Almost exactly one year ago, my husband and I stuck a FOR SALE sign in the yard of our starter home and made an offer on our current home. Okay, we actually did it the other way around (we signed a contract on this house and then prayed we would sell the other house quickly, which we did, fortunately) but you get the idea. We had big plans for this new house, because as I told my next door neighbor, this is the Last House. The only place I'm going from here is the mortuary, or possibly the retirement home.

Cheery, I know, but honestly I am not someone who likes moving. Or decorating, for that matter.

One year on, our house is still not entirely decorated. We've painted the dining room twice, so far; my husband hated Yellow #1 and I can't stand Yellow #2. My husband is still searching for the Perfect Leather Chair for his office (he's bought two and neither was right) and I can't makeup my mind about the fabric for our cocktail ottoman, which is sad because the current fabric does NOT go with the sofas, as you can see.

And don't even ASK about the second floor. Should you ever find yourself dropping by to visit, do NOT ask to go up there. I'm begging you.

My inability to finish decorating my own house has taught me a lot about how one actually SHOULD approach a project like this. Specifically, I've learned three things.

1. Identify your style. Before you start shopping for furniture or linens or even paint, decide what your style really is; the broad choices are traditional, contemporary, and transitional (which I like to think of as Pottery Barn style). Bring home magazines and catalogs; check out sites like Apartment Therapy and Ava Living. Put together scrapbooks of pieces you love -- sofas and chairs and rugs and tchochkes and anything you think you might want in your house. If you are decorating with another person, a spouse or partner or child or roommate, this is especially important, because you want to be certain that your visions are compatible. My husband kept insisting that he wanted contemporary furniture in our house, but when we went to look at dining room tables, he gravitated to various inlaid Queen Anne styles, which are about as traditional as you can get. We settled in the end for a table with turned legs and a hammered top, which is a nice transitional piece and a good compromise. But actually FINDING the table was a painful process because we weren't sure what we wanted (well, ONE of us was sure).

2. Consider hiring a professional. I scoffed at the idea of needing a decorator, but then my husband and I spent over four months shopping for a dining room set; the low point was the day we found ourselves arguing in front of a salesperson at the Thomasville show room about a table that was twice what we wanted to spend. The next day, I hired a decorator, because it was that or a divorce attorney and the decorator was less expensive. She also had knowledge and resources that I didn't, as well as a to-the-trade discount that made a huge difference in the price of our dining room set. The total cost of the table and sideboard AND the decorator's fee was less than the retail price of the table and sideboard. And much less than filing for divorce. A decorator can help with whatever part of your project is stumping you; our decorator did everything from shop for me to help arrange the furniture when it arrived. She was an impartial observer of our style and she helped us to find pieces that will work for us both in terms of the aesthetics of our house and the pragmatics of our life. She was a $60.00 an hour godsend.

3. Do one room at a time. This is advice that I wish I had heeded, because the current state of my half-decorated house is making me crazy. Completely finish one room, down to the details, before you go on to the next -- furnish and paint and accessorize. Start with the room you use the most and move out from there. Budget for everything, including accent pieces, and then do it all at one time. Because honestly, nothing is more satisfying or more inspiring than standing in a completely decorated room. It makes you want to keep going and do the next room and the next and ...

And you won't be sitting on the new sofa staring at the old ottoman. Not that I am doing that, I'm just saying.

Finally, remember this: a house is meant to be a home, and homes are meant to be lived in. If it takes a while to decorate the entire house, don't fret -- think of the decorating as part of making a home.

Susan Wagner writes about style at The Working Closet and Fashion Find, and about everything else (including her half-decorated home) at Friday Playdate.