There is something uniquely glamourous about being in possession of a walk-in wardrobe. How wonderful to be able to walk into a room within a room where you are instantly ensconced by the costumes, shoes and accessories that you have bought and collected for every occasion in your history, some that you have yet to find an event for and a few that you wished you’d never bought. Click here to find out how to fit this extravagance into a weeny bedroom.

As the economy continues to wobble, more people are opting, or being forced, to rent rather than buy their homes. And, in particular, more young families are now renting. But even if you don't own your property, you can still stamp your personality on it and make it feel like home, without risking losing your deposit. Here's how:

Do clever things with your wallls
You need to go through your rental agreement with a fine tooth comb, before making any irreversible changes to your property. Some landlords will allow you to wallpaper or paint the walls, as long as it will be viewed as an improvement or if you agree to repaint or paper it in its original state at the end of your lease.  Decals or wall stickers that peel off without a trace can be the ideal alternative. 

Those bland tiles, landlords like to sensibly clad bathroom and kitchen walls with, can be jazzed up with tile stickers too.

And, you can personalise your walls with prints and photographs. Or adorn them with a piece of original art. And, if you're worried about knocking nails into walls you don't own, try 3M Command strips and picture hooks. These adhesive strips of various sizes can hold quite heavy pieces to walls and they remove off cleanly when you're done. I've tried them. I found they did the trick and came off without a mark. 

If you know where to look, original art can be quite reasonably priced. Art college degree shows, Etsy and Rise Art are good places to search out. Rise Art was set up to make original collectable art affordable and you can find work on their site for far less than a £100 and they offer monthly rental and rent to buy options too.

Floor it
When landlords dress their properties in preparation for rent, they tend to clothe their floors in hardwearing vinyls, engineered wood and neutral carpets. So warm and brighten up bland floors with a rug. The brighter it is and the more irregular the shape, the more individual your room will look. And it's not just living rooms that will benefit from rugs, they work just as well in bedrooms and hallways too.

Swap
You don't have to live with everything your landlord leaves you. Pack away any curtains or blinds that were up when you moved in and replace them for the period of your occupation with some that are more to your taste. Switch nasty nets with more stylish window film, think about putting on your own toilet seat and shower curtain and you don't need to live with their lampshades either.

New mums and dads are suckers. I know I was one. But when you only live in a little place, or if you're on a budget you need to distinguish between the necessary; and the nice, but not necessary. Click here for a list of things you don't need to buy for baby. 

The first week of July our home is awash with cards, crackers, tree decorations, festive gifts and even Christmas puddings.  

This is not because I am one of those people who start preparing their Christmas to-do list on New Year’s Day. I am the exact opposite. 

It’s because, big brands work around magazine schedules. I style photo shoots, so when you see spreads of people’s lovely homes in newspapers and magazines I, or someone like me, have spent a day in that house taking out all the boring, ugly, everyday objects - dish cloths and toothpaste, telephone chargers and clothes lines – and putting in lovely little extra touches – the very latest bedside lamps, throws, cushions, vases of flowers and maybe even a bed. 

Magazines work far in advance. I’ve already shot this year’s Christmas pages, so stores launch their Christmas products to the press in July. And in June we did Autumn Winter. 

One of those days in June I went to the Argos Autumn Winter launch. I’ll be honest; I wasn’t expecting much. I’d always regarded Argos as a store you go to for toasters, TVs and toys. 

I got a shock. The company had transformed a series of plain rooms in central London into a welcoming family home, full of furniture that I wanted in my house, cushions that would look great on my sofa and lights that could hang out on my ceilings any day. Within minutes of coming home I’d ordered a round bathroom mirror concealing a cabinet behind – perfect for my little shower room. 

The Argos group recently bought Habitat and this marriage of style and affordability has benefited both parties. Habitat now has a great range of budget furniture and homewares, much of which can also be bought through Argos and Argos has become much more focused on creating functional and design conscious products.  

Argos’s Maine extra deep shelving combinations are an ideal mix and match solution for covering a whole wall in display and book shelving, for example. There are hidden storage options too for unsightly toys and ugly electrical equipment and these units are extra deep so that they will hold coffee table books, vases and ornaments that need to be shown off. 

Whilst the Living Karran double bed slots right into that luxury hotel bedroom style. Not only does it look great, it has lovely legs too, remember being able to see underneath a piece of furniture makes the whole room feel more spacious. (Check out the Use your Legs to grow your rooms feature here)

And I’ve always struggled to find stylish and affordable high sleepers great for freeing up space in older children’s rooms, but finally Argos has delivered. With some clever styling the Harper high sleeper can make a teenage room appear to have the feel of a self-contained studio. 

If you’re just looking to update your accessories, there are some lovely light fittings too. Give your living room ceiling a makeover with the Habitat Perle light fitting, a bargain at £30 and treat your kitchen to the Living Kit Half Dome pendant, £24.96.

