What not to do….
I spoke with a customer the other day and he told me that he and his wife had just purchased a Craftsman bungalow home and they were having to rip out nearly every decorating detail that the previous owner had incorporated into the home. Remember, I said a bungalow. The previous owner had decorated the entire house with Victorian décor! He said there was flowered wallpaper on every single wall. The lighting was all Victorian style. They had installed a floral Victorian carpet in the dining room and Victorian hardware on all the cabinets including the beautiful built in cabinets.
I asked this customer what made them buy the house in the first place. He told me that in spite of all the hideous decorating the bones of the house were fabulous, the layout was fabulous, the grounds were fantastic and they just plain loved the bones of the house. He realized that there is a lot of work to be done but when all is said and done they will have a gorgeous home. This leads right to the title of this blog today: What not to do.
Everyone has their own likes and dislikes but they need to be tempered to the style of the house. There are distinctive styles of homes: Craftsman, Colonial, Rustic, Victorian, Contemporary, etc. If you live in a non-descript rambler, there is more leeway in the decorating but the key thought is, when you live in a style specific house, stick to the style of the house.
Décor for a Craftsman bungalow is very straight lined and simple, clean and classic. Original Craftsman bungalows usually have fabulous built in cabinetry in the dining room and often cabinets and/or shelves on each side of the fireplace. Colonial homes can either be quite formal or primitive. They have no nonsense furnishings, often braided rugs and period lights. Victorian tends to be fussy. The lighting will have crystals dangling, the rugs very carpeted and yes, flowers are very predominant. There is a lot of gingerbread and spindles and fancy woodwork all about. Decorated properly each of these styles can be absolutely gorgeous – one of those “oh my goodness” moments when you walk into the home.
I saved Rustic décor separate as it is of the four I have mentioned the more laid back, feet on the table type décor. It can be log cabinish or it can tend toward lodge style but it is definitely far more relaxed. An oddity is the fact that you can put a Victorian style light in a rustic home and it can be stylish – kind of the “saloon” feel. That is a whole different style but it can work quite well. Generally bold, colorful western style rugs are incorporated into the décor as well as deep leather sofas and chairs and a lot of outdoor feeling décor.
One style I have not addressed and we do not specialize in is the ultra modern or the “space age” style but this is where I really want to make my point. I think most people can “see” that they would not want to put any of the décor mentioned above into one of these houses. They call for ultra modern, space age type furnishings; chrome, clean lines, glass, etc. This is a case of stick to the era, stick to the style and this is where I am going with this article.
Personally, I am very traditional in my likes, which does not mean that I do not appreciate non-traditional décor but I have always owned rather traditional style homes. I live with a number of family antiques that would never do well in something ultra modern styled. What we own would go well with colonial or Victorian and not so much with the bungalow look and definitely not rustic or space age contemporary. My husband and I were recently checking out houses for sale in an area in which we would like to live and my husband came across a very contemporary home with lots of glass, lofts, and metal wire rope for the rails on the stairway. The kitchen was enough to absolutely send me over the edge and almost convince me I would want to live there but then I asked my husband how willing he was to get rid of his family antiques. I told him we do not own a stick of furniture that would go well in that particular home and that he would have to buy all new furniture. Thankfully that calmed him down!
The upshot is, we all have our own tastes, and if we are not in the few that are able to discard all old furnishings and buy new when they move, don’t buy a home that does not work with your furnishings. If you are unable to do this yourself there are decorators that are more than willing to help you. If that is not in your budget, ask a friend you trust who might be able to guide you in the placement or purchase of furnishings.
