Expensive yet Bad Decorating Ideas
Should you follow today's hot decorating trends to make your place look au courant? Probably not.
I've held off decorating my house since moving here three years ago. Around the time I moved, I saw the magic that happened when the hoarder house I grew up in got cleaned out: it looked like a home. A year later, got rid of a bunch of stuff and decamped to another state. Flush with cash in a low cost of living area full of beautiful antiques, I...got rid of more stuff. I had ataxaphobia (fear of clutter--everything is a condition nowadays) and most of my pictures are still stacked in the extra room.
My fear of clutter has subsided enough on its own that I've thought about decorating. I have lots of decorating magazines (I bought them a few years ago for normative cues as to what a house should look like inside), watched several decorating videos, and formed some opinions.
Should you knock out the wall to your kitchen? Probably not. If your kitchen and adjoining room are small and cramped, this might be a good idea. Otherwise, there are several downsides. Someone in the next room trying to read a book, have a conversation, watch a movie, make a Youtube video or do anything else requiring quiet and concentration will have to hear the dishwasher, the garbage disposal, the faucet, clanging pots and pans, and any and all conversations coming from the kitchen. In some houses, they'll be treated to the sound of the washer, dryer and gurgling drain. On occasion, they'll get smoke from burning food or a greasy broiler and the smell of oven cleaner and Pine-Sol. Yes, it opens up the area, which works in some houses, but makes others look like a warehouse. You might scoff at all this, but when I hosted a Coffee & Conversation meetup in Denver, the shop had an open concept and noise from the coffee grinder and the filter being whacked free of coffee grounds was a nuisance. The open concept grade school I went to didn't have an open kitchen, but the constant noise gave me a constant headache. If your kitchen seems cramped, think about decluttering and better lighting before tearing out a wall.
Should you take the doors off your cupboards? Sure, if you have nothing but pretty dishes. (If so, who are you?) My cupboards have plain dishes, canning supplies, plastic storage containers, mixers, mixing bowls, spices, vitamins, and too many other cooking supplies to list. I've never seen a kitchen that was otherwise. I can arrange all that to look nice for company, or just close the cupboard doors.
What about a white slipcovered couch? No. They don't even look good new, in my opinion. Compare them to a traditionally upholstered couch--they're wrinkled. And good luck keeping them white. Long ago, I went to an estate sale in an upper middle class neighborhood and bought a new-looking couch. Twenty-three years later, it's in good shape except for the upholstery. I'm making a slipcover for it--not in white or a solid color.
Is cheap furniture a good deal? Sure, if it's good quality, say, from a high-end estate sale. But stapled, particle-board furniture is basically disposable. When I lived in Denver, it was so expensive to have the trash collectors haul off old furniture that a dining room set stayed in my basement for years. I couldn't give it away there. Even Goodwill won't take that stuff. But I've never regretted spending money on high-quality furniture--not the couch, not the dresser I spent five months' savings on in my teens, not the antique vanity I refinished. But the few cheap, junky pieces I bought were mistakes.
Minimalism? If it floats your boat, that's great: it's inexpensive, easy to keep clean, and easier to pack up and move. Personally, I got rid of stuff that didn't "spark joy" rather than discard things to achieve a minimalist aesthetic. (See The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.) I don't like clutter, but the opposite isn't my style, either.
Sleek, shiny surfaces and neutrals? These can look spectacular when they're new, but as with the white slipcovered couch, how are they going to age? Even if you're careful, furniture gets dings and dents. Anything sleek and shiny shows every imperfection. In ten years' time, gently used traditional furniture in a soft or cheerfully colored room will still be nice. Furniture with obvious imperfections on a dingy background sounds depressing. Speaking of neutrals...my kitchen was yellow and gray when I moved in. When I painted it blue and white, I was struck by how much cleaner it looked. It wasn't the yellow; my last house was painted yellow in the living area and I loved it.
Traditional, well made furniture is a good bet for most people. It goes with most architecture, ages well and probably won't look outdated in ten years. Add some different accessories and it doesn't have to look average or stodgy.
Shabby chic has become a classic--it's good as long as it's not so shabby that you need a tetanus shot. It's supposed to look like it was done, cleverly, on a budget. Its cousin is Bohemian chic; it's shabby chic's wild cousin. Industrial is interesting, but doesn't work with most architecture and, oddly, the furnishings are pretty spendy despite being inspired by old warehouses. I'm going to industrial boho in my basement: I have exposed foundation and beams, and there's something about paisley and mosquito netting and quirky lamps that captures my imagination.
