Dear Daughters: Design 101

Dear Daughters,

Here is a list of my favorite

beliefs about

design.

 

*  The best house , the perfect house

is the house you can afford.

Our condemned HUD listing of a house,

that your grandmother suggested we consider

buying

as a fixer upper 21 years ago,

has treated us well

everyday we have lived here.


Always take a second look. You never know.

*  There are no rules in my kind of design;

however, there is

common sense .

 

* For example, 

low table- tall lamp,

tall table-low lamp.

 
 

*  In your home, give people what they need:

an end table to set a glass on-

a lamp to read by-

an ottoman to prop their feet on-

a rug to walk on. 



* Let candlesticks be candlesticks and lamps be lamps-

the two aren’t always a match-

as in a candlestick lamp.


Their skinniness will challenge whatever anchor you are trying to create.


I know firsthand. I am staring at two right now that need to be retired.


*I love symmetry.

There , I said it.

It really

floats.my.boat.

*  Buy every over-sized mirror

you can find,

(Or buy the frame and add the mirror).

(waiting to be hung in the Nap Room)



*  If something seems wrong in a room,

you may

need something round.  

The shapes in a room shouldn’t look like

a warehouse full of crates

(as in non-stop rectangles).

 



* Shopping in a retail furniture store is not in your genetic code.

(but you already knew that).  

 

*  You can never have too many chandeliers.

(waiting to be hung in the Nap Room)

*  See through coffee tables are usually the prettiest. 



*  There has been way to much made out of

‘letting the eye travel from high to low objects’

around the room.


My advice?

Ask yourself what happens when

your eye

lands.

That is the true test.

*  The absolute best bang for your traditional decorating buck

is

blue and white porcelain

blue and white dishes

silver plate

cut glass

mirrored place mats

black lampshades

old school brass urns

ornate framed mirrors

anything urn

and an

an ivory upholstered couch

 

And finally,

as our family crest should say,

 

“…if all else fails, spray paint it white.”

***

 

Linking to:

Inspiration Friday at At The Picket Fence

and

Potpourri Friday at 2805