Change can be good.
When it comes to decorating our homes, though, change can be scary.
Designer Stephen Saint-Onge doesn’t think it needs to be that way.
Saint-Onge relies on fast, inexpensive methods all the time in the rooms he redecorates as one of the designers on the TLC series “While You Were Out,” which surprises homeowners with two-day, $1,500 room makeovers. He shared some of his ideas during a recent appearance at the opening of the Expo Design Center in Lyndhurst, Ohio.The goal, Saint-Onge said, shouldn’t be to try to reproduce the latest look, but to create a room that you find livable. Styles and tastes change, but you will be happiest in a room that reflects your own likes and interests. “I’m all about doing your own thing,” he said.
That’s well within most people’s abilities, he believes. In fact, he finds that many of the people who come to him for decorating advice are already on the right track. Often they’re feeling insecure because their vision doesn’t match what they see in magazines or on TV, he said, and they just need a little reassurance and a few ideas to help them pull the look together.
One of the simplest changes, Saint-Onge said, is merely rearranging the furniture.
If you can, take everything out of the room first. Sometimes seeing the room empty can help you envision its potential, he said.
Don’t feel the need to put everything back in, however. Saint-Onge, who has private clients in the New York City area and also provides design help via e-mail through his Web site, www.inhomestyle.com, said many of the people he works with have a hard time letting go of objects. The result is rooms that are cluttered and unfocused.
“Get rid of what doesn’t work in the space,” he urged. “Get down to basics.”
Another easy change is paint, Saint-Onge said. Paint is cheap, yet it can make a dramatic difference in a room. If you don’t like it, he said, you can just try again.
Most important, he said, don’t be afraid to try. If you make a mistake, treat it as a challenge. Sometimes the problems he encounters end up yielding the best results, he said.
He recalled painting the walls of a study blood red in one “While You Were Out” makeover, and the result was appropriately horrifying. The show’s tight schedule and limited budget don’t allow for a lot of starting over, so Saint-Onge hit on the idea of putting rosewood stain over the paint.
“Do you know I’ve received hundreds of e-mails from people who are actually copying that process?” he said.
Apparently, those people don’t find change scary.
