Fashion Rules that Apply to Home Decorating
Fashion rules that apply to home decorating is a subject I’ve been wanting to cover for awhile. Yes there are many fashion rules that actually apply to both what you wear and your home.
First things first, if you missed the podcast episode that goes with this post, you can find it here.
EPISODE 81 FASHION RULES THAT APPLY TO YOUR HOME
Here are a few of the fashion rules that apply to your home.
Minimize patterns
For the most part, you don’t want to wear too many patterns, and you don’t want too many patterns in a room. I’m not saying it can’t be done, it can, but it requires skill to pull it off. If you aren’t sure what patterns work together, then you can avoid the problem by not having patterns in the room, or minimizing the patterns. And the fewer patterns in the room, the easier it is to change things out. I have a very neutral living room, so I can add pillows with whatever pattern and color I like and there’s no worry about clashing. Below I have a pattern on the bedding and a pattern on the chair pillow. Those are the only patterns in the room.
Choose a look that works with your personality
If you are a Boho girl, then you’re not going to like dressing in something preppy. You are not going to feel comfortable or at ease. The same goes for your home. If you love color, then don’t worry about having a neutral home. You need to go with a look that works for your personality. It’s your home, it needs to fit you. I love plants, so I’m trying to use live plants and flowers in my home as much as possible.
Have a tailor made look
People typically look great when they are wearing tailor-made clothing. It was made especially for them or altered to fit them to a T. I am not recommending you buy something handmade just for your home; that would be crazy expensive. I am suggesting you try to get a ‘custom look.’ What does that mean? It means that you want to have a home that is suited to you, and not cookie-cutter. That means not buying exactly what everyone else is buying. Add some vintage (one-of-kind) things, add some heirloom pieces and unique pieces that speak to you. I made these slipcovers so they are one-of-a-kind.
Minimize problem areas
We all know what our problem areas are. I’m short-waisted, so my waist is up higher than it is on a ‘normal’ person. If I wear one color for my top and another one for my pants, I can end up looking choppy and short. Wearing the same color top and bottom works best for my shape. Think of your home and what flaws your home has. Try to take the attention away from those areas. So our living room faces the neighbor’s house that is about 10 feet away from our house. We live in the city in a small lot. To minimize that problem area, I only have windows up high on that wall. There’s no view, so I chose not to have large windows, instead I opted for the built-in cabinets below the short windows. That’s right the cabinet is not in front of the window. It’s below the window.
Accentuate the positive
If you have nice legs, then I know you are going to want to show them off. We have really lovely molding around our windows, so want to be able to see that beautiful molding. I’ve kept the window treatments to a minimum so that the molding is exposed. That’s showing off what you’ve got, but not in a way that would make my mom cringe.
I would love to hear any thoughts you have about what fashion rules you use for your home.
Check out today’s podcast episode
EPISODE 84 HOW TO STYLE A HUTCH
That is a great episode! I can’t go all neutral. It’s not in my chemistry. I love wallpaper. It is only 2 rooms …. Just accent walls in my 1927 craftsman cottage. I’ve stayed with appropriate style and colors…
I love your style and have used many of your ideas. Thank you!
Love the ideas from podcast on decorating a hutch! Wow!!!!! Great ideas on dressing your home like fashion!! I love the Friday French episodes I am so fascinated by the french style! Thank you and God bless
a post to which we all can relate! excellent advice and good photos to illustrate
Thank you, Anita! This is a great concept and guideline. It really helps being able to visualize what to do in my house as it would apply to fashion.
Love this post. I have followed you and followed these rules, and they have made such a difference to me. Especially the comment on neutrals and tailoring. I love the neutral look, and I . Come to think of it, my decorating is just like my dressing! I wear very well cut pieces in subdued fabrics (I work in Washington D.C., so this is also what we do here).
I would add to this, don’t be afraid of a statement piece, especially if you are a person who uses neutral a lot. Something fabulous, a piece of bling, beautiful colored shoes, a great handbag. Or a gorgeous chandelier, a beautiful painting, I don’t know. I am not as confident on the decorating!
As I think of it, I realize my decorating mirrors my dressing!
The greatest advice you gave me, Anita, when I had just bought a new house, after moving out of the city, and had way, way too much space to fill, was how to decorate around vintage pieces. This goes to personality. I have always loved old things. That is why I had an old house in the city. Now we have a new house in the suburbs, and I knew that despite how modern the house is, I needed to have old things in the house to feel comfortable. Everyone room has something old. Actually almost every room has a genuine focal point antique – a genuine treasure, a piece of craftsmanship with a story.. And to keep my costs down, I have bought many things secondhand from Craigslist, for instance old recycled pine tables and old jenny lind beds or interesting wood pieces that I have spray painted, even old great bones pieces of upholstered furniture that i have carefully cleaned (like soaked foam in the bathtub over night and completely steamed the frames cleaned!) and then had great new slipcovers made for.
