Walking into your living room should invoke feelings of peace, serenity and ease. With just a glance, all stress slips away. Sitting in your favorite chair, taking in the surroundings, surrendering the woes of the world – that’s what decorating is meant to accomplish.

Many people, both men and women, say “I have no sense for decorating,” or “I couldn’t put together a room to save my life,” and “I’m just no good at matching the right things.”

If you are one of those who feel that you possess an inferior flair for interior decoration – or fear you have none at all – let it go. Forget about the rules; turn deaf to the barrage of decorating tips that fill the airwaves; never mind what anyone else says. And quit “shoulding” on yourself.

Instead, you must rely on your intuition. Intuition is that innate knowing of just what is the right thing to do. Intuition will guide your decorating if you listen to its direction.

Put the sofa and chair in the room and see how it makes you feel. If you are a generally orderly person, you will most likely be comfortable with symmetrical designs. You will be able to breathe easily in a room that is furnished at angles that match each other, with identical table lamps on each end of the sofa and a coffee table that sits exactly in the center of that sofa.

If you are more of a free spirit, that same symmetry will make you twitch. You’ll feel locked in and stifled. Put your furniture at odd angles. Fill your end table with your favorite things and don’t have any two pieces that are identical.

Color is like ice cream. Neither vanilla nor chocolate is bad - they just taste different. Blue, red, pink or white are, in and of themselves, good and no one should tell you that either is a bad choice for your decorating needs. You love blue, decorate in all the hues of blue you can find. If rainbows make you smile, splash those colors everywhere.

Pictures can go anywhere your little heart desires. Eye-level, high, low, perpendicular to the closet – who cares? Only you, and those with whom you share your space – should care.

While there are certainly trends and tricks of the trade that exist in the decorator’s world, they are there only suggestions. Feng Shui can help with placement and universal truths. And your mother has rigid rules and it would break her heart if you broke them. But bottom line – it’s your heart, your cholesterol, your peace of mind that is at stake. Literally – your life could be on the line. We all need a place that brings us solace and safety. If you can’t get comfortable in your own home – then where on earth can you go?