Jason Robie: Get a “designey” friend to help with your color scheme or hire a pro

I have just had the pleasure of moving into a new space. I've actually been in this house for over a year now, but have migrated to a new room. It is much brighter (more windows) and much larger (with a bigger closet!). Since I'm finally feeling a bit more settled, I decided it was time to do some "nesting" and decorating. I've had some pictures stowed away in storage as well as some cool ideas on paint scheme. Now that we've got the spring cleaning out of the way (you DID clean last weekend, right?!) we can move on to making our spaces more our own. Let's get started.

A few years ago, my girlfriend and I went to a really cool furniture store while visiting friends in Fort Collins, Colo. It was all very cool "rustic" furniture, and we even found a few perfect pieces for our home. The one missing ingredient (besides loads of money!) was measurements. We forgot to measure simple things like the area in front of the couch; the space next to the kitchen table; and the distance between the foot of the bed and the wall. If you're going to do any sort of serious shopping (which translates into more than looking) take some time to get specific bearings in the rooms of the home. Even simple distances between walls, chairs, couches and other furniture will be a huge help.