Recently we had a wonderful interiors evening hosted by the very talented Lillie Holcombe from Harry & Kit . I was joined by Clare Warby from Luxe & Humble, and Emma-Rose Musie from ERL Interior Design to discuss all things interiors. For those of you who missed the event, or those that attended but couldn’t quite take it all in (there was a lot of information!), here are my notes on the questions I answered on the night.
Can you please explain a generalised definition of an interior stylist, decorator and designer? Are they the same thing?
They all overlap somewhat, however each role does vary. A stylist is generally going to look at what you have, perhaps introduce a few new items, tweak your furniture arrangements to provide quick easy updates.
The role of an interior decorator focuses more on colour and fabrics and how the space is planned and layed out. They will go into a lot more detail on the aesthetics of a space.
Interior Designers are usually more formally qualified, and this allows them more insight into the structural side of your home; removing walls, designing kitchens and bathrooms from scratch, and detailing custom cabinetry. They work more closely with builders and architects to achieve a desired finish.
I sit somewhere in the middle of decorator and designer, I love to put fabric schemes together for custom furnishings and window treatments, but I’m equally happy drawing up and or tweaking kitchen and bathroom plans, or custom cabinetry. I work closely with builders to discuss structural changes in renovations if I think this is going to benefit the space.
Where do you think money is best spent, if you can only make small styling changes? What pieces do you recommend we invest in and what pieces can we possibly pick up for for less? Or maybe we already have those pieces but we don’t see the beauty in like you can?
If you’re budget is tight, paint! And paint yourself, it is really not difficult once you have the hang of it, you just need a bit of determination to get it finished if you have a big area to do, but I usually draw the line at ceilings!
Don’t underestimate the value of custom pieces with beautiful fabrics. These can get expensive to reupholster, but you’d be surprised at the price of some of the new custom furniture I’ve done. They are not much than buying an armchair from Interiors Online or a homewares store, but you can choose whatever fabric you like and get into nice details like custom piping etc that doesn’t cost any extra. The same goes for bedheads. Be brave with your fabric and you’ll never be disappointed with how it makes the room feel.
My other favourite approach is old furniture. Some of the gorgeous old pieces out there are half the price of the new stuff, but come with beautiful patinas and a bit of a story. they make not be perfect, but there’s charm in that. And they have lasted a lifetime or two, and will continue to do that thanks to their build quality
Can you talk a little about negative space, what is it? And how do we use it to our advantage?
A room without negative space, or lacking in negative space will always feel cluttered and hectic. Placing the right amount of furniture in the room and leaving plenty of room for walkways and access is the key. Particularly if you have gone to the effort to invest in special, long-term pieces, it lets these pieces shine without being hampered by clutter.
Have you ever moved house and loved the lack of crap in each room? Thats kind of what it feels like! Obviously the smaller details of decorating still need to be done, but the simplicity is refreshing isn’t it? From a psych perspective we generally feel calmer in a room with good negative space because it takes our brains less time to process the room. A chaotic or busy room takes more brain power and thats never a good thing!
When it comes to mixing patterns and prints, what are the rules? Can you offer any guidelines on what to look for when pulling prints together?
I’d like to say there’s no rules, particularly in more busy schemes, but there is. And you really can’t do it without all the materials in front of you, trying to do this digitally doesn’t work because texture is king. As a general rule you want a few fabrics that have different size patterns. So say one large-scale, possible multi-coloured print, one or two mid-scale ones and then a couple of small scale ones. Depending on the style you are trying to achieve you can add one or two plain colours in to ground everything a bit. I tend to treat fine stripes and cheeks as plains, they’re a more interesting way of grounding a scheme if you don’t want to use black colours.
The plain fabrics will always be more economical price wise too, so they’re good for the big pieces, and they will probably date well, and then the more expensive prints and patterns can be used more sparingly if you’re on a budget. In saying that there’s nothing better than a bold fabric on a feature chair or roman blind.
In your experience, What is the most commonly asked question from clients? What do your clients struggle with the most?
A lot of my clients seem to know what they want as a general rule, but just don’t have the confidence to bring it all together, especially when doing projects that have to last a good 20 years or so, like tiles for kitchens and bathrooms, or flooring choices. I actually find it hard to do for myself too, but its easier to help others as you aren’t emotionally invested in the decisions, and you can view it all from an outsiders perspective. A lot of it comes down to fostering the style of the client that you can see simmering underneath, and bringing that out of them to make their space feel like its theirs.
Where do you go to for interior inspiration?
Where do I start? I’m still a sucker for a good print magazine. My favourites are NZ House and Garden, British Homes and Interiors and British House and Garden. I find a lot of the Australian publications a bit cookie-cutter, even when they feature a home thats clearly had a large, expensive renovation on it. They often follow a certain style (hamptons!) or trend, and are missing a bit of soul. Perhaps a bit too much negative space! I also follow these magazines on Instagram and that gives me a lot of extra inspiration.
Online if I’m hunting for something specific I will often start with Pinterest if I need tips on say , how a certain kitchen layout might look and feel. I am constantly saving things that inspire me from designers I follow in the US and UK and I find myself coming back to those images in my design work. That will work a lot better when I start cataloging them instead of hunting through the whole lot each time I’m trying to dig one out!
Thanks for reading, I hope there’s some information here that will help you achieve your decorating goals. The most important thing is that your home reflects you! Vanessa x
