Everywhere you turn, there is a new idea of what your home should look like. Do you want the down home feeling of country or the rustic atmosphere of cowboy or western décor? Do you want old items, new items or a combination? What about sunflowers? Do you have to have roosters, cows and pigs to have a true country style? It should boil down to what makes you happy and makes you smile when you enter your home.

Sure, you want your home to be neat, clean and a place where invited guess upon entering will say, WOW! But getting from the idea in your head to the final room design is a challenge at best. First, choose a room. We will choose the kitchen for this example. Second, what do you want to include in your dream kitchen. Start by listing all the colors, décor themes and accessories, including types of furniture. Go wild and use that imagination. Now, categorize that list side by side to help you decide what you really want. Here’s an abbreviated example:

Colors: off white, red, green

Kitchen Décor: applies, roosters, sunflowers

Furniture: round oak table, old pie safe, vegetable bin

Accessories: butter churn, old wooden ice cream maker, braided rug

The list could go on and on. However, once you start writing down your ideas, you will see what you will want and can start scratching off the items that do not fit into your final design. While this exercise can take days, weeks, months or even years until you really know what you want, it is possible to sit down and create a room design very quickly for the person who knows in her heart what she wants.

And that is where the heart comes in to play. Ok, so you fell in love with this gorgeous old round table but it is dark and dreary. Use some elbow grease, and refinish it. Now you have a wonderful oak table that needs a rug underneath it. Still going to put an old braided rug under your new creation? How about a rooster and apple rug that has a black background with red and green in it? So, scratch off the braided round rug and add that rooster/apple rug you saw in a magazine. Always remember to keep those pictures or magazine articles for future reference.

You need a centerpiece for that gorgeous table. You still would like to bring in some sunflowers but not sure where. Why not locate a rooster centerpiece that includes some sunflowers. Now, you can add rooster, apple or sunflower towels. Why not rotate between all three?

Using this approach in developing a plan for your home décor, you can easily mix and match or change your mind as you find things in magazines or stores. Use this as a good excuse for an all day adventure to discover just what is hidden in your local junk and antique stores. Have kids? Make a list for each child to see what they can find during your travels. Involve the whole family in this process. You may just find a born bargain hunter.

The bottom line: make yourself and your heart happy! Enjoy life and your surroundings and when you do accomplish the final design, sit back and drink in the WOW comments from your friends and family.