New Beginnings - OpenRoad Driver

InteriorsHow NOTto Decorateby Bruce M. ForsterWe all think thatit’s so simpleto decorateour homes. Don’t youjust go to the store,pick out things thatyou like and can afford,bring them home, andvoilà? You’re all done.Sometimes it’s not thatsimple.Melissa, a very good doctor friend ofmine, has lots of taste and lots of creditcards to match. She called me the otherday, almost in tears. She had just arrangedto have the third sofa picked up fromher house to be returned to the store. “Ican’t take this any more. There must bea simpler way,” she cried into the phone.“Indeed, there is,” I replied. “Don’t worry.Help is on the way.”After an hour and a half of walkingMelissa around one of the better furniturestores, we had found the perfect sofa:the right colour, the right size, the rightfabric for her room and the right price.She ordered a special order sofa, normallysomething that she wouldn’t do. Therewas a promotion, so Melissa actually savedmoney even after paying for my services.Sometimes all you need is a dispassionateand educated eye. Plus the ability tolisten to the key issues of the problem andoffer creative solutions. Melissa talked, Ilooked and listened, and now she is a veryhappy girl.The Top 6 Don’ts ofHow Not to Decorate:1. Don’t assume that the furniture thatlooks good in the store will always lookgood in your house.2. Don’t go shopping before you doyour homework. Measure the space foryour furniture to make sure you don’tget something too big, or worse, too little.Put together a purse/pocket-sized colourlibrary with all of the key colours. Thiswill make colour matching and coordinatingmuch easier.3. Don’t attempt to duplicate thelook of magazine photographs.These pictures are meant to look beautifuland seductive. However, they haveOpenRoad driver |36always been styled and very often evenrearranged for the camera’s eye. Never tryto duplicate the exact colour on the wallseither because, more often than not, it hasbeen fiddled in the printing process.4. Don’t always buy the cheapestthing you can find. It is very temptingto buy what seems to be a bargain.However, most furniture bargains areof inferior quality and won’t stand up todaily wear and tear. Always buy the bestthat you can afford even if it means doingwithout something else for a little longer.Quality will always pay for itself over time.5. Don’t be afraid of colour. Paintis one of the most reasonable decoratingtools and one of the easiest ways tochange the look of your room. A roomcan be transformed in one day from draband dreary to exciting and invigorating.There is no such thing as a wrongcolour, only the wrong use of a colour.For colours with lots of intensity, usemore muted shades to gain a softer effectin your space. Here is one place thatlooking at magazines can really pay off.It is so much easier to visualize a colourif you can see it already used. Do keepin mind what I have already said aboutmagazines above.6. Don’t be intimidated by the decoratingprocess. Making a house a homeis one of the most rewarding experiencesyou can have and, it should be a pleasurableone. So, do your homework, prepare for it totake time, and don’t be afraid to ask for help.