It's the great room and the dining room you are furnishing, then?

What style is the house?

What styles do you like?

What an exciting time--getting to start out fresh in a new house!

re: whether to have the same style of furniture throughout the house, I think that's a matter of personal taste, and also how visible the rooms are from each other. Bedrooms are usually visually cut off from the rest of the house, so I wouldn't worry about having one style of furniture in the living room and a completely different one in the bedroom.

On the other hand, if two rooms are right next to each other, and you can see into both of them at once, like a living and dining room or kitchen and greatroom, you might like the way it looks better if things are not too different.

Another thing to consider is what YOU like the looks of. Some people like matchy furniture, all one style, purchased together, and other people like a little of this, a little of that, added together. It's really about identifying what you like and figuring out how to do that.

Do you have a favorite home decor magazine? That might give you (and us) an idea of what kind of style you like.

I haven't really looked at any home decor magazines but that is a great idea! Any you would suggest? My house currently has a little bit of country feel and I want to stay away from that and possibly go more contemporary.

Go to house beautiful.com and you can view every type of room in every style. It's a good way to start making a plan.
Where would you buy this furniture, you have to consider a budget. There are great sites online for furnishings once we know what you like. After that's established we can help you in many ways.

I do like House Beautiful, and also home decor blogs and websites. We recently had a thread here on the forum about people's favorite blogs--maybe you can find some examples of what you like there, too. Many bloggers are kind enough to say where they made their purchases, cost, etc.

Here is a link to the favorite blog discussion:

Here is a link that might be useful: Home Decor Blogs of All Kinds

"THEY" say that there should usually be some unifying idea that tie the rooms together, for eg. style, colour, etc. You could paint the rooms the same colour and then buy furniture that you like but is eclectic. Mix antique style with contemporary but perhaps all in the same wood tones.

This is just my opinion, but the rooms that I found boring or uninteresting are the ones that look like they came out of an Ethan Allen or Pottery Barn catalogue. Try to put something together that looks like it was collected and placed over time. And don't forget the accessories that are important to you.

You mention art - is there a favourite picture or piece that you can use as a jumping off point for colours and style? The Mission style that you have now - you don;t have to use the same style but perhaps a coffee table in the same wood tone. Your cherry cabinets will have red tones to them and if you like that you can play that up as well.

One thing I would caution is do take your time - buy one piece and then let it flow to the next. Good luck - this will be fun and do post pics of your ideas.