I believe the first place to put your ideas into action is at home. It's a great way to experiment without the worry of a disappointed client at the end of it. There is no real right or wrong when it comes to decorating, it's more a matter of taste. Home is where I started putting some ideas together and where I can add or change as I please (well with some negotiating with my husband).
Baby's Room
A child's room is where you can have the most fun. Your and their imagination is the only boundary, unless you live in NYC and then space might have something to do with it as well. Space planning is key. Especially with an infant, there are pieces that are necessities such as the crib, changing table and rocking chair. Start by placing these items in a way that makes sense to your routine. No point in having the chair on the other side of the room if you breastfeed your baby to sleep, by the time you reach the crib he'll be yelling for more.
That said it is also easy to take it a little too far. There are so many cute themes and ideas out there it's hard to narrow it down, but try to stick to one or two at the most. You want your child's room to be a soothing space as well as visually interesting, but you don't want it to be overstimulating.
I'm a big fan of wallpaper (more of that to come) but in a nursery or child's room it means you are tied to it for years to come, unless you want to deal with redecorating once your kid gets into skulls. Appliqués or wall art are a good option to jazz up plain walls and you can take them off at any point. Don't forget to include some at your toddler's viewpoint, or where they need distractions, like the changing table.
I highly recommend dressers, drawers or cabinets as storage. Baskets are adorable, and I take my hat off to those who can pull them off, but as soon as that toddler is walking they will be constantly empty with their contents living on your floors. Consider using them higher up, for things like creams, thermometers etc.
Guest Room
As I said above, I love wallpaper. I realize it has old and stuffy connotations with some, but they are wrong. As in my previous post about fabulous wallpaper, there just isn't enough wall space for it. My personal choice to hang it on one wall was due to the fact that our bedrooms are not big rooms. If I was to use such a busy wallpaper all over the room it would feel claustrophobic. Using the wallpaper behind the bed makes the one wall a feature.
I am rather OCD about symmetry, but when it comes to lighting I find that as long as the lamps have some similarity between them, such as material, size, shape or color, then it's ok to mix and match.
Master Bedroom
As with the guest bedroom I wanted to accentuate just one wall of the room; by returning the wallpaper all the way to the window it makes the back wall appear longer.
Another thing I have become a big fan of is mixing antiques with modern, such as the bedside tables and the lucite lamps, which in this case are matching. It would have been too much to add yet another ingredient to the mix.
There are few rules that I follow with any space, but they are invaluable:
1. Dark furniture makes a room feel smaller. Only use it if you have plenty of space.
2. Less is more when it comes to accessories. If you decorate a room beautifully and then cover it with knick knacks you might as well have saved your time and money as it won't shine through.
3. Lighting is not only useful as a light, it can be a sculptural addition to any space.
