Advice from Mimi Reilly
By Never teh BrideAs you can probably imagine, I subscribe to a lot of magazines that focus on the making of a home. I adore being given a window into the houses of people with a lot more money, time, and creativity than I happen to have right now because I’m inspired to make my own house that much nicer and more comfortable. More often than not, however, I’m dismayed to learn that the individual being interviewed did not choose his or her own color schemes, furniture, and accessories, but rather employed the services of a professional who chose everything. How, I wonder, does that help the rest of us who have aspirations of chicness, but not the money to outsource our homes?
That’s why I was pleased to read this piece of advice from Mimi Reilly in Real Life Decorating:
“You’ve got to have a sense of yourself,” she says, “what makes you happy, what makes you tick. And then you have to make the leap: You have to trust yourself.”
In an interview, Reilly shared other, more specific tips like “Keep things a little quirky” and “Focus on the details,” but that first quote just nails it for me. Last week in the comments, the lovely class-factotum brought up the difference between being fashionable and being stylish. When you have a sense of yourself and you trust in that sense, stylishness will inevitably follow. You may not always be fashionable, but who cares about that?
Let’s say you want to integrate the side table below into your generally old fashioned decor…
Ask yourself if you love it, if you’ll use it, and if you think it will look sharp in the spot you’d like to put it. If the answer is yes to all three, but you’re worried about whether or not other people will like it or approve of it, worry no more. Trust yourself and your sensibilities, and YOU will create a home YOU adore. That’s what’s really important, right? You, after all, are the one who has to live there!
August 18th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
The outsourcing of the home design is a sad thing especially where I live now because every other home is the same, soul-less, zen-like stupor inducing copy of every other home.
It’s like the same group of ID people got together and decided that they would see how much white, off-white, black, neutral and accent walls in fire engine red the world could take. Not to forget the clean lines, mirrors on everything, stainless steel, pebbles and exposed concrete. It’s a cold-look that might work for singles but for homes with kids it just doesn’t.
It’s surprises many of my friends that we chose everything ourselves and painted, assembled, repaired, improved, landscaped and regularly rearrange the place without professional advise.
But it my home damn it, and I’ll do it my way!
August 19th, 2008 at 11:09 am
I think that’s what drives me nuts about decorating advice that’s all about resale value. People get scared to paint a wall a color they love because it might make someone else not want to buy the house later. Well what about wanting to live in the house you have? Furniture can move with you, paint is quick and cheap to redo, and you should love your own home.
Some people have been horrified when I tell them of my plans to turn my kitchen into Pepperland from Yellow Submarine. They worry the next people to live here won’t be Beatles fans. Well, the people who live here now are Beatles fans who love the outrageous. When we get done with the room, there will be nice floors, nice counters, more cabinet space than you can shake a stick at (we actually have that part right now), and plenty of light. The walls and cabinet doors can be redone any way the next people want them to be at minimal expense. Mr. Twistie and I aren’t going anywhere, so we want a home we love.
August 20th, 2008 at 8:07 am
We are the same way with our own home. We’re not planning on leaving that house unless it’s in an ambulance or a pine box, so we’re decorating it the way that we want to, and don’t give a sweet damn about any potential subsequent owners.
Part of the front of the house is faced with sandstone, and right above the door, and also above the window, we have two 6-foot long pieces of sandstone, which were lovingly engraved by my husband. The piece above the window bears the verse “A house is made with walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.” The piece above the door has our initials, framed by natural, windblown-looking maple leaves. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/24208698@N06/sets/72157606850107394/)
Professional decorators would be horrified that we put our freaking initials on the house…in STONE, no less. But, we’re planning on being there for many decades (inshallah), so we’re not really worried about what the next owners may think.
Besides if they’re good people, maybe they’ll find it charming.
August 24th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Thanks for the shout out!
My friend Ilene shares the same decorating philosophy as you guys: she decorates to her taste, which means her house has red walls, deep, rich furniture colors, bold rugs — and it is STUNNING. I would not have hesitated to buy a house like hers, even though I prefer light walls. Maybe what people look for is a beautiful home, not one that looks like a hotel!