Don't make design decisions based purely on practicality and resale. Your home should be a best friend you want to hang out with – not your work colleagues or parents.
I'm drawn to florals and am always trying to fight it because I go round to my friend's nice Scandi houses and think ooh this is what I want.....then I see a granny floral and I am pulled in again! Really want to get some floral curtains but keep panicking about the cost of them and fearing I'll get them and think what have I done?! Your post really resonates...as you can probably tell.
My parents have the most beautiful floral curtains, that now don't "go" with their current decor, but because they are so beautiful, they make the decor work with them!
Currently I am prepping a house for sale in Australia and the presentation company is changing all the interior pendant lights, including those in the bedrooms, to flush mount LED down lights. I immediately thought that sounded disgusting but ok I won't be living there, their response was "We often do it to bring in more light, sometimes the way we sell and the way we live are different". Yes, I thought, as you have just perfectly demonstrated. Therefore I won't be decorating my current home with any future sale in mind as I do not wish to live in a pharmacy or be transported to the surface of the sun every time I turn on a light.
Don't get me started. Have they not thought of changing the bulbs? I made the mistake of equipping my 8 arm chandelier with some new led bulbs without checking the lumens and I suspect that until I blindly fumbled to turn it off it was momentarily visible from space...I bet they'd love that for an open house.
Brilliant. So funny and so, so true, Sharon. In that split second when the Hubble Telescope focused on your light fitting, did the electricity grid stutter for a moment?
Thank you Kate, so very true. Sometimes neutral is needed but do it with commitment and confidence, not as an afterthought.
Even large neutral (bland?) spaces can be lifted by strong colour features. These don’t have to be paint or wallpaper but can be artwork, rugs, furniture etc.
When putting artwork into a space I always find out who the space is intended for and for what purpose.
Is it for the client, their family or to impress visitors? If they want a particular theme or effect then a neutral space can be transformed by the extras used.
The neutral background can also provide an excellent canvas for display of finery.
I’m in the agonizingly slow midst of renovating my whole condo, but the upside of only completing a room or two a year is I have time to sit with decisions.
I just recently made the bold choice that my kitchen backsplash will be a colourful tile, maybe patterned, even.
I’m very excited about my little rebellion from all-white everything.
I love that carpet Kate! And always decorate your home for you, the number of clients that share their ideas with me based on what they’re friend, mother or neighbour thinks they should do. 🤦🏻♀️
There have been advances made in paint, for sure, but it is still a hugely expensive, messy and time and space consuming project. It’s also easy to get wrong, mostly by mistakes made in prep. Paint that look good on day one may look terrible in three months.
Cabinets are so expensive that unless the ones in question are beyond redemption otherwise, painting them should still really be a job for the pros/super handy diyers imo. The kinds of finishes that last (2k) aren’t very friendly.
But also did you see Lisa Dawson’s kitchen at her old house? She painted her cabinets almost every year and changed the whole look of the kitchen! Looked fab every time 👌
She did. And they looked great. The paint is much better now. I’ve got a piece coming up with Little Greene’s creative director who has just painted her whole kitchen - walls, tiles, cupboards and all.
Hurry up with that one, Kate. I have a much hated white kitchen which I don’t want to replace. Scared of ending up with a “Roger the Bodger” effect if I paint it.
I so agree that anyone in their right mind would redocorate a new house to their taste. And also about the importance of living somewhere that reflects what YOU like!
I felt this way a few months ago and decided to throw caution to the wind and imbibe my hallways with personality. However, I think I blew it! It’s just paint, but it’ll be a project to undo my lapse in judgement. The colour, in case anyone is interested, is a deep purple by Farrow and Ball.
Please don’t let it stop you from doing something you really like though.
In my old house I used a colour which, to this day, I love: Thai Sapphire by Little Greene. It was a disaster in situ - just too deep and saturated. It made the room look like a dungeon. And not in a good way.
(Note to self - and to Kate: is there a good way for a dungeon to look..?).
But I went with Juniper Ash as the replacement (despite my sister urging something “classic”). I bloody loved that room afterwards.
I have gone “safe” in my current sitting room and it’s just so pleasant. In the blandest way possible without being all-out creams and beiges. And I regret it but just don’t have the money to pay someone to repaint it at the moment. I read somewhere today that “houses are hungry things”. Mine has been ravenous in the two years since I bought it. I’m going to be brave. Just not this summer!
You’re absolutely right! I definitely won’t be playing safe all the time, as I don’t want a bland home. My hallways are already very dark, but I thought I’d listen to the “just embrace the darkness” advice and go with a dark colour. I also wanted a different colour. Well-intentioned but it’s too dark and I’m already sick of the colour! Where I really messed up was not doing enough sample boards, to really think it through. I impulsively went for it and am now stuck with it as my husband might in fact kill me. It would take a full weekend of elbow grease on his part and apparently my painting skills aren’t up to snuff.
Completely agree - home is where YOU live and it can feel deeply jarring and inauthentic to come home every day to decor that is ‘tasteful’ but not your style at all
I'm drawn to florals and am always trying to fight it because I go round to my friend's nice Scandi houses and think ooh this is what I want.....then I see a granny floral and I am pulled in again! Really want to get some floral curtains but keep panicking about the cost of them and fearing I'll get them and think what have I done?! Your post really resonates...as you can probably tell.
You keep coming back to it. It’s clearly calling you. Do it. It will make you happy.
Thanks Kate! Absolutely love your Substack!
