Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
GABRIELLE FAGAN
Kate Watson-Smyth is known for her witty, down-toearth advice on creating brilliant interiors, which she shares through her award-winning blog, Mad About The House. Now, the blog has inspired a new book of the same name – and in it, a complete guide, she reveals how to identify your own personal style, and cope with colour choice confusion.
She also gives easy-to-follow tips on designing and furnishing every room in the house.
Kate has hands-on-experience of most decor challenges – she’s renovated four houses and runs an interiors styling consultancy – and here she opens the doors to her own home, and reveals how to work her magic in your own interiors too...
CREATE A SHOW-STOPPING ENTRANCE
You might not think it – as it’s often cluttered and uninspiring – but the hall is the most important room in the house.
“It’s certainly the first place anyone sees and, as such, sets the tone for the rest. It needs to be both welcoming and fun, practical and pretty,” says Kate. “You can afford to be bold with your decorating choices here.”
Practical flooring is essential. “I have white painted floorboards (you can instantly see the dirt and clean it).
“My stairs are spotty. A deep burgundy carpet with large ivory spots (‘Dotty Damson’ by Alternative Flooring). They truly make my heart sing every time I come home.
“You can have stripes or flowers, if you prefer.
I’ve painted the back of the front door a burgundy shade, which goes with the stairs and stops the hall being a complete white-out.”
■ Choosing a dark colour for hall walls will make the other rooms leading off it seem brighter, and make a statement. Dark shades also won’t show inevitable scuff marks from all those hands, bags, boots and bikes coming through. Think navy blue, dark green or charcoal.
WHIP UP DELICIOUS DECOR TOUCHES IN THE KITCHEN
Soften the harshness of hard surfaces and straight lines in a kitchen with tiling or glass.
Says Kate: “This is a room you’re going to be in every day.
“It needs to reflect your personality and make you happy. Introduce some pattern (and colour) to the splash back.
“Think delft or geometric design tiles. Lay plain metro tiles in a brick or herringbone formation and add coloured grout or consider glass for tiles, which these days comes in lots of colours. In short, have some fun. “Another option’s a large piece of foxed mirror. This has the dark spots and smokiness of antique mirror, so your kitchen won’t look like a gym but will reflect light. “You can fit it to the base of cupboards instead of a traditional wooden kick board, which will reflect the floor and make cupboards looks as if they’re floating.” ■ Change ugly cupboard doors for more contemporary ones, or simply replace handles to make a huge difference to a kitchen. If you’re replacing wall-mounted cupboards, make sure they extend all the way up to the ceiling, which will make the ceiling look higher and the room more spacious.
DRESS A ROOM THE WAY YOU DRESS YOURSELF
Use your wardrobe for inspiration on colour and make decor choices easy.
“Most of us know what we like to wear, but many of us are paralysed with indecision when it comes to dressing our houses,” says Kate. “It’s actually the same as getting dressed.
“First, check out the colours of your clothes in your wardrobe. If you’re comfortable wearing those colours, you’ll be comfortable living in a similar palette choice. It’s that simple.
“Next think about the proportions you’ll use the colours in. The idea is basically 60% one colour, 30% another, and 10% for the finishing touches. Kate’s bathroom with a free standing bath fulfilled one of her long-held interiors fantasies. Shelves have turned the fireplace into handy storage for towels and toiletries, an antique mirror reflects light from the windows, and a vintage stool provides contrast with the modernity of the bath
“Pick perhaps a neutral for the largest area, your walls. In clothes terms, that’s the main item you’re choosing to wear that day. Choose a second colour for the largest piece of furniture, say a sofa. This is your top or jacket.
“Add some pattern in the form of cushions: your earrings or necklace.
“The accessories – rugs and armchairs – are the final colour: your shoes and bag.” ■ Green is the colour of the moment, whether it’s plants – real or faux – or paint. A touch of greenery will enhance any room, as it really does bring a little of the outdoors in.
HAVE ONE ITEM THAT MAKES YOUR HEART SING
A signature item may always feature in your outfit – flamboyant earrings, cool socks, or a tiny tattoo – extend the same principle to a room.
Kate says: “Just as we all have a random item in our wardrobe that we probably
shouldn’t have bought but which makes us happy when we wear it, so we should have the equivalent in a room.
“Mine’s a 6ft brass lamp in the shape of a palm tree. I still don’t know how I got it past the husband, but I