With all three of her grown children trying to spruce up their homes at once, Bette Rosenberg, a former interior designer, finds herself dispensing advice on how to decorate without a decorator. Among her suggestions:
– Know when to say goodbye. Don`t build a decorating scheme around a big, expensive piece of furniture you no longer like. Relegate it to the basement or guest room.
”Bite the bullet,” Rosenberg says. ”I don`t think there`s anything harder than saying goodbye to old furniture, and I have the basement to prove it. But you have to know when to start fresh.”
– Start a file. Save tearsheets from decorating magazines of rooms you love, as well as of furnishings, wall coverings, window treatments and accessories. Study the pictures for what they have in common until you can comfortably describe your decorating style.
– Give each room a job. Or several jobs: Should the dining room be a home office during the day? Will the bedroom include a bicycle and rowing machine? List the priorities, because if the bedroom is to contain the rowing machine, the television and a desk for paying the bills, something may have to wait.
– For each room, list the furnishings you need. Then, working with a floor plan, list the things you need immediately. Are your guests still balancing paper plates on their laps? Are you reading in the dark?
”If you have a baby, that affects your priorities,” Rosenberg says.
”Otherwise, start with the biggest pieces; in the bedroom, do the windows first, for privacy.”
– Assign target prices to the ”need” list. Will a $1,000 sofa break the bank, or can you invest $4,000 in something down-filled and superb?
”A decent sofa costs $599 and up, and at that price it won`t last 10 years,” Rosenberg warns. ”Carpeting starts at $16 to $18 a yard. Lamps are a minimum of $50 each. And we`re not talking about what it costs to paint the walls.”
Her advice: ”If you fall in love with an expensive piece, write it down, then try to find the same look for less. Don`t fall for that myth that it`s better to have one great piece of furniture and nothing else.”
– Split the project into phases. Start in the area you`ll use the most, such as a family room, and end with rooms you see less often, perhaps a bedroom.
– Use color sparingly. Buy the biggest pieces of furniture in neutral colors, Rosenberg says, saving hot reds or floral prints for lampshades, throw pillows or vases.
But don`t underestimate the punch of those small pieces; they express personality more than anything else in a room. ”People will spend money on unique and special items more than on things they need, like window treatments and sofas,” Rosenberg says. ”We sell a gargoyle we call Harry for $75. Nobody in the world needs to have this, yet it`s one of our best-selling accessories.”