I know that my look is not conventional. It is not the stuff you buy from pottery barn or restoration. And people always look around and kind of go hmmm. what is that, what is that?. . . But it is me. I feel comfortable. New and shiny things make me feel uncomfortable.
I do think that if you pull a lot of pieces together like from many different centuries and different places, and different homes, it is almost imperative to have a unifying theme, which for me is neutral color., including the same color throughout my open floor scheme. I love the restfulness of neutral colors — always have. But they also play a very important role in unifying disparate pieces. Also a fashion hack, as I try to keep to a few colors like black, white, gray and royal blue, and it makes it much easier to mix and match expensive and inexpensive trendy pieces, and to pop a boring dress with a fabulous accessory.
Here is one more fashion hack. I usually wear very well cut dresses from good makers from England (I like them because they are a little longer and cover my knee better than American makers, which I am more comfortable with). But sometimes I find a very inexpensive dress that I nevertheless love. Because I usually wear the more expensive,Lov tailored pieces, I think it covers up the fact thatLove this the dress i am wearing today is a much lower quality. These pieces fall apart quickly, sometimes even after 1 or 2 dry-cleans, the seams start to show, but it does not matter so much, and I just move on from them. I think the same principle can work in a home where you buy some cheap, trendy pillow cases, not expecting to have them for more than a year or 2
Excellent advice Anna. Your home is stunning and you have fabulous home decorating and fashion tips!
While reading Anna’s response I was in awe there was my reply. I am a casual, trendy ready to go girl. Actually, I say girl loosely… A living room w/hereafter style – Country Kitchen – Sun Room, casual mix – Attic Loft (writing rm) – BoHo… Few more but you get the gist… A personality to fit what my day may bring. Our house is a reflection of our lifestyle, husband, self and Suzy Belle, (Shih-Tzu… We downsized bringing collections… Our furniture and art are our genealogy. As a Decorating Warrior, I feel much like a Renassainase Woman. At days end, we enjoy sharing a glass of wine in the living Room… A refreshing feeling knowing we are surrounded by our past and present. We are confronted knowing our legacy is with us and shall remain. Not too bold, neutral, calm, elegant with style and grace. After all, we earned our place now that we have celebrated into the grace of mid 70’s.
LOVE that tabletop !!! I can tell you have an amazingly creative mind.
xx’s
As a teenager, I was taught a point system for dressing. The idea was to be dressed just right, not over or under dressed. The goal was sixteen points. Each garment was a point, two for bright colors or large patterns. Shoes a point. Accessories one point each. Nail polish a point. I use the same idea in dressing my home except depending on the size of the room I use sixteen to twenty points. Each piece of furniture a point. Rugs and curtains one point each. Paint colors other than neutrals a point. Gallery walls two points, three if really large. Accessories or vignettes on tables, one point for each surface decorated. My goal is an interesting, comfy-cozy home that is neither too stark nor too stuffed.
I’m sure your home is beautiful – but WOW – I cannot imagine being so regimented either in my clothing or my home decor. If it works for you, that’s great. I’m not being critical, just again, WOW. I’ve never heard of your point system and I’ve been around 75 years.
Pat, I am 68 and was taught the point system in high school home ec class in Houston. In dressing I only think about it when I am getting dressed up. In our home I have used it a lot after we downsized from two homes and 6900 sq ft to less than 1600 sq ft. Forces me to edit.
As I said, I’m sure both you and your home are dressed and decorated in a lovely manner. I was just astonished and in awe of the math involved. Congratulations on being able to edit 6900 sq ft into 1600. That’s a lot of editing. Thanks for responding to me. We do share a love of Anita’s blog.
Wow, what a change Pam!!
Right on, Anita! Love this post and the interesting comments too! I CAN’T WAIT to see the slipcovers you’re whipping up! (The one’s that would look better at my house than Peggy’s!). ?
Ginger
Your observations make perfect sense to me! I never really thought about comparing my taste in clothing to my taste in decor but I like classic/traditional in both! For the most part that means I buy things that I love that aren’t likely to be “out of style” next year. That said, that doesn’t mean my house or my wardrobe looks like my grandmas!
Really good tips that make sense. I am trying to decorate my home to be an expression of me and what I love. I am repainting my display shelves a light Aleutian blue (Sherwin Williams) , and will place my white, and blue and white ironstone pitchers on them when I am finished. I am really looking forward to the podcast on decorating a hutch! (or shelf–in my case!) ( I am a little behind on listening to the podcasts.)
I love farmhouse style and am a farmer’s daughter, so I am keeping true to my roots. I am planning on adding ship lap to my home and decorating in a lot of white. I love antiques and agree totally with you, that adding an antique in a room gives it uniqueness and quality.
Thanks, Anita, for all you share! I love it!
Some awesome tips here, I love the design ideas! #MM
Home decor is my weak area but since I’ve been blogging I have found some of the very best advice such as this! We just bought a bigger home and are currently shopping antique stores diligently for furniture pieces to fill spaces and create character at the same time. I have been worried about mixing woods and tones but think it will be just fine!. So glad you share with us at Merry Monday.
What a great post and what great comments!