Times are tough and the last thing any of us wants to do is make an expensive decorating mistake like mine: buying a corner lounge suite which just didn’t work in my home. Luckily it’s with some loving new owners now and suits their house perfectly. With so many issues to take into account when making changes at home it’s easy to get a bit overwhelmed, so here’s a selection of the things you ask most often, and some answers we hope will be of help.
New room
How can I adapt my deck to be usable in winter? It still gets sun during the day and has a decent roof so it stays dry.There are lots of ways to do this. You are very lucky if your deck isn’t vulnerable to winter weather. You could start by looking into the use of outdoor blinds or retractable awnings to fill in any open sides or ends. After that, decorate as you would inside with outdoor or cane furniture and lots of rugs and cushions.
Go green
What’s a good colour scheme for a family room? We have a lot of light-coloured furniture so should we go with cream or white – or be more adventurous?The first thing to remember is that a family room should feel spacious and relaxing, so it’s not the place to go trying out high-fashion colours – or at least not on a grand scale. What about a pretty, soft green for the walls and maybe wooden blinds that match your furniture. You can’t go wrong with a soft, sage green. This versatile shade can be diluted or intensified to meet your needs.
Lighten up
*My living room is really dark at nights and I find it hard to read by the light of the central fitting. How can I make it brighter and more relaxing?
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It’s fashionable these days to have many different sources of light coming together in a complementary fashion to illuminate a room. Try a standard lamp with an adjustable head behind or beside places where you might read or sew or whatever else relaxes you. Table lamps can be dotted around on shelves and other units while the addition of some down-lights in the ceiling may help too.
Practical zoning
We have a long and narrow combined living and dining room which looks nice but sometimes has a bit of a gymnasium feel to it. We don’t want to put in a dividing wall but there must be some other ways of making it less “large”.
The trick is to somehow divide it into sections, allocating a function to each one. Perhaps you could group a set of sofas around the TV area, effectively making a little “snug”. The dining area could be bordered by room dividers or open cabinets, and in another area it might be possible to set up a home office.
Classic bolds
How do I make sure my expensive new bathroom won’t date quickly? I know about choosing white fittings but can you think of anything else I should bear in mind?
Once you have classic white basins, bath and toilet the rest isn’t quite so important. For example, you might choose to wallpaper this time around with a bold modern print or an elegant baroque example. If this look is “out” in another five years, you can simply opt to paint over it.
Whiter shade of pale
*How can I brighten up a boring white kitchen? We’re just starting out and the house was expensive so we can’t do anything too drastic.
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The answer lies in your accessories – and there is no shortage of choices out there. From tea towels to tiles, there are colours and patterns to make your home sing. Can you paint the walls? If the joinery itself is simple and white, any colour could be used to bring that kitchen of yours alive!
