Scotland’s interior decorating heroes, TV stars and style commentators, Colin & Justin share their interior decorating tricks.
We pinned them to the sofa to get their best 18 tips for creating a successful home, served to you on a silver serving platter…
The Kitchen
1. Make sure you have enough workspace for all your chopping, slicing and dicing by keeping surfaces clean and clutter free. If necessary invest in a handy butchers block trolley to extend your work zone. Try Ikea for affordable options.
2. Don’t become a domestic gadget shop – avoid deep fat fryers, yogurt makers and bread bakers. Come on! You’ll only use them once and after that they’ll simply clutter up your valuable worktops. Or they’ll live a lonely life, poor wee fellows, holed up in the cupboard under your sink. Enough said…
3. Keep it clean – if your floor, surfaces and doors are icky sticky, then chances are that your entire kitchen is held together with chip fat and dog hairs. Nice.
4. Don’t have all your appliances squeezed together like a scratch and dent electrical store. Space them out. It looks SO much better…
The Bathroom
5. Bathroom sanitary wares can be any colour as long as they’re white – coloured suites are as wrong as mini skirts on chunky thighs. So DON’T try to decorate around an avocado suite or you’ll only end up with guacamole on your chin.
6. Opt for water repellent flooring such as ceramic tiles, sealed stone or Amtico. Avoid carpets like the plague – in the bathroom they’re simply quagmires of human debris and bodily emissions…
7. Built in mirrors help to bounce light around to create a brighter, fresher space. And keep all personal bits and bobs concealed in slick storage cabinets. Who wants to look at half squeezed tubes of hemorrhoid tinctures or worrying pills and potions? We call this the sick house syndrome. Out of sight is out of mind.
The Hallways
8. Most hallways are simply a narrow passage through the rest of your home, so don’t fill yours with obstacles. That means losing the 34 coats that are hanging behind the door and ditching that broken bicycle.
9. If you’ve got decent proportions, think about adding a console table dressed with lamps and artwork. Doing this will bring a dead space to life and make your home seem much larger into the bargain. This is especially valid at sale time as you’ll create the impression of an extra room.
10. Hallways take heavy traffic so opt for hardwearing floor coverings and don’t forget to have a great big welcome mat for a foot wipe before entering.
Turn your bedroom from this, to this…..
The Living Room
11. Avoid sofas that are shell shaped, floppy, velour covered, fringed or wrapped in a visible ‘antique’ timber frame. Sofas should be self coloured, strongly structured, comfortable and practical for you and your family. Light covers will show up dirt more easily but remember; the dirt’s still there on the dark ones and it’s better to see it and deal with it than pretend it doesn’t exist!
12. Avoid textured wall coverings like woodchip – if your walls are bumpy then invest in the services of a good plasterer and smooth out those imperfections. A little preparation goes a long long way…
13. Don’t push furniture into the corners of the room in an attempt to make it feel bigger – it won’t! Instead, fill out the space by bringing a coffee table into the centre and dressing your furnishing around a focal point, like a fireplace. Narrow consoles look fab positioned behind sofas especially if you dress yours either side with a couple of gorgeous lamps.
The Bedrooms
14. Don’t let the bed bugs bite – air your bed and turn and vacuum your mattress to ensure dust free slumbers.
15. Don’t air your dirty laundry – invest in a large, stylish laundry basket and keep your smelly smalls away from prying eyes.
16. Make sure your bedroom is relaxing – avoid bright garish colours and opt for a tonal, muted approach to decor. Spoil yourself and go wild with cashmere throws, scented candles and soft lighting – you’ll love yourself in the morning!
The Outside
17. Keep windows clean to brighten up your outlook and increase illumination indoors. Bear in mind that up to 15% of natural light can be lost through grubby panes.
18. Extend a warm welcome by having a tastefully painted front door – say no to fuchsia pink and lime green and hello to Oxford Blue, darkest green or moody Black.
What are some of your tips for creating a successful home? Tell us below!…
