We’ve all been there…you binged watch every episode of Fixer Upper and Flip or Flop for every state and now you have the perfect vision for how you want your living room to look! You hop in the car all excited, speed to your nearest home décor store holding on to this amazing, newfound revelation. You can’t wait to pin the photos of your upcoming magazine-worthy room on Pinterest.

You’ve arrived. You parked slightly inside of the parking lines but who cares? That’s good enough…besides, you’re on a mission. You’re fast-walking to the entrance, trying to maintain your cool. Then it happens. You walk through the doors and home décor heaven just slapped you all up in your face! So many colors, so many styles, so many themes, oh so many everything!

Buh-bye vision and hello overwhelm. At that moment, you realize there’s too much to look at. What you had in mind, has now turned into too many possibilities. How are you ever going to make a decision?

Take a deep breath. Your first decision is to stop the madness! The endless trips (and returns) to the home décor stores ends today. Keep reading if you want some helpful tips on how to make this happen.

Step 1: Shop with a Purpose!

Before you even step foot in the store, you need to have a plan. I know…you’re going shopping and how can you possibly have a plan when you’re decorating your home? It’s not like your grocery shopping for that slam dunk dinner you’re making tonight or trying to perfect organizational process improvement. It sounds boring but just hear me out.

Decorating your home, while exciting and fun, can be overwhelming if you don’t plan it out. If you have an unlimited budget and you want to get your whole house done in one fell swoop, then by all means, knock yourself out! But if you’re like most people, you have a budget and you need to do it in phases.

Step 2: Focus on one room at a time

Choose one room you want to focus on. Know what pieces you’re looking for and have a list prepared. What look or style are you going for? What type of furniture needs to be in the space? What size area rug? What colors? Accessories? Textures? Ask yourself those questions and write it down.

Give yourself a time limit to reduce distractions…hold yourself accountable and Stick. To. It. Even if you have a general idea of what you want and for what room, it’s easy to get side-tracked when you see something super cute for your bedroom but you’re supposed to be shopping for the living room. The next thing you know, three hours have gone by and you’ve made absolutely no progress.

Let’s say the magical number is one. One hour. You may not need a whole lot because you’re styling a small space, so that’s plenty of time for you. When you know you have a limited amount of time, you’re more apt to stay within those parameters.

You can also break your shopping trips up by focusing on one need at a time. For example, you can only shop for accessories within that hour because you have to pick up the kids from school. Furniture shopping will have to be done another day.

Bottom line. No matter what your magic number is, hold yourself to that time limit. It’s going to take some commitment but I know you can do it.

Step 3: Take Photos of Your Space

So, what good is your plan without visuals? Unless you have a photographic memory, I seriously doubt you’ve memorized every inch of your living space. And if you have, I’m impressed.

Even professional designers take photos of their clients’ homes. Sometimes it’s hard to remember all of the details, especially if it’s a big project. Having photos to look at after meeting with a client is a very helpful tool in successfully designing a space.

Make sure you take pictures of the room you’re shopping for and take several of them from different angles. Ensure you have photos of each wall. Capturing your space when there is plenty of natural light is a must! You want to be able to see every aspect of the room so there are no surprises.

And guess what? You don’t need a fancy camera…just use that mini supercomputer in your hand. Most phones today have pretty decent cameras with great picture quality. Remember, having photos of the room you’re decorating will help you visualize the space as you’re searching for the items on your list.

Step 4: Take Measurements

As I’m strolling down a home décor aisle, you don’t know how many times I’ve overheard people say, “I’m not sure if it will fit but I really like it…oh well, I’ll make it work”. Why are you doing this to yourself? Measure twice, shop once.

It doesn’t take that long to get a few measurements before you leave home. Keep it simple. Measure the length and width of each wall and get your ceiling height. Don’t forget to account for any fireplaces, angles, and other architectural features that may be in your space.

Bring a tape measure with you. If you don’t already have one at home and you’re old school, you can get a small, inexpensive one at Walmart or Target that you can simply throw in your purse.

If you’re a techie, there are free tape measure apps that you can download and you’ll have it right there on your phone readily available. The Tape Measure app for the iPhone is pretty good but I personally like using my handy dandy tape measure or a laser measuring tool like the Bosch GLM 20 laser measure.

There’s nothing more frustrating than buying that sofa you fell in love with, only to find out you have to return it because it didn’t fit in the space or the scale was all wrong. You have now wasted your valuable time, money, and added unnecessary mileage to your car. Just envision yourself going back and forth a bunch of times in one day.

That’s exhausting. I’m already tired! Who has the time and energy for all that?

Step 5: Bring some design inspo

The plan, the photos, and the measuring tools will not be complete until you add a sprinkle of design inspiration. Bring your HGTV or Architectural Digest magazine clippings of those amazing living room spaces you can’t stop obsessing about. Have those Pinterest boards ready to go and pulled up on your phone as quick references.

This will help navigate you towards your style personality based on the specific looks that draw your attention. You will be more intentional in your shopping and prevent yourself from taking wild guesses on what would look good in your space.

Bringing it all together

Going into your decorating or design journey blindly will most likely not give you the results you’ve been dreaming about. You need a strategy. One that is well thought out and not rushed. Decorating your home takes time and money. You work hard for your money so be mindful about how you spend it. Be intentional.

Shop with a purpose, don’t forget to take pictures and measurements of your space, and bring some design ideas and inspiration to get your creative juices flowing. With these tips and a little self discipline, you’ll be shopping for home décor like a pro in no time!