DÉCOR DONE RIGHT

Even though designers don’t follow a secret rule book, there are some rough principles that guide us to ensure a great result every time.  I thought it would be helpful to share a few tried and true tricks, based on some of the questions I get asked frequently.  Decorating your home may not be easy, but it shouldn’t be intimidating.

1. DON’T POSTPONE A MAKEOVER BECAUSE OF NATURALLY MESSY KIDS.  Put your money into comfortable, well-made goods, like a sofa or a dining table.  Investment pieces, when placed front and center, become a room’s focal point.  Don’t waste money on cheap furniture that has to be replaced often.  Stick to fewer quality items and have fun changing inexpensive accessories.

2.  SAFE NEUTRALS DON’T HAVE TO BE BORING.  Amplify neutrals with texture and mix materials and finishes.  Matte sheens absorb light; in contrast, lustrous sheens reflect light.  Pillows on sofas and accent chairs stand out when they are the same color but in different fabrics.  Any color can become neutral when used exclusively.  Just use in a range of shades and mix different patterns.

3.  DON’T NEGLECT WINDOW TREATMENTS BECAUSE CUSTOM IS TOO EXPENSIVE.  Semi-custom and ready-made panels can also dress up a room and look far better than bare windows any day!  Side panels should ALWAYS go to the floor.  If they don’t have your length, buy up and have them hemmed, like a well- fitted dress.  Custom-made look so luxurious because of their fullness.  Cheat a little by putting two panels together on either side of the window and buy lined whenever available to protect the fabric from fading from the sun.

4.  BUY THE RIGHT SIZE CHANDELIER FOR THE ROOM.   The general rule of thumb is to multiply the width of the room by two.  Convert it to inches and that is the minimum diameter of the fixture for a room.  It is better to oversize and not look dinky or not provide enough light.

Hang over the center of the table and NOT the center of the room.  Hang a chandelier approximately 30 to 34 inches over a table with an 8-foot ceiling height.  If your ceiling is higher than 8 feet, mount the chandelier an additional 3 inches higher for each foot of ceiling.

5.  COLLECT GREAT ARTWORK.  And don’t be afraid to move it around once in a while. The same goes for family portraits.   A nail hole in the wall can go away with a little spackle and a brush of paint.  There is power in numbers, so group similar images in matching frames for a graphic punch.  Maps, book pages, fabric, or clothing articles other than team jerseys are other ideas.  Contemporary art can hang in traditional settings and traditional oil paintings can add warmth to modern interiors.

6.  ART DOES NOT HAVE TO MATCH THE ROOM.  Contract interiors, like hotels and hospitals and public spaces like banks and offices, try to create a “look” and do so with matching art.  Your home should be an expression of you, and so should the art you collect.  Do imitate museums and galleries and hang pictures so that the center is between 57″ – 60″ from the floor, which is the average human eye level.

7.  WALLPAPER IS NOT FOREVER.  People are afraid to invest in wallpaper because it seems so “permanent!”  What goes up can also come down, albeit with a little elbow grease.  But nothing strengthens a room like a gorgeous pattern on the wall!  How better to soften a space than with a subtle yet charming textured solid around the room?  It’s not all chintzes and cottage flowers anymore.  One visit to a wallpaper store and a believer you shall become!

8.  RUGS DON’T MAKE A ROOM LOOK SMALLER.  The trick is to knowing how to arrange the furniture.  There are three options.  Place all the furniture ON the rug if it is large enough.  This offers the most luxurious look.  Place all the furniture OFF the rug if the rug is small, and leave an even floor space on all sides of the rug’s border.  Lastly, place only the FRONT of the furniture on the rug.  Look like you hired a designer and try one of these tricks: place a rug at an angle, layer a couple of rugs, or fill an entire floor by placing rugs side by side.

9.  CHOOSE PAINT COLORS LAST.  When starting to decorate your house, first consider what kind of furnishings you wish to purchase.  Think about what color fabrics, what kind of wood stain for the floors and what tones for the tile and stone in the kitchen you like.  Wall color picks up on all the finishes around it and changes from one house to the next.  Don’t start to decorate your house based on your best friend’s wall color.  Keep a bin of samples of all your finishes and then find a color that works with them.

10.  THINK FASHION when decorating because a room well designed is like a perfect outfit.   Mix and match.  Try things on.  Move things around.  Don’t copy a trend if it’s not your taste.  Find your “little black dress.”  When a certain formula works for you, let that be your signature.

You don’t have to be a designer to decorate like one.  The best of us break the rules quite often and do best when following our intuition.  The point is to have what brings you joy and what makes your home and world more beautiful.