Don’t be afraid of the big, bold room

Have you ever looked across a room at someone who just looks effortlessly cool? From the haircut, to the clothes and the swagger. What’s their secret? They aren’t afraid to try things and through that process have figured out what works for them. Even if it wouldn’t work for everyone, they own it and make it work for them. I recently saw someone wearing chunky knit leg warmers over skinny fit jeans. She looked amazing.

Our interiors can have the same effect on us. We can walk into a friend’s house that looks amazing and long for a home with that much swagger. But we become crippled with indecision when it comes to our own homes. We are scared we can’t pull it off. I am often asked by my clients to “push us outside our comfort zone” where they want to take that leap into big, bold spaces.

I’m here to pick a few lessons out of “Effortless Chic” girl’s book and say don’t be afraid of the big, bold room.

Where to start?

Know yourself and understand what you like! Being bold shouldn’t be someone else’s statement, it should be a statement about you.  There is no point taking a bold leap and painting your room yellow if you hate the colour yellow. Look at what colours you are naturally drawn to. Kate Watson Smyth in her fab book “Mad about the House” advises you to open up your wardrobe and look at the colours you’re wearing. If you are happy wearing blue then you will most likely love living in it. Keeping a Pinterest board is also a great way of seeing your “likes” really easily. Once you have a large collection of pins on a board and you scroll through it you will start to see a pattern to the colours you are drawn to in interiors. Hmmm, is that Lounge board full of images of pink rooms or pink upholstery? I think you found something you are loving right there.

Prepare to go for it

Design is all about preparation for decoration, so as you can guess my job is all about that process. Spend time working on your design on a table before you rush out and buy stuff. Paint up your wall colour swatches, lay out your fabrics and images of your furniture. Now you can see it as a whole! If you do this then you will easily spot when something jars with everything else on the table.  Take time to enjoy the process of building your “New Room”. Also, by taking some time designing it, you will find your confidence with bold choices.

Go for it

So you have made your choices, now it’s time to make it real. This is the time you have to watch what other people’s opinions are about it. To go bold doesn’t always sit easily with everyone but it isn’t their home. Bold takes an element of self-belief! Remember the woolly leg warmers girl! So, paint those walls deep teal and “own it”, not to show off to others but for the complete pleasure you get from making a big, bold choice.