That’s easy. Fill your home with friends and family…
I’ve spent much of the last month decorating and furnishing a condo in Florida and giving it a deal of thought as you can imagine, although as a small girl I remember a priest in church one Sunday morning saying just that – fill your home with people and voices not possessions as that’s what makes a happy home and frankly, religious or not, I can’t disagree. There is nothing nicer , warmer or rewarding than having a bunch of close friends and family around for supper.
But what makes a lovely warm home to begin with? Is it good, classy expensive furniture? The bland magnolia walls of the designer that “never got the sack for taking the middle ground” or fabulous rich designs that blow your mind?
Well, I suspect there is no one answer , as peoples tastes are so very varied, but having said that, there are some generally accepted rules; magnolia is fine as a background colour as long as you choose an accent colour to brighten it or to draw a contrast. Make sure you choose pieces you love rather than match your decor and fill it with personal items that mean something.
As for the condo… Well as Florida is so wonderful and warm, and cool colours work well, we went for a Blue Grey called “Light French Grey” to be precise from the Valspar range which can be mixed at Lowe’s, that has worked wonderfully with a light beige sofa and mixes of Turquoise and green including this wonderful find I made of a large vase which has pride of place in the hall.
Having said all that, it all needed bit of a statement piece and I found this lovely and predominantly red print in Z Gallery which lifted the whole room so we’re now ready to welcome the finishing touch… a dinner party for friends and family as in truth, I guess I agree, I would rather have a home full of people, chatting, laughing and sitting around on old furniture than a house full of wonderful expensive things that has no soul .
