Designer
Tricks of the Trade
by Sandra S. Soria
Pssst! Want to know a secret? A trade secret, that is? Like any of us with rooms to fill, interior designers are always on the lookout for stylish shortcuts and budget-happy decorating solutions. In fact, when we asked some of our favorite top designers what they would do to get the most design impact for the fewest decorating dollars, it was difficult to narrow down the ideas that spewed forth. But that we did--then we photographed their most clever ideas and present them to you on the following pages.
Jeffrey Bilhuber has done rooms for David Bowie, but this top New York designer's advice is refreshingly down-to-earth: "Buy a can of paint and enjoy yourself."
Brush
up on his tips:
Balance a light wall with a dark floor, or vice versa, so furniture doesn't
appear to float in space. You can dramatize furnishings against a dark
backdrop, but don't black out. Jeffrey suggests picking the darkest shade
of a favorite color, say deep forest green or midnight blue. Enliven a
pale scheme with texture; pep up a dark wall with reflective accents.
Sonja Willman believes in reaping lots of look when she sews. To that end, this St. Louis designer and shop owner looks beyond the fabric store to create focal point window dressings.
"I go to the kitchen, linen closet, and attic for interesting textiles," she says. For material gains on a budget, Sonja frames a small amount of fine, boldly patterned fabric, such as this teacup valance, with subtler "mats" of ticking, solid sheets, or miniprint dress fabric.
Tricia Foley has a money-saving decorating philosophy. "Don't buy more," says the New York-based magazine stylist and author.
"Learn
to live with less. Keep only
what is beautiful and useful."
Even in a small, nondescript bedroom, one focal point piece--a curvy old bed inherited from Grandma or the beautiful armoire you saved to buy--will look better than a room full of mediocre items. Showcase a beautiful wood piece on a white or pale stage. For more drama, Tricia lets wispy mosquito netting fall from the ceiling by cup hooks. "The netting is inexpensive," says Tricia. "It's like instant decorating in a bag." New sheets complete a quick room makeover. Here, Tricia indulges in soft, subtle cottons.
Raymond Waites believes in the Powerful decorating punch of the strikingly beautiful accessory.
"My advice is to put your money into special pieces," says Raymond, president of a design firm that bears his name. "You can buy them at all levels--a lovely reproduction or a flea-market antique.
Don't shop for price; search for something that speaks to you."
This Los Angeles homeowner proves Raymond's point. She lets a curvy pier mirror, purchased for a song at auction, stand alone on a dining room wall. Nearby, a paisley shawl links objects into a still life, dressing up a reproduction quilter's table and import-store wicker.
Designer and TV host Joe Ruggiero would be a shoe-in on a scavenger hunt. He has a knack for turning others' odd leave-behinds into decorative must-haves--note the rusty street sign turned mantel art and the well-traveled valise, now a coffee table. Of course, he has his standards.
"Look
for objects with a pleasing
shape or texture," he says.
Then, for impact, juxtapose the found with the fine. "I wouldn't do a room in bottle caps," he says, "but a surprise or two adds character." Check for scale before inviting a piece in. Though large, the sign's delicate nature doesn't overwhelm the simple mantel.
Designer and BH&G editor in chief Jean LemMon isn't satisfied with an object's status quo. In her '40s cottage, a salvaged mantel becomes a wall shelf, a crochet-edge pillow-case turns into a valance, and hooked rugs hang around as art.
"I'm a believer in recycling," Jean says, "and in having fun. By being inventive with the elements you love, you give rooms character." For impact, Jean gathers objects of the same material in different sizes and shapes, such as a pyramid of primitive benches or a line up of ironstone pitchers. And remember that with collectibles, you get style and meaning to boot.
"One of those pitchers belonged to my grandmother," she says, "the rest to someone else's grandmother. That makes them even more beautiful."
The point, says artist/designer Mary Engelbreit, is not whether life is a bowl of cherries or a "chair of bowlies," as her popular illustration suggests. The point is to play: with words, with images, with furnishings. On Mary's table, flea-market and fine china mingle well at dinner parties because she puts plain patterns next to ornate designs. Her center pieces, too, are clearly having fun. A candlestick is dolled up with salvaged chandelier prisms, while the vase, like the mantel, has been enlivened by her own hands and gold paint.
COPYRIGHT
1996 Meredith Corporation
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group
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