The first step is to determine your personal style. You may want to attend some local home tours or design centers and look through decorating books and magazines. After you're done your initial research, think about the types of rooms that make you the most and least comfortable. Consider formal and informal atmospheres, fabrics, textures and colors. Evaluate what each room in your home will be used for. 

Planning the placement of furniture is most effective when it is arranged to take advantage of a focal point Your focal point can be a window with a view, a fireplace, a piece of furniture such as an Chinese cabinet that has been retrofitted to accommodate a television, or a piece of art such as an elegant Coromandel screen mounted behind a sofa. Color is another powerful decorating tool. 

Color can soothe or invigorate, make a large room feel cozy or make a small room look larger. Consider your objective before choosing colors. 

If you are lucky enough to already own a few good pieces of furniture, consider where you are using them. Perhaps a piece would be used to better advantage in a hallway rather than hidden away in a family room. If you are just beginning to invest in home furnishings, buy the best you can afford. A few quality pieces even such relatively minor items as wall mirrors are much more satisfying than many inexpensive pieces of inferior quality. 

For help decorating your home, bring critical measurements with you when you visit our showroom. Or staff of home decorating experts will be happy to assist you.

Mark your calendars for a Chinese Summer Festival, Saturday, July 17 from noon to 9 pm at the San Jose Historical Museum in Kelley Park, San Jose. 

A growing tradition since 1993, the festival features hands-on children's activities; an archeological exhibit with excavation from the Woolen Mills site, including a dig, sorting trays and 3D models; demonstrations and explanations of Chinese wedding traditions, fortune telling and calligraphy and, for the first time, a celebration of Lights parade in which children can walk with lanterns next to a zodiac animal celebrating their year of birth. Also, for the first time, The Chinese Historical and Cultural Project (CHCP) will display its 14-panel traveling exhibit that will be loaned to schools, libraries and organizations nationwide to educate them about Chinese history and traditions. 

Food and entertainment will, of course, be another part of the fun and festivities. And don't forget to stop by the Man-U Imports exhibit top review beautiful samples of Chinese art and furniture. 

Admission to the festival is free. For more information on the festival and the CHCP, check out the CHCP web site at www.chcp.org .