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 SECRETS
OF HOME DÉCOR
A
master plan will help your house look great and function smoothly
By
Lou Manfredini
As builder,
I used to cringe when I heard the words "interior decorator."
These are people, I thought, who want to change everything
inside a house--after it's already built.
So I was
skeptical when my wife said she wanted to use a decorator
to help redo our living room, even though the experience would
ultimately prove a valuable one. Whenever people renovate
their homes, it's important to create a master plan before
touching anything. That way, you won't have to undo mistakes
you've made. And the same is true with décor, I learned. You
don't want to randomly start buying furniture or painting
walls in off-beat colors in the hopes of striking the right
note. This is something good decorators achieve by taking
a broader view of the whole house.
The first
question they ask is: What's your lifestyle? If you have kids
(as I do) and want to drink cookies and milk in the living
room (as I do) then this would suggest a more casual state
of affairs. If you want a museum-quality living room where
there are no crumbs, by all means go for it. Either way, you
can follow these few steps to end up with a livably lavish
interior that people will love.
- Avoid
overwhelming tones on walls and in rugs. Instead bring color
into your home by accessorizing-whether it's that magenta
lampshade on the end table, or those electric-blue vases
on the mantelpiece.
- Don't
add too much, or too little, to a room. Clutter is unbearable,
which is why we hate our attics and basements. But too little
furniture makes a room seem undone.
- Limit
those "don't touch" areas. A few eye-pleasing antiques or
tables filled with precious tchotchkes can be wonderful.
But by confining them to a nook here or a corner there,
you'll actually be able to live in your house rather than
just look at it.
As a general
rule, always buy the highest quality items you can afford,
which will guarantee the best long-term value for your money.
But allow yourself some fun, too: My living room contains
a fabric-covered pedestal table that I actually made out of
plywood. It looks pretty good, I have to say--and makes a
great spot for a plateful of cookies.
---
This article
originally appeared in USA Weekend magazine.
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