Female Focus
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House and Home
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A decorative pillow, a favourite scarf and even a magazine photo are good places to begin. Select your inspiration piece wisely, and be sure it makes you feel good when you look at it. It’s the basis for selecting your theme, colours, patterns and textures. Theme: Analyse your inspiration piece and develop a theme name for it. For instance, a needlepoint pillow with a botanical design on a black background may inspire a title like “formal botanical garden.” Be descriptive with your theme name and all sorts of supporting ideas will come to mind. Botanical prints, striped walls, greens and floral colours, formal fabrics and furniture, dark woods and black accents all fit this particular theme. Colour cues: Colour should always support the theme. Many times, the colours that are most appropriate are found in the patterns and design of your inspiration piece. Generally, it’s best to choose three colours in a room: a dominant colour, used for walls, floors and fabric backgrounds; a secondary colour, found throughout the room in fabrics and accessories; and an accent colour, used sparingly to give energy and excitement to the room.
Patterns: Stripes, checks, florals and plaids are just a few of the patterns to consider as you continue supporting your theme. It’s alright to mix patterns as long as you do three things:
1. Keep the background colour the same. 2. Make sure all patterns share the same colours. 3. Vary the scale or sizes of the patterns. Texture: Too many smooth, shiny objects or too much nubby, rustic texture becomes tiresome. Use variety to keep the room interesting. Even a pattern can be used as texture. Many prints look dimensional and therefore add depth to a decorating scheme. Furniture: Aside from being functional, your furniture plays an important role in supporting your theme. Some pieces may function well but their style or colour may stick out like a sore thumb. Try to salvage it with slipcovers, tablecloths or paint. If it’s a lost cause, remove it from the room.
Personality Here’s your chance to put your personal stamp on a well-planned room. Here are some strategies:
Accessorising: Pictures, vases, pillows and rugs are all integral parts of a great decorating plan. Generally, they should support your theme, but allow more flexibility here; an antique picture frame could add wonderful variety to a contemporary room. Accessories are located on walls, mantels, furniture, tabletops and floors; they can be paintings and photos or pillows. Whimsy: This is optional in your decorating scheme, but it can counteract any sterile quality that may have been created by strictly following all the guidelines. A beautifully elegant lounge area may get some relief from a playful throw or scarf placed over the back of a chair. The unexpected: Interest doesn’t have to be whimsical; it can simply be something unexpected in a room, like a brightly-painted ceiling or accent wall.
Taking your time to think these fundamentals through for a room that you’d like to change will help you to create a scheme that’s a true reflection of you rather than just a sterile show home. Next month we’ll take a look at some of the established styles in interior design from the elegance of Art Deco to the simplicity of Minimalism.
Lotus Homestyling Studio, Ctra. Moraira 16, Benitachell. Call 966 493 232.
Tammi
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