Lifestyle Choices

 

TIME, SPACE AND MONEY

I’ve never been made to work harder than when, for a short period, I was assisting David Hicks, who reputedly charges 1,000 dollars an hour in New York for interior design advice. Hereare some tips for those of you who can’t afford him.

Never take any book on home design too seriously. Your taste and problems might be different from those of the author. And you want to end up with something which you like living in, and which looks as if it was meant to be lived in, not photographed. The civilizing influence in my first home was a small puppy which swiftly grew to the size of a small sofa. By the time the dog had chewed her way round for a week, the place looked far less formal and more relaxed.

From now on buy everything with an eye to maintenance. And when buying furniture lie on beds and sit on chairs and at tables to check that they fit you comfortably.

Upholstery is so expensive that you should try to silicone spray it and don’t expect that to work magic. Loose covers are a great investment. Avoid loose weaves which will hole quickly, or hang unevenly in curtains And avoid regular patterns such as a houndstooth, because these show every mark. A dark or patterned fabric with a dark background is easily the most practicable for upholstery. When you’re looking at it in the shop imagine that sofa with two ineradicable small coffee stains on it and you may see what I mean.

Space-making: If you haven’tmuch room, buy space-makers such as stacking chairs, stacking side tables, stacking stools; flap-up, fold- up or otherwise expanding tables; dual purpose furniture, such as bedsettees or beds with drawers beneath or beds with more beds beneath; cupboards with folding or sliding doors (although sliding doors can be maddening); built-in furniture; plenty of shelves; try a bookshelf in a bathroom or kitchen without enough storage space. Have plain, light- coloured walls with matching curtains, fitted carpets and mirrors.

Walls: Do-it-yourself painting is far easier and cheaper to do — and to change — than wallpapering a room.

Moses didn’t produce a commandment saying that all woodwork should be white, or even that it should be gloss paint. I’ve seen many rooms where the emulsion paint is on both walls and woodwork, in beige, dark green, tomato juice or cigar brown.

Always save a jar of paint for emergency touch-ups in every room you paint — and label the jar. When not wielding it, hang your paintbrush by the handle. Stand a paint tin on a paper plate or circle of aluminium foil. Never hope that the paint won’t splash. Clear up half an hour before you intended. Exhaustion suddenly paralyses you when decorating.

Curtains: When buying materials allow io per cent extra length for shrinkage. Allow for pattern-matching. Ask the assistant to calculate for you because you’re almost bound to make a mistake. Allow 12-inch hems in case you move and the next place has bigger windows. There’s nothing more irritating than hems 3 inches too short.

Lined and interlined curtains are nicest, but horribly expensive and difficult to make. If you’re starting, it’s easier and cheaper to make unlined curtains. Use a simple tape suspension method. I don’t like using pinch pleat removable prongs because they fall out so easily and are so difficult to put back. I find the easiest, trimmest method is Rufflette’s Regis. It is a neat, smart shirr heading with wide tape and drawstrings. Some people don’t mind hand-hemming curtains after they’ve been hanging a month. Other people prefer to take their curtains down five years later, to find the pins irrevocably rusted into the hems.

Flooring: ‘ Wilton ‘ and Axminster ‘ describe the weave of a carpet. `Broadloom’ just means that it was woven on a loom over 6 feet wide. You need best quality carpet where it gets the hardest wear (hall and stairs). You can get away with cheaper in the bedroom. Check whether your carpet is moth-proof, or will bum easily, and what it’s made of and how to clean it. Underlays double the life of a carpet, add warmth, and a lush ankle-straining bounce, and lessen noise.

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