Home chic on the cheap
Tuesday September 26 2006
With interest rates on the rise and house prices still spiralling, life can be tough for first-time buyers. Just getting your foot on the property ladder is the main goal - furniture and decoration are something to be considered later.
Yet young homeowners aren't settling for just any old decoration. "Twenty years ago, first-time buyers lived out of packing cases for months and were given second-hand furniture," says Micheal Quinn, of Mitchell Quinn Estate Agents. "Though they are now more affluent, if the cost of living and interest rates continue to rise they will have to learn how to budget again when furnishing their homes."
But don't despair. "There are ways to make your house look like a million dollars without spending anything like that amount of money," says Dublin-based interior designer Gwen Kenny of Divine Design.
1. Look through interior design magazines Don't rush out and buy flooring, fittings and furniture in a hurry. Write yourself a description of each room and what it will be used for. Choose large objects such as a sofa first - then you can choose paint and curtains in colours that suit them. Identify your own sense of style by looking at interior decoration photos in magazines. Cut out the pictures you really like.
2. Set a budget Before you start your interior design project, you should set yourself a budget and then use your creativity to make the most of it. For example, when it comes to giving curtains the 'wow factor' Gwen Kenny suggests buying gorgeous material and using it cannily. "You may not even have curtains. It's less expensive to have a Roman blind made because you may only need one-and-a-half metres of material versus the eight metres you would have needed for curtains." To give plain bargain curtains a stylish lift, Gwen suggests using a luxurious fabric as a border.
3. Don't buy something because it's a bargain Cheap paint in the wrong colour isn't a bargain, so you need to do your homework. When you are splashing sample paint on a wall, make sure to check what it looks like in daylight and artificial lighting. If you want to use oranges, ranging from peach to terracotta, Gwen has a note of caution. This palette is greatly affected by lighting and can look a different colour on different walls.
Covering just one wall of a room with wallpaper is now very 'in'. "It introduces texture into the room and creates a feature," says Gwen. You can cover these feature walls with wallpaper in vibrant colours and with big patterns or choose something subtle in low-key colours. "If you have a narrow room, using wallpaper with horizontal stripes on one of the narrow walls will make the room seem wider. And if you want to brighten a room, choose reflective wallpaper to bounce the light."
4. Buy only quality products Buy good quality products with lasting style. For bathrooms, Gwen often opts for white sanitary ware and relatively neutral tiles - you can get tired of dark or patterned tiles quickly. Choosing big tiles makes a room look bigger. Sometimes it's really worth splashing out on a 'statement object'. In the case of a bathroom it could be a stylish stone basin in a conical shape, costing about €350. If you have a small kitchen, natural stone flooring might be affordable.
5. Use your imagination It's worth sleuthing around auctions or charity shops for second-hand furniture - that old chest of drawers can look great painted and with modern handles. If you can't afford wool carpets, go for a velvet pile one made from polypropylene. "They look like wool but at a fraction of the cost," says Gwen. "Go for plain carpets in mainly light colours." It's worth paying to get the carpets made stain-resistant. When it comes to pleasing lighting, table lamps and standard lamps are more important than ceiling lights. "Pool light in parts of a room. Table lamps can be inexpensive and make nice features."
6. Plan carefully and take your time "Decide at the outset whether you are opting for chrome or brass on your fittings and carry that through when choosing door handles, lamp bases, etc," says Ger Smyth of Dublin-based Ger Smyth Interiors. Also, when you are choosing a sofa, make sure it isn't too large for your sitting room. Take the dimensions of the sofa you'd like and make a template from a newspaper. Place this in the area where the sofa is going to be situated.
7. Look for pieces of furniture that can have other uses For smaller spaces, Ger finds that modular or corner sofas are very effective. The side of the unit that has no armrest can fit snugly into corners. And the pieces can clip together or be separated into a sofa and a single chair. A matching footstool will form the finishing touch to this versatile team and might also be used as a coffee table or to provide extra seating.
"Go for muted colours and put the stronger colours and patterns in the scatter cushions. Choose sofas that offer maximum seating and ask if the fabric is suitable for heavy domestic use. Single armchairs are not always the best option as they can take up a lot of space."
8. Check out former display models Try to find good quality items that are on sale, perhaps because of stock clearance. You'll need to shop around to see if you have found a real bargain. Ger believes that if you find a piece of furniture you love, it can become the starting point of a design for a room... the inspiration.
9. Carry room measurements and colour swatches Carry room measurements and color swatches of what you have already chosen around with you. Make sure to ask for a colour swatch of your sofa because it may not be delivered for some weeks after purchase. "You never know when you may find a bargain," says Ger. "Even long after the room is finished you may find an accessory you like."
If you employ someone to wallpaper or paint your home, they should be recommended to you by someone who can vouch for their high standards.
"Try to get a price per job, not a per-day rate," says Ger. "And you must be very firm about what you want done."
10. Choose classic lines and muted colours If you need to opt for shoestring style, then you can't be a slave to fashion. Instead, a timeless looking interior can be regularly and cheaply updated with carefully chosen accessories. When buying furniture, go for good basic colours and chose good classic shapes that will stay in vogue.
When it comes to bedroom style, Ger advises her clients to go for basic easy-iron bed linen in plain colours and to get a really nice quilt that goes over the bed. The bed can also be dressed up with cushions and a throw.
These days, many new home buyers ask interior designers to visit their homes for a short consultation. Clients can seek advice regarding colour and furniture layout and the best use of space. "The bottom line is your home should be your space," says Ger. "Somewhere you like to be. Somewhere that makes it worth paying the mortgage."
Contact Ger Smyth at ger@gersmythinteriors.com; Gwen Kenny's website address is www.Divinedesign.ie
