Photo By: SieMatic
Are you one of those impatient people who moves into a new home and stresses over the unopened boxes and seeming ‘chaos’ of not having it organised and looking how you want it to almost right away? Have you ever suffered from buyer’s remorse when shopping for items in your home, when you spot that ‘perfect’ chair for your study, only to find that when you got it home it takes up too much room? Do your tastes change with every passing interior design fad and as a result your home feels more like a showroom, or failing that a hotchpotch of outdated trends and cheap, disposable items that you don’t really love? If you answered yes to any of the above, it may be time to consider resisting your decorating urges for a while and take the time to decorate slowly.
Slow decorating, like the slow food movement, is a philosophy aimed at consumers to get them to see that the culture of instant gratification and 60-minute TV makeovers is not the way to create a home that is organised, suited to your specific needs and most importantly, filled with items you love.
Here are some of the other benefits of slow decorating.
More Organised and Clever Storage
When you first move into a home, the stuff you have in boxes gets unpacked, but without further consideration, the stuff may only end up in yet another dark hideaway place and remain unused. By taking weeks and maybe even months to come up with your perfect storage solution, you can ensure that those boxed items are accessible and therefore used more often. Multi-purpose storage options, such as those that include that extra bit of workspace, or a hidden rail, are also an option for those who take their time to consider their storage needs more fully.
Better Use of Space and Room Functionality
For smaller homes, holding off on snap interior design decisions can ensure that you make the most out of the limited space you have available. Living with a temporary solution for a few months may become frustrating, but once you have gotten a feel for a layout and colour scheme that will really work, your pokey pad will soon become a cosy and calming place to be that won’t look or feel nearly as small anymore. By taking your time to come up with the perfect layout, you can examine every square foot of your home and consider things like switching to double sliding doors to your dining room, freeing up space around the door, or maybe opting for an open-plan kitchen/diner.
Better Quality Furniture that lasts Forever
For people setting up their first home, the urge to buy all of the furniture you need in one sweep can too tempting, I mean everybody needs a bed to sleep in from day one, as moving days sure are exhausting! But hold off on blowing a ton of money on everything you need all at once. See if you can borrow items from friends or family members, until you have sourced the perfect sitting room chair or oak dining table that you genuinely love. Our grandparents and those of the post-war, ‘make do and mend’ generation understood this concept, and as a result their furniture and interior design choices are classic and come back into style again and again. Wouldn’t it be nice if you too amassed a furniture collection that can be handed down to your grandchildren, ready for when they’re just starting out in life?
Saving Energy and the Planet
The need to get everything looking great in your home as soon as possible can mean that old, wasteful home energy systems keep their place, because you have been concentrating the most of your time and budget on the purely cosmetic things. Covering that dingy, old boiler in the kitchen with a kitchen door unit will not lower your energy bills or heat your home any more efficiently, so why not invest your efforts into getting your home energy efficient and then spend the funds you save on bills on the pretty stuff afterwards? Spending more time exploring your options will also give you insight into the smaller, greener changes you can make. Your kitchen is your home, not a one-size fits all page from a catalogue, so invest your time and money into your own bespoke kitchen design that meets your eco-friendly requirements.
Tastes and fashions change and as fun as it is to make mood boards and scour the interior design magazines for the latest trends, quite often the glossy images can trick you into liking a certain look that will never work in your own home. For example, emerald green walls in a small space can make your home appear dingy and like the inside of a working men’s club, Pantone colour of the year endorsement or not. Do you really want to be a slave to the trends or would you rather have your own style going on? Taking the slow decorating style approach is the only way to achieve chicness, so relish in the research and swatch collecting and relax about everything in your home looking perfect all at once.
Do you have any tips for the slow decorator? Leave them in comments below.
Estelle Page is a blogger and Interior Designer from Sussex. In her work, she likes to ensure that the client’s personality shines through in her decorating scheme and although she follows the latest design trends, she is sure not to become a slave to passing fads. She recommends http://www.zestbathroomsandkitchens.co.uk/
