In the most successful home renovations I have seen, there is one common thread: when the owners confess to having folders full of ideas, torn from magazines over years and years, I know the home will always make for a great magazine article. As good as any architect or interior designer might be, they will never know you as well as you know yourself. In many cases, an expert is only as good as his or her client. So I couldn't agree more with homeowner Ann Gordon's advice that keeping a book of ‘tear sheets' is absolutely essential if you want to create a home that will be perfectly, uniquely made for you and your family. Her own home stands as testament to that. If you start your ‘inspiration folder' early, and consistently add to it - as well as take out pages that you no longer like - you'll find that the book itself starts to group, edit and communicate what you really want. The colour schemes that catch your eye will reveal themselves through repetition; styles you love will start to stand together, and by the end (or rather, by the start of your project) it will be the best tool you could possibly have when it comes to briefing a professional.

Nothing beats a visual guide - besides, who could possibly remember every great idea they've ever come across? It doesn't mean you have to copy everything you see; each idea will play its own role, whether it inspires a slightly altered version of itself, prompts a new colour scheme, demonstrates a way of using light or inspires the mood you want to create - and some will, of course, be used exactly as you first saw them.

So, although we all take such pride in seeing each issue of Home Beautiful hit the stands, it's nothing compared to the pride we feel when we see pages torn out and added to a personal inspiration book - believe us, we remember every page we print!

Wendy