416: House Rules for Decorating with Myquillyn Smith
Apr 25, 2024
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Join the host and Myquillyn Smith to learn about decorating your home with practical rules. Explore creating cozy minimalist spaces, functional home environments, and the art of decorating with purpose. Discover tips on quality decor investments and overcoming clutter challenges.
View limitations as creative opportunities in decorating to uncover unique design possibilities within constraints.
Prioritize functionality over decoration in designing homes to create functional and inviting living spaces that cater to individual needs.
Curate visible decor elements, minimize unnecessary clutter, and delay paint selection until essential design elements are in place for a cohesive and harmonious design scheme.
Deep dives
Mike Willen Smith Discusses Decorating Approaches and New Book House Rules
Decorating expert Mike Willen Smith talks about her new book, House Rules, focusing on decorating insights that resonate with real people. She emphasizes simplifying home decor with succinct rules that lead to innovative solutions. Smith's approach addresses limitations as catalysts for creativity, urging individuals to prioritize function over excessive decor. She stresses the significance of thoughtful decorating decisions such as furniture placements and color choices, advising a strategic order for selecting design elements.
Practical Decorating Tips: Limitations Lead to Innovations
Smith advocates for viewing limitations as creative opportunities in decorating, encouraging individuals to seek innovative solutions within constraints. By leveraging limitations, such as rental restrictions or spatial challenges, decorators can uncover unique design possibilities that enhance functionality and style. Smith's approach prioritizes problem-solving and strategic decision-making, guiding decorators to transform constraints into inventive design solutions that elevate their living spaces.
Functional Decor: Home Exists to Serve People, Encouraging Usage Over Display
Smith underlines the principle that homes should primarily serve inhabitants' needs and lifestyles, emphasizing functionality over mere decoration. By promoting practical usage of living spaces and furnishings, Smith discourages excessive display items that hinder utility. Her rule highlights the importance of designing homes that prioritize comfort, ease of use, and personal enjoyment, guiding decorators to focus on creating functional and inviting environments that cater to their unique needs.
Prioritizing Essentials Over Extravagances: If It Sits Out, It's a Decoration
Smith emphasizes the visual impact of items left out in living spaces, suggesting that any objects on display contribute to the overall decor. By acknowledging the impact of visible clutter on room aesthetics, decorators are urged to prioritize essentials over unnecessary items that detract from the desired look. Smith's guidance underscores the importance of curating visible decor elements and minimizing unnecessary clutter to maintain a cohesive and visually appealing home environment.
Strategic Approach to Color Selection: Paint Later, After Essential Design Elements
Smith advises delaying paint selection until essential design elements, such as furniture, lighting, and window treatments, are in place. By prioritizing functional and aesthetic design elements before paint choices, decorators can ensure that colors complement existing furnishings and enhance the overall room aesthetic. Smith's strategic approach aims to facilitate informed paint decisions based on room furnishings and decor, promoting a cohesive and harmonious design scheme.
Efficiency in Design Decision-Making: Consider Practicality and Intent Before Aesthetic Choices
Smith advocates for a deliberate and systematic approach to design decision-making that focuses on practicality and purpose over aesthetics. By prioritizing functional needs and intended usage of living spaces, decorators can create environments that align with their lifestyle and preferences. Smith's emphasis on efficiency in design choices encourages decorators to think critically about the functionality and practicality of decor elements before considering purely aesthetic considerations.
I'm talking with my friend Myquillyn Smith (The Nester) about her new book, House Rules. She's the queen of making decorating your home feel totally doable. I loved this conversation! Grab her book wherever books are sold. It's out now!
