll cover Step 6 – Styling and Pulling it Together.  You can have a great selection of furniture and decor, but you need to take some time to style it properly to really finish off your room and pull everything together.  Here are my tips to create magazine worthing styling in your room. Lesson 1: The Secrets of Styling Stylists will have you believe that styling is a true art.  Although there is an art to styling, there are also simple styling recipes you can follow that will really help ..read more

Welcome to week five of How to Create a Decorating Plan.  This week, we’ll cover Step 5 – Decorating in Layers – Layer 3: Home Decor & Furnishings.  Now that you have the bones of your room and furniture planned, decor and furnishings are where you can really express your creativity and personality.  It’s where you can make each room unique and really tell your story. In this blog post, we’ll look at Area Rugs Artwork & Mirrors Window Treatments Cushions & Throws Decorator Accessories Flowers & Foliage Lighting Now I could write multiple blog posts on each top ..read more

Welcome to week four of How to Create a Decorating Plan.  This week, we’ll cover Step 4 – Decorating in Layers – Layer 2: Furniture.  You are now going to choose what type and style of furniture you need for your room. Lesson 1: Understanding Function and Form Form follows function – No amount of pretty decorating and styling will transform an unworkable space into one that functions well.  In other words, there’s no use owning a sofa that looks good if you can’t get comfortable in it.  When choosing furniture it’s important to consider both function and form. Functio ..read more

Welcome to week three of How to Create a Decorating Plan.  This week, we’ll cover Step 3 – Decorating in Layers – Layer 1 The Bones of the Room. Let’s look at the ‘bones’ or structure of the room.  This is what you get when you buy a home and what you have to leave behind when you sell it.  It’s an ‘empty’ room. No furniture. No furnishings. Just the bare bones.  We need to understand the room in order to decorate it. Once you have your decorating vision, it’s very tempting just to race out and start buying furniture and decor, but before you do, let’s look at the ‘bones ..read more

Welcome to week two of How to Create a Decorating Plan.  This week, we’ll cover Step 2 – Your Decorating Vision.  To create a beautiful home, you need to get really clear on your decorating vision.  Without a clear vision, you will loose focus with your decorating and may make costly mistakes by choosing the wrong finishes for your room. Lesson 1: Your Decorating Style The first thing you need to do is really understand what your own unique decorating style is.  Don’t feel you have to conform to a look or style.  You are unique and so is your style. How do you want th ..read more

Welcome to week one of How to Create a Decorating Plan.  This week, we’ll cover Step 1 – Understanding Your Room.  Before you can decorate a room, you need to understand the physical aspects of the room.  Things like it’s size and shape, where the doors and windows are, and how how the ceilings are.  Secondly you need to understand who uses the room and how they use it. Lesson 1: Measuring Up Knowing the measurements of a room helps you estimate quantities, and plan the layout accurately and easily.  Everyone is different with how they perceive space.  You might ..read more

I get asked so many questions about decorating, but what people really want to know is how do you get your home to look like the dream picture you have in your mind?  You may have saved countless images to Pinterest, or kept a scrapbook of magazine photos of homes you love the look of.  How do you turn your existing home into a home like the ones in the pictures?  Well you need a decorating plan, and I’m going to show you how I create my decorating plans. Why Create a Beautiful Home? Creating a beautiful home is exciting, challenging and rewarding.  Creating a good decorat ..read more