To see the full Argos extended lighting range click here 

This post is part of an Argos promotion, but the opinions are genuine and our own

I've held back for a while, it's nice to keep some things to yourself, but now I've decided to let you in on a little secret. How to find treasures on auction sites such as Ebay and classified ad sites such as GumTree. 

By treasures, I mean pieces that look great, will last and will hold, or maybe even increase, their value if you want to resell them in the future. 

• Search for products from incredibly well-established, high-end design retailers: Liberty of London, Heals, Chaplins, Selfridges, Anthropologie and The Conran Shop, etc. All these stores specialise in expensive and generally well-built homewares and furniture, so if the product is genuine - and that's one thing I can't guarantee - it should be durable and to be able to bought for a fraction of its original price.

• Vintage shop fittings, traditional wooden flip-top school desks, and architects' plan drawers are other pieces to look out for. These original pieces are growing in demand at the moment and will rise in value. Don't pay hundreds for them though.

Any private sellers selling pieces by any of the designers or companies mentioned obviously have good and expensive taste so always remember to check out what else they are selling whilst you are browsing. More often than not, their priority is to get rid rather than get a good price. Happy hunting!

The first week of July our home is awash with cards, crackers, tree decorations, festive gifts and even Christmas puddings. 

This is not because I am one of those people who start preparing their Christmas to-do list on New Year’s Day. I am the exact opposite.

It’s because, big brands work around magazine schedules. I style photo shoots, so when you see spreads of people’s lovely homes in newspapers and magazines I, or someone like me, have spent a day in that house taking out all the boring, ugly, everyday objects - dish cloths and toothpaste, telephone chargers and clothes lines – and putting in lovely little extra touches – the very latest bedside lamps, throws, cushions, vases of flowers and maybe even a bed.

Magazines work far in advance. I’ve already shot this year’s Christmas pages, so stores launch their Christmas products to the press in July. And in June we did Autumn Winter.

One of those days in June I went to the Argos Autumn Winter launch. I’ll be honest; I wasn’t expecting much. I’d always regarded Argos as a store you go to for toasters, TVs and toys.

I got a shock. The company had transformed a series of plain rooms in central London into a welcoming family home, full of furniture that I wanted in my house, cushions that would look great on my sofa and lights that could hang out on my ceilings any day. Within minutes of coming home I’d ordered a round bathroom mirror concealing a cabinet behind – perfect for my little shower room.

The Argos group recently bought Habitat and this marriage of style and affordability has benefited both parties. Habitat now has a great range of budget furniture and homewares, much of which can also be bought through Argos and Argos has become much more focused on creating functional and design conscious products. 

Argos’s Maine extra deep shelving combinations are an ideal mix and match solution for covering a whole wall in display and book shelving, for example. There are hidden storage options too for unsightly toys and ugly electrical equipment and these units are extra deep so that they will hold coffee table books, vases and ornaments that need to be shown off.  

Whilst the Living Karran double bed slots right into that luxury hotel bedroom style. Not only does it look great, it has lovely legs too, remember being able to see underneath a piece of furniture makes the whole room feel more spacious. (Check out the Use your Legs to grow your rooms feature here)

And I’ve always struggled to find stylish and affordable high sleepers great for freeing up space in older children’s rooms, but finally Argos has delivered. With some clever styling the Harper high sleeper can make a teenage room appear to have the feel of a self-contained studio. 

If you’re just looking to update your accessories, there are some lovely light fittings too. Give your living room ceiling a makeover with the Habitat Perle light fitting, a bargain at £30 and treat your kitchen to the Living Kit Half Dome pendant, £24.96.

To see the full Argos extended lighting range click here 

This post is part of an Argos promotion, but the opinions are genuine and our own

When you live in a small space it's tempting to squeeze something into every available gap - under the bed, on top of the kitchen units, over the back of the kitchen door. But, if you want to avoid your rooms feeling too cramped, you need to leave space to let them breathe. 

Good legs
Eye up furniture with good legs that allow you to see part of the floor underneath it. Don't take this the wrong way, but you need more than one or two pairs of pins in the bedroom. Your bed, wardrobes, bedside tables should all show a bit of leg, and mind that they are not hidden under skirts either. 

The same goes for the rest of the house too. If it can be raised, raise it. And, don't panic, you can still sneak a bit of storage underneath these pieces of furniture too, just push it to the back or the middle out of eye shot.

Clever use of wallpaper and fabric can really help to add depth to a room. Online supplier of designer wallpaper and curtain and upholstery fabric Fabrics & Papers is giving Don't Cramp Our Style readers 15% off orders over £250 during February. Find the code at the end of this feature.

