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DECORATING “ DON’TS” PART II
Last weeks column went head long into
some common practices that detract from good design. Please bear with me
while I add to that list, and then I promise to explore the “must do”
aspects next week. Let’s begin with wall décor.
Don’t hang your artwork too high from the floor, or over your tables,
credenzas and mantles. Art should be joined with the object below it, so
that it looks like one unified display. Hang art somewhere between six
inches, and up to ten inches for large pieces, above the furniture or
sofa. If it hangs alone on the wall or hallway, keep the center of the
art about five feet from the floor.
Don’t display DVD’s, CD’s, or kids books in the main living areas. Even
though they are the same size and can be stacked neatly, they form a
series of lines of varying colors that appear as a busy pattern. Keep
them neat, but concealed, so that your accessories draw the proper
attention.
Don’t stack magazines or books, except for maybe one art book, on the
coffee table. Just as CD’s and DVD’s distract our focus, extraneous
reading material should be concealed. A coffee table, like a mantle, is
a focal display element in a room, and should hold one to three well
thought out accessories that help to unify the colors, theme, and feel
of a room.
Don’t hang onto the metal mini-blinds that were the mainstay twenty
years ago. Yes they are functional, in a clinical, dentist’s waiting
room, sort of way, but they do nothing to add softness, style or zing to
your window treatments. Opt for the style and function of cellular
shades, wooden blinds and verticals and woven shades made of natural
reeds.
Don’t display everyday toiletries on the vanity countertops, or on top
of the toilet tank. Sectional plastic organizers can be placed in the
drawers for makeup, lotions, razors and toothpaste. Just a few pleasing
accessories will make the counters easier to keep clean, and with a
slick surface, you will feel less frazzled in the morning rush.
Don’t leave your bed unmade all day. Make it a habit to pull up the
sheets, blanket, and bedcover as soon as your feet hit the floor. It
takes about sixty seconds to make the bed, and the payoff is a pulled
together room that looks inviting.
Don’t spend a lot of money and effort buying brass switch plates
throughout the house. They may be may be more durable, but they draw
your eye like a magnet to one of home decors’ worst features; the
electrical cord. Why not buy inexpensive metal plates that can be
painted with the same color as the walls, so that these little
necessities are blended away into the background instead of screaming
their presence.
If you attend to a number of the minor problems we’ve been discussing,
you will be amazed how your rooms will look and feel reborn.
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