~ Buy what you love. If you LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it, it will work somewhere.
~ Art should be personal…collect it….don’t just “put something up” to fill the space. Wait.
~ No Matchy-Matchy. The coffee table should not match the end table, which matches the bookcase, etc. etc. Don’t just buy the “showroom”, or image in a catalog..mix it up. (Ditto with fabrics, by the way)
~ “A room without a touch of red is like a woman without lipstick”…a famous design quote, but one of my teachers at AIID, Judy Thompson, used it frequently..and so true. And red doesn’t mean just “red”, it can be burnt orange or deep pink too. Think a blood red dahlia in a vase in a neutral bedroom, or a shot of deep pink in a painting on the wall, or a red glove on the table in an entry way….etc. Check the design magazines..for that touch of red. It’s usually in each image.
~ If on a budget (helloooo who isn’t??) purchase the very best you can afford for the 1 or 2 high profile pieces in each room…and then fill in with the “less than precious” around them.
~ Lighting is everything. Learn the difference between an MR (mirrored reflector lamp) and a flood. Your sparkly granite will be glad you did! PLEASE PUT RHEOSTATS (DIMMERS) ON EVERYTHING.
~ Texture, texture, texture. Mix it up. Think chenille sofa, next to field stone fireplace, snuggled up in a slubby wool throw while leaning against vintage silk pillows, willow basket of magazines at the ready, with some mercury glass bling on coffee table (bling: design term for shiny stuff in a room that sparkles when candles are lit!), and wool and sisal rug. AHHHHH! Heaven.
~ I believe strongly in separate bathrooms for partners whenever physically and financially possible. I mean, come on, can we retain a bit of mystery here? This will be the new feature of the future. Guaranteed. (And every empty nester reading this who has more than one bathroom somewhere….what are you waiting for?? Get over the guilt.)
~ “It’s not a museum”…..quote by my husband….who reminds me in times of stress, (like all four grown sons are home AND it’s Christmas Eve, AND you have company coming,AND the dog just had an accident, AND the fireplace is smoking), that our home is our home…use every room, mess it up, LIVE there. This is IT, folks!! I couldn’t agree more.
~ Surround yourself with friends, family, good, simple food (and wine!), candlelight, music, and a vase of something from nature(sticks, flowers, rocks, weeds, pods, greens). Keep it simple, and focused on people- not things, and IT WILL ALL BE OK.
~ Hire a designer.....!
