Taking the keys to your first home is an unforgettable moment – you have a place of your very own and you have achieved a significant life goal. 

There's no shortage of work ahead of you, of course. But it's all good fun – shopping for furniture, planning the lay-out of your new home and even attending to a few little maintenance tasks along the way.

If you've never had to set up a home from scratch, it's easy to make a few basic mistakes. Here are my tips on the “do's and don'ts” of home design and lay-out.

• No flow – You need to be able walk around your new apartment or house without having to squeeze past furniture. Make sure your lay-out allows you to walk easily through the living areas. Create logical paths of at least two feet to achieve a flow through your home.


• TV glare – Placing a TV against or opposite a window is one of the most common mistakes. It makes watching television difficult unless you continually draw the blinds or curtains. Put the TV perpendicular to any windows or sliding glass doors. 


• Walled in – Don't assume you can knock down a wall to join two areas together. Some are supporting walls and their job is to hold up the building. Knock them down, and you're in real trouble. Other walls can hide pipes and electrical wiring. So get professional advice before getting out the sledgehammer.


• Measure twice – Builders always say, “measure twice, cut once” – and this is a great approach to buying furniture. Note the dimensions of each room, including the kitchen, before buying furniture, a fridge, new TV and artwork. Over-sized pieces ruin a living area, making it feel small and impractical. Consider using masking tape on the carpet to outline the location and size of the furniture you need – and then go shopping. 


• Make your mark – Don't emulate showroom lay-outs. Creating a perfect symmetry isn't necessary. It looks great in a store, but that's because they're trying to sell furniture. But this is your home, so leave your own mark in both your living area and bedrooms.


• Air-con plan – Increasingly, we're all using air-conditioning to cool our homes in summer. If you've bought a property without a unit, then you should plan an installation as early as possible. Talk to a supplier about the most suitable models for the size of your home and where the pipes and ducts should be placed. Their positioning could influence your lay-out decisions.