§ Tool Material palette

Build a palette you can live with.

Wood

Floors, joinery and furniture. Pick one and let it run through the whole plan.

Worktops, floors and wet areas. Honed wears better than polished.

Upholstery and curtains. This is where a scheme becomes comfortable.

Ironmongery, lighting and frames. One metal per room, ideally per house.

The largest surface in the room, and the one chosen last.

Once these five are fixed, most of the remaining decisions on a project make themselves. That is the point of doing it early.