Bid farewell to feature walls, lose the lace curtains and bin the bath mat: some resolutions for 2009, courtesy of ZITA SPRING.
JANUARY IS TRADITIONALLY the time of year for resolutions and good intentions, such as making lists of all the DIY and decorating you’re going to undertake in the coming year. For example, this year I intend to paint my living room walls a slightly different shade of grey; to plant something – anything – in the garden; to replace the curtain poles in every room; and to redecorate the hall and stairs entirely. Oh, and the bathroom ceiling could use a fresh lick of paint.
With 12 months stretching out before me, these goals seem infinitely achievable. My confidence is somewhat displaced, though, by the knowledge that these very tasks were on my January 2008 To Do list. And my January 2007 one.
If you too find it tricky to make time for home improvements, it’s worth noting that there are quick, easy and relatively inexpensive steps you can take to remedy common decorating blunders, and make your home feel instantly rejuvenated. When it comes to what you should and shouldn’t be doing around the house in 2009, read on for a few home truths.
Ditch the lace curtains
There probably aren’t many reading this for whom the news that lace curtains are a design no-no comes as a revelation. However, despite being widely regarded as frumpy and old-fashioned, lace curtains remain remarkably popular all across Ireland because of their one and only redeeming feature – they provide privacy. Our devotion to lace curtains even accompanied 19th-century Irish emigrants to the US, where “Lace Curtain Irish” became a derisory term (still used today) for describing Irish people. Do your bit to improve our international design reputation by ditching your gloomy lace curtains and replacing them with linen sheers. Daylight streams beautifully through floaty, translucent sheer curtains, and long, floor-skimming sheers look especially elegant.
Rethink bathroom mats
The primary function of a bath mat is to stop you from slipping and breaking your neck after taking a bath or shower. Beyond that, trying to make any style statements with a bath mat is best forgotten about.
Keep mats neutral or in colours that co-ordinate with your bathroom’s existing scheme – a burgundy bath mat in an aqua bathroom will never look anything other than bizarre. I would dance a merry jig if I never again saw something for which many, many folk have a curious propensity – the toilet rug. Not only does wrapping a furry rug around your loo look dreadful, but it’s unhygienic, so ring in the New Year by ringing out the toilet rug and bidding it adieu.
Don’t point all your furniture at the telly
In an episode of television show Friends, a woman tells Joey that she doesn’t own a TV and he responds, “You don’t own a TV? What’s all your furniture pointed at?” highlighting a classic decorating faux pas – positioning living room furniture in a way that prioritises technology and hinders social interaction. Rearranging your livingroom furniture so that some of it faces away from the television and towards each other instead will completely change the energy of the space, making it feel friendlier and more welcoming.
Use rugs to define a space, not confuse it
Rugs are the perfect thing to add texture and warmth to a room, and can be a great way to introduce colour or pattern. The right-sized rug can really bring a room together, but get it wrong and the whole space will seem off-kilter. In a living room, a rug should be large enough to at least stop short of or fit under the front legs of the surrounding furniture – this way the rug unifies the seating area instead of “floating” in the middle of the room. In a dining room, a rug should be centred under the dining table and be long and wide enough so that when diners push back their chairs, the chairs stay on the rug. In dual purpose rooms, such as open plan living-dining rooms, using a proportionately sized rug in either the “living” or “dining” zone is a great way to distinguish the separate spaces.
Farewell to feature walls
Whether painted or wallpapered, the trend for “feature walls” has bitten the dust. If you fancy using a bold paint colour or dramatic wallpaper in 2009, be brave and use it on every wall. These days, opting to gussy up only one wall looks noncommittal and, in the case of wallpapers, as if you were too cheap to do the rest of the room.
Don’t play by the rules all the time
Home decoration can be a great way to showcase your taste but, more important than that, your home should be the place where you feel comfortable and happy. Interior design rules (even the ones outlined above) exist merely as guidelines, and you should never compromise your own personal style just to conform to the ideals proposed by experts.
Slavishly following every single interior design rule can result in an uninspired, impersonal space, so don’t be afraid to flout some rules and embrace your own individuality – after all, that’s what sets Irish homes apart from those in the rest of the world.
That, and lace curtains.