What to do in week one, what to wait on, and the order that saves you from expensive mistakes. Here are the first design moves I’d make in a new home, whether you just closed on a house or signed the lease on a rental.
There’s a moment right after you get the keys when a new home feels like pure possibility.
Empty rooms. Fresh light. Echoes.
And then, almost immediately, the pressure starts. The sofa needs to arrive. The rugs need to be ordered. Everyone has an opinion about paint.
I’ve walked into a lot of empty homes and apartments, and the most expensive mistakes almost always happen in the first two weeks. Not because people have bad taste, but because they do things in the wrong order.
So whether you just closed on your first house or signed the lease on a new rental, here are the first seven design moves I’d make, in the order I’d make them.
1. Measure everything before you buy anything
This is the least glamorous step and the most important one.
While the rooms are empty, measure every wall, window and doorway. Note where the outlets, vents, light switches and radiators are. Measure the path from the front door to each room, too, including the stairs and the tightest turn. A beautiful sofa that can’t make it around the corner is not a beautiful sofa.
Then draw each room, even roughly, on graph paper. Before I buy a single piece of furniture, I draw the room. The floor plan tells you what you actually need, and it saves you from buying pieces that are lovely on their own but wrong for the space.
Week-one tip: take a quick video walk-through of every empty room. You will refer back to it more than you think.
2. Paint before the furniture arrives
If there is one thing to do before move-in day, this is it.
Painting an empty room takes a fraction of the time and stress of painting around furniture. You can do the ceilings, reach every corner, and you won’t be tiptoeing around a new sofa with a roller.
Before you commit, test real samples on at least two walls and look at them in the morning, the afternoon and at night. Light changes everything. A white that looks soft and warm in the paint store can look stark, gray or yellow in your actual room. (If you’re choosing a white, start with the 6 white paint colors I actually use.)
If you’re renting, ask your landlord what’s allowed. Even one painted room, or a painted bedroom wall behind the bed, can make a rental feel like yours. More renter-friendly ideas are in how to make an apartment look expensive.
3. Swap the lighting (it’s the fastest upgrade there is)
Most new homes come with at least one fixture you’d never choose. A builder-grade flush mount. A dated chandelier. Harsh bulbs everywhere.
Lighting is one of the fastest ways to change how a space feels without changing the furniture. Start simple:
- Replace the bulbs. Warm white (around 2700K) feels instantly more like home than cool white.
- Add dimmers where you can, especially in the living room, dining room and bedroom.
- Swap the one fixture you see first when you walk in.
The mistake is relying on one overhead light to do everything. Good lighting comes in layers: overhead, table lamps, floor lamps and a little accent light. You don’t need all of it in week one, but plan for it.
4. Plan one room at a time
Trying to finish a whole house at once is how you end up with a home full of rushed decisions.
Pick the room you use the most, usually the living room or the bedroom, and finish it first. A completed room gives you somewhere to rest at the end of the day, and it sets the direction for everything else: your colors, your wood tones, your metals, your overall mood.
I work in the same order on every project. Layout first. Then concept. Then furniture. Then the layers that make it personal.
5. Get the rug size right
Rugs are where I see the most “almost right” rooms.
A rug that’s too small makes the whole room feel smaller and the furniture feel like it’s floating. In a living room, aim for a rug large enough that at least the front legs of the sofa and chairs sit on it. In a dining room, the rug should extend far enough past the table that the chairs stay on it when they’re pulled out. In a bedroom, the rug should reach out on both sides of the bed so your feet land on something soft in the morning.
When in doubt, go one size up.
6. Hang window treatments high and wide
Curtains are one of the easiest ways to make ceilings feel taller and windows feel bigger.
Hang the rod closer to the ceiling than to the top of the window frame, and extend it past the window on both sides so the panels can stack against the wall instead of covering the glass. Let the panels just kiss the floor.
For privacy in week one, simple shades or temporary paper shades are fine. Order the curtains once you’ve lived with the light for a little while.
7. Live in it before you fill it
This is the hardest one.
You don’t have to finish everything right away. Bring in the essentials, then pay attention to how you actually use your home. Where do you drop your keys? Where does the afternoon light land? Which corner do you always end up in with your coffee?
The pieces that make a home feel personal, the art, the vintage finds, the things with a story, are worth waiting for. A room that’s collected over time always feels more like you than a room bought in one weekend.
Your first-week checklist for a new home
- Measure every room, window and doorway (and the path in)
- Sketch a simple floor plan for each room
- Test paint samples, then paint before the furniture arrives
- Swap bulbs, add dimmers and replace the one fixture you see first
- Choose the one room you’ll finish first
- Size your rugs to your floor plan
- Put up simple privacy shades and wait on the curtains
Realtors: you’re welcome to share this with your buyers. It’s a little welcome-home gift for that first week with the keys.
Want the whole home, room by room?
My Complete Home Design Guide walks you through layouts, dimensions, color, lighting and styling for every room in the house, so you can make each decision once and get it right.
Want help with your own room?
If you’d love a designer’s eye on the first room in your new home, my $397 Complete Room Design gives you a furniture plan, furnishing selections, a paint palette and a resource list for one room.
New home design: FAQ
What should I do first when I move into a new home?
Measure everything before you buy anything. While the rooms are empty, measure every wall, window and doorway, note outlets, vents and switches, and measure the path in, including stairs and the tightest turn. Then sketch a simple floor plan of each room.
Should I paint before or after moving in?
Before the furniture arrives, if you can. Painting an empty room is faster and less stressful, and you can reach the ceilings and every corner. Test real samples on at least two walls and look at them morning, afternoon and night first.
How big should my rug be?
In a living room, big enough that at least the front legs of the sofa and chairs sit on it. In a dining room, big enough that the chairs stay on it when pulled out. In a bedroom, it should reach out on both sides of the bed. When in doubt, go one size up.
Do I need to furnish the whole house right away?
No. Finish the room you use most first, then live in your home for a while. The art, the vintage finds and the pieces with a story are worth waiting for.
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Originally published on Your Design Guide. Read the full post on Substack: Just Got the Keys? The First 7 Design Moves I’d Make in a New Home