If you hate them(which you won’t) you can make/get new ones. Let your heart sing (said the girl with floral curtains)
Let the floral curtain community rejoice!
I think you’ll love them and they’ll make your heart happy! And you’ll wonder, as Kate says, why didn’t I do this ages ago. Go for it!! 🥰🙌
You are right!
My parents have the most beautiful floral curtains, that now don't "go" with their current decor, but because they are so beautiful, they make the decor work with them!
It's so true....build the room around the curtains! They are a bigger expense than a sofa in most cases!
Currently I am prepping a house for sale in Australia and the presentation company is changing all the interior pendant lights, including those in the bedrooms, to flush mount LED down lights. I immediately thought that sounded disgusting but ok I won't be living there, their response was "We often do it to bring in more light, sometimes the way we sell and the way we live are different". Yes, I thought, as you have just perfectly demonstrated. Therefore I won't be decorating my current home with any future sale in mind as I do not wish to live in a pharmacy or be transported to the surface of the sun every time I turn on a light.
That made me laugh but also what a waste to make the selling presentation so different from the living presentation.
Don't get me started. Have they not thought of changing the bulbs? I made the mistake of equipping my 8 arm chandelier with some new led bulbs without checking the lumens and I suspect that until I blindly fumbled to turn it off it was momentarily visible from space...I bet they'd love that for an open house.
Sounds like it would be right up their street!!
Brilliant. So funny and so, so true, Sharon. In that split second when the Hubble Telescope focused on your light fitting, did the electricity grid stutter for a moment?
Had I not reached the switch fast enough I'm sure it would have shut down the whole town.
I have preached this for 50 + years.
Thank you Kate, so very true. Sometimes neutral is needed but do it with commitment and confidence, not as an afterthought.
Even large neutral (bland?) spaces can be lifted by strong colour features. These don’t have to be paint or wallpaper but can be artwork, rugs, furniture etc.
When putting artwork into a space I always find out who the space is intended for and for what purpose.
Is it for the client, their family or to impress visitors? If they want a particular theme or effect then a neutral space can be transformed by the extras used.
The neutral background can also provide an excellent canvas for display of finery.
You make my day 🥳
Hear, hear!
I’m in the agonizingly slow midst of renovating my whole condo, but the upside of only completing a room or two a year is I have time to sit with decisions.
I just recently made the bold choice that my kitchen backsplash will be a colourful tile, maybe patterned, even.
I’m very excited about my little rebellion from all-white everything.
That sounds great. You must share with us what you have chosen. X
It’s a while off yet, but I most certainly will!
I love that carpet Kate! And always decorate your home for you, the number of clients that share their ideas with me based on what they’re friend, mother or neighbour thinks they should do. 🤦🏻♀️
There have been advances made in paint, for sure, but it is still a hugely expensive, messy and time and space consuming project. It’s also easy to get wrong, mostly by mistakes made in prep. Paint that look good on day one may look terrible in three months.
Cabinets are so expensive that unless the ones in question are beyond redemption otherwise, painting them should still really be a job for the pros/super handy diyers imo. The kinds of finishes that last (2k) aren’t very friendly.
But also did you see Lisa Dawson’s kitchen at her old house? She painted her cabinets almost every year and changed the whole look of the kitchen! Looked fab every time 👌
She did. And they looked great. The paint is much better now. I’ve got a piece coming up with Little Greene’s creative director who has just painted her whole kitchen - walls, tiles, cupboards and all.
Hurry up with that one, Kate. I have a much hated white kitchen which I don’t want to replace. Scared of ending up with a “Roger the Bodger” effect if I paint it.
I didn't think I did this, but, I do!! Aaagh
I so agree that anyone in their right mind would redocorate a new house to their taste. And also about the importance of living somewhere that reflects what YOU like!
I felt this way a few months ago and decided to throw caution to the wind and imbibe my hallways with personality. However, I think I blew it! It’s just paint, but it’ll be a project to undo my lapse in judgement. The colour, in case anyone is interested, is a deep purple by Farrow and Ball.
Please don’t let it stop you from doing something you really like though.
In my old house I used a colour which, to this day, I love: Thai Sapphire by Little Greene. It was a disaster in situ - just too deep and saturated. It made the room look like a dungeon. And not in a good way.
(Note to self - and to Kate: is there a good way for a dungeon to look..?).
But I went with Juniper Ash as the replacement (despite my sister urging something “classic”). I bloody loved that room afterwards.
I have gone “safe” in my current sitting room and it’s just so pleasant. In the blandest way possible without being all-out creams and beiges. And I regret it but just don’t have the money to pay someone to repaint it at the moment. I read somewhere today that “houses are hungry things”. Mine has been ravenous in the two years since I bought it. I’m going to be brave. Just not this summer!
You’re absolutely right! I definitely won’t be playing safe all the time, as I don’t want a bland home. My hallways are already very dark, but I thought I’d listen to the “just embrace the darkness” advice and go with a dark colour. I also wanted a different colour. Well-intentioned but it’s too dark and I’m already sick of the colour! Where I really messed up was not doing enough sample boards, to really think it through. I impulsively went for it and am now stuck with it as my husband might in fact kill me. It would take a full weekend of elbow grease on his part and apparently my painting skills aren’t up to snuff.
Completely agree - home is where YOU live and it can feel deeply jarring and inauthentic to come home every day to decor that is ‘tasteful’ but not your style at all
I love this so much!