 | Linda Warrington
has been in sales and interior design for 25 years, and employed by Horton's Furniture for l8 years. Linda has designed furnishings and murals for the Eaton Place in Wichita's Old Town business district as well as Chaucer Estates, Park Plaza West and Via Christi Executive Suites. Linda also owns her own mural painting business called 'Just You'. She can be reached by phone at (3l6) 722-5090, by fax at (3l6) 722-596l, or by mail at l09l5 W. Kellogg, Wichita, Ks., 67209. |
Interior Decorating
2002-07-01 12:22:00
Where do we start?
Question: We have no furniture in our living room because I simply don't know where to start. Which comes first…..do I paint, buy a rug, or shop.
Answer: Opinions vary, but mine is SHOP.Start with the sofa. Once you find the sofa of your dreams, the rest is easy. Now you know your colors, your style and the proportions. Don't agonize about what will go with the sofa or if it will be too plain or too busy. If it's plain, we add figured chairs and pillows. If it's busy, we add plain or small print or striped chairs and pillows. And if your really brave, put lots of prints, plaids and stripes together, just make sure you keep repeating the same colors. Now, back to the sofa. Do you love the way it looks? Do you love the way it feels? Are you shopping at a reputable furniture store? You've found your sofa. When choosing your furnishings, be sure to consider the size of your room. If you need a lot of seating, and have a small room, you will need to use smaller furniture. If the room is large, use larger furniture so it doesn't get lost in the space. However…..if you, like me, have a small room, but love big furniture, go for it, just use less. And don't be afraid of color. Color has a great effect on our mood. Buy colors that make you feel happy. Remember, our home is where we cultivate our own creativity and where we can really show off our own style. Don't be so safe, have fun with your decorating.Now you've found your sofa, choose chairs that compliment. If the sofa is floral, you may want chairs with stripes or dots, etc., in colors pulled from the sofa fabric. Next comes occasional tables. Please don't worry about the color of your woodwork. Tables and woodwork do not have to match. Color will draw your eye. If the fabrics in the room coordinate, a pleasing effect will flow throughout. You may even want to use wood end tables and a metal and glass cocktail table together, or you may choose to do away with a cocktail table completely. A viable option would be a large round ottoman. Add a pretty tray with a napkin, teacup, saucer and a small vase of flowers. Yum. Aren't you the clever one?Wall color can be any color you pull from the sofa. It could be darker or lighter, depending on your likes and dislikes. I have small rooms, so I pulled the light yellow background color from the sofa and put it on the walls. It feels like sunshine all the time and is definitely a mood lifter. However, my sofa has dark sage and light sage leaves with sprays of shaded claret and terra cotta foxglove dancing across the light yellow background, so an area rug containing these colors is required to balance this act. Claret red is my favorite color, so I was delighted to find a mostly claret rug to place in front of the sofa. I then, added light yellow, sage and claret striped chairs. Pillows in a sage lattice pattern, thrown around the room, finish the look.We prepare personal spaces that become dear to us in times of great happiness and in times of deep pain. Our homes heal us and help us relax in to a higher awareness. "we are shaped and fashioned by what we love". (Goethe) Spend time nurturing your home and when you are in need, your home will nurture you.