Emma Vans Agnew, Design Director of Fabrics & Paper has these space enhancing tips for us:

To push the walls out in a small room, it’s really important to use a fairly neutral colour palette for  the walls with complementary colours for the curtains. It is all about creating an optical illusion; look to wallpapers with a metallic pattern that will reflect light, whilst subtle patterns add visual interest without being too overwhelming.

Bright colours, unless used sparingly, tend to make a room look smaller as the eye is drawn to one wall. Vibrant curtains or blinds as a feature are the ideal way to add a pop of colour to a smaller room. Another alternative might be to create a feature wall by hanging wallpaper on one wall, and painting the rest.              

Always keep in mind that wallpaper gives a warmer feel to a room, but oversized patterns can overpower a tiny space. Small design wallpapers and fabrics work incredibly well, however. 

And stripes are particularly useful. Vertical stripes will increase the illusion of height in a room, whilst horizontal stripes will make it look wider.  If your room has a stretched, rectangular shape, it's perhaps a long wall with a window at one end, using a striped wallpaper laid on the horizontal will really stretch out the dimensions. 

Floor-to-ceiling curtains in a small living room create a dramatic statement, they don’t have to feel overwhelming; and, can give necessary dynamism to an otherwise neutral room.

Blinds can be functional in a small living room, and are a good alternative when curtains could feel too dominating for your design or  you want a simple finish to compliment your wallpaper choice. 

For the more adventurous decorate the whole room in the same fabric, and I do mean everything — walls, curtains, upholstery, even the lampshades and picture frames, whether it's a leopard print or a toile de jouy. One wild print all over the place enlarges a small space, brings it all together, and adds a big wow factor.

To get 15% off all orders over £250 from Fabrics & Papers use the code DC 7764 on the order form.

It's sales season in the UK and if you know where to look you can find some delicious bargains. And, if you're reading this from your sofa in Sydney or your hammock in Hawaii, I know I have many international readers, don't worry (aside from one) everyone mentioned here ships.

When shopping the sales you need to follow three rules:

1. If you shop regularly at a store where everything is affordable for you out of sale period don't shop there during their sale period. If you liked it enough you would have bought it before it was discounted. The only thing that is attracting you to the product this time is its bargain basement sale tag.

2. Don't shop anywhere where you couldn't afford even 20% of the price of the goods on offer outside of sale time. Rarely is anything discounted more than 70%. You won't be able to afford to shop there during sale time either, you don't want to buy something that puts you into debt.

3. Haggle. The reason the stuff is on sale is because the store wants rid of it. If it's a large piece of furniture with a still fairly largish figure attached, there may be some further leeway to go on the price. Nothing to lose in asking, especially if it's a little substandard and has a scratch somewhere or a stain. You can do this virtually too, send them a cheeky email, you never know...

With this in mind, let's go shopping:

Fired Earth concentrates on elegant timeless craftsmanship. Whether it's a kitchen chair, a bath or a tile, you won't have to stray far from the homepage to find something you'll fall instantly in love with. It's pricey, but during sale time you can uncover some relative bargains. For export sales call +44 (0) 1295814 315.

The innovative online store E-Side specialises in cutting edge, sustainable furniture. This striking, but simple chair will comfortably wrap itself around your body and as it appears to almost float on air it will ensure your room doesn't feel to cluttered too. Currently reduced from £390 to £230.

If you're looking to make an entrance, look no further than Roger Oates. They have been designing and hand producing their uniquely smart, simple and classic pure wool Venetian Flatweave rugs and runners for over twenty years. Sorry sale goods are limited to the UK though. This Trent & Ashby flat weave runner is down from £110 per linear metre to £59.

Finally, I've also spotted this eye-catching pair of salt and pepper pots by famed English ceramicist Jessie Tait for Mindwinter at Pretty Dandy. Great if you like that classic Sixties feel.

Have you spotted any great sales to add to this list? 

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When you live in a small space, you're always looking for new hidey holes within which to store things in and there are some pieces of furniture and parts of buildings that could work so much harder if someone put their mind to it.

Architects have been designing building with lofts for centuries and yet the method for accessing them has not got beyond a disappearing awkward to access ladder. Consequently, these storage areas are under used, but without going as a far as a loft conversion there are ways you can make this space more attractive, useful and accessible.

I took down the ceiling in part of our home to reveal the loft above and this space has become a book shelf and perch for storage baskets and attractive looking toys, such as a wooden sledge and a football table. 

Meanwhile, I've been searching for years for a kitchen table with at least one drawer under the table top, that doesn't look cheap and nasty. They were pretty much standard in the 'olden' days and they crop up occasionally on Ebay, but they are often trading on their vintage looks and are expensive. 

A stylish sofa that opens up to reveal a wide chest for storing games would be useful too. It would basically be a sofa bed design with out the bed in it. 

Any suggestions to add to the list? 

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