I've held off decorating my house since moving here three years ago. Around the time I moved, I saw the magic that happened when the hoarder house I grew up in got cleaned out: it looked like a home. A year later, got rid of a bunch of stuff and decamped to another state. Flush with cash in a low cost of living area full of beautiful antiques, I...got rid of more stuff. I had ataxaphobia (fear of clutter--everything is a condition nowadays) and most of my pictures are still stacked in the extra room.
My fear of clutter has subsided enough on its own that I've thought about decorating. I have lots of decorating magazines (I bought them a few years ago for normative cues as to what a house should look like inside), watched several decorating videos, and formed some opinions.
Should you knock out the wall to your kitchen? Probably not. If your kitchen and adjoining room are small and cramped, this might be a good idea. Otherwise, there are several downsides. Someone in the next room trying to read a book, have a conversation, watch a movie, make a Youtube video or do anything else requiring quiet and concentration will have to hear the dishwasher, the garbage disposal, the faucet, clanging pots and pans, and any and all conversations coming from the kitchen. In some houses, they'll be treated to the sound of the washer, dryer and gurgling drain. On occasion, they'll get smoke from burning food or a greasy broiler and the smell of oven cleaner and Pine-Sol. Yes, it opens up the area, which works in some houses, but makes others look like a warehouse. You might scoff at all this, but when I hosted a Coffee & Conversation meetup in Denver, the shop had an open concept and noise from the coffee grinder and the filter being whacked free of coffee grounds was a nuisance. The open concept grade school I went to didn't have an open kitchen, but the constant noise gave me a constant headache. If your kitchen seems cramped, think about decluttering and better lighting before tearing out a wall.
Should you take the doors off your cupboards? Sure, if you have nothing but pretty dishes. (If so, who are you?) My cupboards have plain dishes, canning supplies, plastic storage containers, mixers, mixing bowls, spices, vitamins, and too many other cooking supplies to list. I've never seen a kitchen that was otherwise. I can arrange all that to look nice for company, or just close the cupboard doors.
What about a white slipcovered couch? No. They don't even look good new, in my opinion. Compare them to a traditionally upholstered couch--they're wrinkled. And good luck keeping them white. Long ago, I went to an estate sale in an upper middle class neighborhood and bought a new-looking couch. Twenty-three years later, it's in good shape except for the upholstery. I'm making a slipcover for it--not in white or a solid color.
Is cheap furniture a good deal? Sure, if it's good quality, say, from a high-end estate sale. But stapled, particle-board furniture is basically disposable. When I lived in Denver, it was so expensive to have the trash collectors haul off old furniture that a dining room set stayed in my basement for years. I couldn't give it away there. Even Goodwill won't take that stuff. But I've never regretted spending money on high-quality furniture--not the couch, not the dresser I spent five months' savings on in my teens, not the antique vanity I refinished. But the few cheap, junky pieces I bought were mistakes.
Minimalism? If it floats your boat, that's great: it's inexpensive, easy to keep clean, and easier to pack up and move. Personally, I got rid of stuff that didn't "spark joy" rather than discard things to achieve a minimalist aesthetic. (See The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.) I don't like clutter, but the opposite isn't my style, either.
Sleek, shiny surfaces and neutrals? These can look spectacular when they're new, but as with the white slipcovered couch, how are they going to age? Even if you're careful, furniture gets dings and dents. Anything sleek and shiny shows every imperfection. In ten years' time, gently used traditional furniture in a soft or cheerfully colored room will still be nice. Furniture with obvious imperfections on a dingy background sounds depressing. Speaking of neutrals...my kitchen was yellow and gray when I moved in. When I painted it blue and white, I was struck by how much cleaner it looked. It wasn't the yellow; my last house was painted yellow in the living area and I loved it.
Traditional, well made furniture is a good bet for most people. It goes with most architecture, ages well and probably won't look outdated in ten years. Add some different accessories and it doesn't have to look average or stodgy.
Shabby chic has become a classic--it's good as long as it's not so shabby that you need a tetanus shot. It's supposed to look like it was done, cleverly, on a budget. Its cousin is Bohemian chic; it's shabby chic's wild cousin. Industrial is interesting, but doesn't work with most architecture and, oddly, the furnishings are pretty spendy despite being inspired by old warehouses. I'm going to industrial boho in my basement: I have exposed foundation and beams, and there's something about paisley and mosquito netting and quirky lamps that captures my imagination.
Comments