Internal Affairs: Tips for Home Decor and Renovations

Whether you hire an interior designer or decide to decorate your new digs yourself, it's best to be prepared -- and inspired!

Making a house feel like a home could involve filling it with the laughter of friends and family, airing delicious smells from the kitchen, or creating a comfortable cocoon to greet you after work. One of the most important aspects of settling in to a new living space, however, is home d�cor. Everyone has different styles, tastes, and opinions when it comes to interior design; it's important to create an environment that inspires conversation, reflection, and relaxation suited to individual specifications.

Finding inspiration

Got designer's block? Visit Houzz (www.houzz.com) to get your creative juices flowing. After browsing user photos of incredibly unique, original, and beautiful rooms and design ideas, it'll jumpstart your plans in no time. Create a free account and save your favorite photos for future referencing. You can also share your faves with friends using Twitter and Facebook.

Etsy (http://bit.ly/9PInFg), a website offering handmade and/or vintage products from around the world, has an impressive housewares section. Browse the site for one-of-a-kind d�cor solutions, conversation starters, and pieces you'll soon realize that your home just can't live without.

For dreamy design ideas, visit the blog Grey Likes Nesting (www.greylikesnesting.wordpress.com). Stylist Summer Watkins operates two other blogs (Grey Likes Baby and Grey Likes Wedding), but her nesting blog is especially thought-provoking. Watkins tends to write about specific products rather than trends -- and links where you can purchase most of the products -- but inspiration can come from surprising places. And the pictures are amazing!

Keep your new home balanced by keeping the feng shui in check with help from the American Feng Shui Institute (www.amfengshui.com). AFSI offers free online seminars, forums, and feng shui products that, through utilizing natural elements and practical environmental changes, can help improve wellbeing, relationships, prosperity, and health, according to ancient Chinese instructions.

Mark Montano's Big-Ass Book of Home D�cor (http://amzn.to/dzb74g) is chock-full of more than 100 easy and fun projects that can take your home from shabby to fabulous. Find out how to revive a drab pillow with a hot glue gun and lace; paint your walls with a rolling pin; make your own cork stamps; and more!

Outsourcing the heavy lifting

If you're interested in hiring an interior designer to help make your vision of home-sweet-home a reality, visit the Massachusetts Interior Designer Directory (http://bit.ly/a363eN) for a comprehensive list of area decorators. Featured design firms are listed at the top of the page above a full alphabetical list providing names, addresses, and phone numbers of professional interior designers.

The Boston Design Center (http://bit.ly/dlmhth) is also a great resource, housing 87 individually owned showrooms. It's open to both design professionals and consumers, and can serve as a directory whether searching for a pro, or just searching for some home d�cor inspiration.

If you live outside of Massachusetts, head over to the American Society of Interior Designers website (www.asid.org) for great tools and tips. Search for a designer based on style, room, or product. The ASID website also offers home d�cor and architecture books for sale and a guide to upcoming design events.

Bay Windows' Life At Home - Fall Edition special supplement will be out Sept. 23 in print and online at baywindows.com!