You've just bought a brand-new home — how exciting, right? This is a massive accomplishment for you and your family! However, you're now staring at a completely blank slate, wondering where to even begin. How will you determine what each room should look like, and how can you maximize space without compromising design and aesthetics? You're probably running through a checklist of items that are quickly piling up and causing you to spiral.

If this sounds like your situation, you've come to the right place. This guide will help you make your empty home the cozy space of your dreams. Whether you've purchased a historic home in need of a little decor revamping or got the keys to a new-build and you don't know where to start, we'll provide tips and tricks to lift the burden off your shoulders and ensure this is a fun process rather than a difficult one.

The Importance of Planning for Cohesive Design

It can be exciting to just jump right in without having a set plan. It's your house, after all. You can figure it out as you go, right? However, pause and take a deep breath: your home will seem disjointed if you don't plan how each room will look and flow together.

To keep this process as smooth and stress-free as possible, consider:

• The overall design style you'd like to use — whether it's modern, traditional, rustic, minimalist or eclectic.
• How your color palette, texture and material choices will complement one another throughout the space.
• The functionality of each area and how it will be used daily.
• Where you'd like your furniture and how the layout can enable the best traffic flow and design.

Creating a Plan: Steps To Follow

Each person may do this process a bit differently, but here are some steps to follow as you prepare for your home's overall layout and design:

Step 1: Start With a Whole-Home Vision

Before cracking open a can of paint or purchasing all your new furniture (even if you really want to dive headfirst), think about your home as a wheel and each room the spokes. No wheel can operate efficiently without all the pieces working together to spur you on. In that same vein, no home can feel cohesive without all the rooms, hallways and the yard coordinating as one.

Step 2: Collect a Few Key Elements To Repeat

One of the easiest ways to boost your home's unity in design is through choosing a handful of design elements, colors, materials and architectural details and repeating them in every room. This doesn't mean every room has to look like identical twins, but they should still appear related.

Step 3: Utilize Transitional Spaces to Your Advantage

While the main rooms get lots of attention, transitional spaces often get neglected. Hallways, stairways, foyers and entryways can be the secret recipe to achieving an undeniably attractive home. Make small changes that can have a big impact, like painting trim in a color in your home's palette or adding art that references paintings from nearby rooms. Also, strategically place the same patterns and materials throughout each area, nodding to the home's design as a whole.

How To Decorate a New Home: Room-by-Room Tips

By approaching decorating one room at a time rather than worrying about everything at once, you can make your home feel polished without feeling overwhelmed. Here are some home interior design ideas to use as inspiration as you start the decorating process:

Living Room

Your living room acts as the heart of your home, and is the space where you and your family will likely spend the most amount of time. This makes it a great place to start when filling your new home. Begin by anchoring the room with a focal point. This could be a well-decorated fireplace mantel, a wallpaper accent wall, a velvet sofa in a bold color or an armoire that stores all your favorite board games.

With a focal point in place, select lighting fixtures that can create a layered effect. For instance, wall sconces, an on-theme overhead light, floor and table lamps and the occasional candle. That way, you can always have the proper level of lighting for whatever activity you're doing.

This space is also the perfect place to incorporate personal touches like hand-drawn art from your kids, vacation momentos and family heirlooms that showcase who you are and what's important to you. You can balance these items with other decor that complements the rest of your home.

Lastly, think about how much traffic this room will get and balance the layout accordingly. That way, the space can be functional and focused on comfort, no matter how many visitors you're hosting.

Dining Room

If your living room is the heart of your home, the dining room is the mouth. It's where you'll host dinner parties and gather visitors around your table for lots of conversations and laughs. That said, the table is the top priority. Opt for a wood table that fits your home's interior design style — whether farmhouse, art deco, eclectic or traditional — and the rest of the room will fall into place.

Complete the dining room with a mix of textures and natural materials that harmonize with the whole house, like upholstered chairs in a subtle pattern, a mirrored China hutch or a wrought-iron chandelier hanging above the table. You can also add some fun touches like an accent wall or a big piece of artwork that will get people talking.

Bedroom

Because your master bedroom is focused on helping you get a great night's sleep, your bedframe and bedding should be the starting point. For example, consider the top hotels you've stayed at — or the places you've dreamed of staying. What do these rooms look like, and how can you emulate them in your own space?

The key consistencies with almost any luxe room are high-quality bedding that uses several different textures and materials, a solid, sleek bedframe, mood lighting and smart storage that limits clutter.

Bathroom

When decorating your bathroom, don't miss the opportunity to make this space as opulent and lush as possible — it's basically your at-home spa. Ditch the old towels, bathmats and drapery and upgrade textiles with fluffy, extra cozy options for an ultra comfortable environment. Then, add storage that's out of sight, but easily accessible.

Lastly, go the extra mile with greenery and a signature scent through candles, diffusers and room sprays.

Home Office

If you work from home or desire a designated creative space for your projects, a home office is your ticket. Like the rest of your home, this space has a specific purpose. However, the main focus here is ergonomics and functionality, with decor and aesthetics being important but not the main priority. Select beautiful furniture that you feel good sitting in for hours on end, and maximize both lighting fixtures and natural light, so you always have ample illumination.

If you're dealing with a smaller home office, use vertical space through open shelving, wall hooks and chic filing cabinets. That way, you can have what you need nearby without having piles of pens, papers and computer cords on every available surface.

Trust Your Home to Our Team

At Decorating Den Interiors, our designers understand how many emotions you must be experiencing as you move into your new home. Whether this is your first time buying or you've simply moved from your previous space, the overwhelming to-do list doesn't change.

Let us take some of the pressure off your shoulders by using our design expertise to transform your blank home into a true work of art — one that will feel uniquely you and just right for your family. We have the design experience and can share our information on best practices, so the entire project is streamlined from start to finish.

Find a personal decorator near you to get started on your new home interior design project.