Interior designers shop at home decorating
catalogs for decorating books and accessories.
Have you ever wondered why interior
designers place slippers on the ottoman in magazine photos? They do it to
make the staged setting look as if it’s a lived-in room. Pictures and
illustrations in decorating books, magazines, and other advertisements are
designed to sell a product or an idea.
But what’s missing in the staged rooms of
most interior design books and magazines? People.
When it comes to decorating your own your
home, forget the empty rooms you see in the magazines and books. You should
design your rooms as backdrops for the people who use and live in those
spaces. In order to best utilize the spaces in your home, try these simple
techniques:
Leave empty space. Empty space gives you
breathing room and allows the most important items in the room to shine,
which are the people!
Use small patterns on walls and furniture.
Avoid large-patterned fabrics and wallpapers with designs larger than your
head. Huge florals will interfere with the appearance of the people in the
room. You don’t want to have to compete with bold patterns behind your face.
Patterns on sofas and chairs that clash with clothing will also make you and
your guests feel uncomfortable.
Use colors that complement people. Finding
the right colors to complement your skin and eyes deserves planning. Most
people look great when surrounded by color. For light skin colors, use
yellows, pinks, and beiges. For darker complexions, yellows, olives, and
tans can make people stand out. Since most people no longer have bright
white in their eyes, avoid pastels that are whiter than the white in your
eyes.
Add textures that feel good to the touch.
Support your sense of touch by adding textures that are nice to caress. You
don’t have to touch velvet to sense its softness, and soft textures like
chenille and satins will visually support your feeling of being pampered, as
well.
Arrange accessories to shore up emotions.
In one of my rooms, I arranged my mantle accessories to make a statement,
and it looked great in photographs, but after analyzing why the mantle
didn’t seem to smile, I realized that it wasn’t personal. When I filled it
with Mili fiori lamps, crystal candlesticks, and antique vases, the space
looked great, but it really began to smile when I added a Mexican Rose rock
under the painting.
Think comfort before pretense. Just
because a sofa or chair looks fabulous doesn’t mean the piece is
comfortable. Remember, when you walk around a showroom, sitting down on any
piece feels good, but in order to truly test a piece of furniture, you need
to sit on it for a long time, until you feel totally rested. Only then will
you be able to feel the real support and comfort level of that piece.
Remember, your home is a place for people,
and when you and your guests look and feel great in your home, you can be
sure that you’ve designed a great setting; one that far outshines the staged
sets you’ll see in magazines and books.
Joy to you!
(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher.
All rights reserved.
Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of
Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches
Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips,
reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see
http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm
