Designer Tips: The Small Things Really Do Matter, Part 3

Here are eight more tips (20 in all) on small things that make a big difference in your home.

1.  When it comes to window treatments, DON’T skimp on the AMOUNT of fabric. Volume translates to luxury. Whether they break at the floor or pull gracefully to the side. 

If a fabric is too costly for the amount you need look further down the food chain to less expensive fabrics such as ticking and burlap. You’d be surprised at how amazing the least expensive fabrics can look when you use the right amount. With windows, quantity is more important than quality. Both are nice but if you have to choose one, go for quantity.

2. Use analogous colors in your color palettes to create more interesting rooms.

When you use two or three colors adjacent to each other on the color wheel (such as a pine green, a grass green, and an olive) you create depth and interest. Plus you are not tied to a particular shade of the color and it’s easy to introduce other shades and colors.

3.  Leave at least one surface in a room bare.

Don’t line your tables and chests with haphazard arrays of photos and small decorative objects. Group the photos and/or objects in one or two places in a room. It creates mini-focal points. The open space gives your eye a chance to rest and really appreciate the groupings.

4. Leave at least one wall in a room bare.

Same concept as above. TOO MUCH STUFF (the title of a workshop I just gave) overwhelms.

5. Group like objects together.

Create collections of similar colors or types of objects such as a line of blue and white pottery or a collection of matchbox cars. It creates a focal point and looks a lot less cluttered.

6. Use living plants as centerpieces.

Even if you have a brown thumb, a potted plants costs about the same as cut flowers and lasts a lot longer.  And a trio of similarly potted bromeliads will look great on your table or chest.

7. Only buy what you really love.

Give in to the impulse of getting something you love. Just make sure it fits in terms of size (through doorways and in rooms) and function (no loopy fabrics with dogs and cats).

8. Save up for the grand gesture.

Often people don’t want to face the fact that they are going to spend money so they dribble it away instead of spending it well. I had a client who would easily spend hundreds of dollars on dozens of small decorative items but then had a hard time spending the same amount of money for one piece that she really could use (such as a chest to hold all that stuff). 

Good living – until my next post.