ASK MAD ABOUT THE HOUSE
Interiors expert, Kate Watson-smyth, on finding your signature style
Q How do I carve out my own signature style without being too swayed by current trends, so that my home will be neither too safe and boring, nor will feel out of date in five years’ time?
A There’s nothing wrong with being swayed by a trend if it’s something you genuinely like and it reflects your style. We do it with clothes, after all. But somehow, while we instinctively know which fashions we will follow when it comes to our wardrobes, reason seems to desert us when it comes to décor.
That’s partly to do with the expense. You might wear a £20 pair of sandals just for one season, but you don’t want to go off a £2,000 sofa after six months. So the key is to work out which trends you think you will still love when the fashion wagon has moved on. That is your signature style.
If you see a trend coming at you and immediately feel a sense of recognition and familiarity, it’s probably a sign that this particular one is right for you. But that’s not to say you can’t have a bit of fun with passing fads. And, let’s be honest, when the shops are full of them, it’s hard not to be influenced.
Dressing your house is actually like dressing yourself – only without the fat days, the hungover days and the let’s-wear-tracky-bottoms-and-eatbiscuits-on-the-sofa days. If you tend to wear a classic co-ord but like to add a pair of outrageous earrings or shoes, then do the same for your house. It’s much easier to change the earrings (cushions) and shoes (vases) than replace larger furniture.
Dive into your wardrobe and pull out the clothes you’ve had for years and still love; the things that you have bought again when the originals wore out. Can you find a link in colour and style? For example, if you like Cos, with its structured clothes in plain or colour-blocked fabrics, it’s a fair bet you will like the clean, minimal lines of mid-century modern furniture. If Anthropologie is more your style, then you probably like a pompom on a cushion and no fleeting fashion will sway you from that.
Keep the trend pieces for accessories rather than the actual furniture. So, instead of investing in a pricey green velvet sofa if you’re not sure that’s really your colour, why not paint the walls green? It’s an easier thing to change and won’t cost as much.
By thinking before you invest (the same way you do with clothes), you can create a home that perfectly reflects your style with the odd trendy piece thrown in, just to show you’re aware of what’s going on. And if your home succeeds in telling your story, then it will never be out of date or boring.