Decorating - my top tips

Sam and I are decorating our bedroom at my parents' house, and neither of us have ever really done any decorating before - but for the most part, we're doing everything ourselves. It's stressful and there's paint everywhere and my back hurts BUT here are some tips I've picked up along the way.

Own a stanley knife // oh boy these things come in handy for everything. Need to slice the edges of your carpet away to paint the skirting boards? Need to carefully take off the masking tape so as not to also peel off your gloss paint? Need to open something tricky? Use a stanley knife. Plus you'll feel badass.

Have a solid plan // this is obvious, but don't just rush in without a plan otherwise you'll end up waiting weeks for things you could have had sorted already, or be about to start doing something then realising you have no idea what colour is meant to go where. It helps to write things down, or use websites like Room Sketcher (not an #AD, just a clever and really handy idea!)

Ask for advice // both my dad and Sam's dad are fairly knowledgable when it comes to decorating, so we've been asking them for tips whenever we need to. Should we measure inside or outside of the windows for our new blinds? Dunno, ask dad. What type of backing does the new carpet need? Dunno, ask dad. That sort of thing. I've also been asking Twitter for more general things, too, and it always helps to ask rather than do the wrong thing.

Shop local // B&Q is all well and good but if you've got a small DIY shop local to your house it's a) likely to be cheaper, b) they're always keen to help and c) you're supporting a small local business which is always a really nice thing to do. Of course, they might not always stock what you're after but it's good to check out smaller places as your first port of call!

Think outside the box // fallen in love with a table but there's no way it'll match your colour scheme? Head to pinterest and YouTube to see if there's any way you can change it - spray paint, masking tape, fancy drawer/door knobs and a bit of sticky-back paper can turn something old or plain into something really fancy. Sam and I have been obsessed with rose gold for ages (just like every other blogger) but for our new room, we've decided to steer clear of it. That meant a lot of what we already owned was rendered useless, so we bought a can of gunmetal coloured spray paint and now we've not wasted a load of storage and they look completely different!

Stay tuned to see the end result, and let me know if you have any top tips yourself because it's always handy to know.