Follow my mantra to improve any room instantly
I came up with this in the early days of the blog - and trust me when I tell you that applying it will immediately make every space in your house look miles better.
I first coined this phrase a few months after I started Mad About The House in 2012. I was asked to give a talk by a DIY company (it wasn’t Task Rabbit, but it might have been a precursor to it) and to share my top 10 design hacks. These later made it into the first Mad About The House book - and, thinking about it, I stand by all 10, so I might share the others over the coming weeks.
Anyway, I had a few ideas for what I wanted to talk about, but I was a writer in search of a watchword (or eight), a (wo)man in search of a mantra, and this came to mind. I knew it would be easy to remember, but I realised it was also, more importantly, TRUE.
Secondly, it’s easy to put into action, which means you can read this over breakfast have done it by teatime. Or at the very least, made a list of what needs to be done - and that, dear friends, is already half the battle.
Over the years I have seen my own aphorism requoted, with different colours added (notably pink) but believe me when I say that doesn’t carry the same decorative weight. Obviously once you have seen it below, you’ll recognise that I had adapted it from the original blue myself, so I’m not claiming complete originality, but I am claiming its application for the world of interiors.
(That phrase, by the way, was often referenced in the late Victorian period although its origins are uncertain. The colour blue has long been associated with loyalty and faithfulness, according to the V&A. Other sources (Wikipedia) claim the blue is meant to baffle the evil eye and protect the bride’s fertility, while others point to the blue dress of the Virgin Mary.)
Anyway, my point is that if you want to bring a room together, finish it off and generally give it the missing va-va-voom, this is what you need to have:
Something new, something old, something black and something gold.
It really is that simple.
Do it in any room and you will instantly make it better.
And here’s how:
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