Ask A Woman: “Our house, is a very, very, very fine house…”
If you’ve got a question that needs the female treatment, chances are you’re not the only one who wants to ask it. Beth is our source for the answers. From opinions on men’s style to decoding the sometimes mysterious ways of women, she’ll take on a different question every Thursday. She also might provide an answer without waiting to be asked. That happens from time to time too. Click here to get to know Beth, then get in touch with her by sending your question to: askawoman@dappered.com .
Hey Beth,
I just bought a small duplex in Denver. I need to furnish all of the rooms, but don’t know where to start. Any ideas on rooms I should focus on, sites to gain inspiration from, sites to get home furnishings deals?
Thanks!
Carlo
Hi Carlo,
First, let me direct you to this post by Joe that gives great suggestions on where to find affordable, stylish furnishings. Check out the comments too, which give tips from readers on how to best use sites like Craigslist to find deals. I would add the dreaded IKEA to the list (I bought a brown leather couch there that shows no signs of quitting, 9 years later) if you can make your way through the warehouse without having a massive panic attack. Also, garage and estate sales–great places for vintage, antiques, and unexpected treasures. For decor, like prints, vases, centerpieces, table lamps–go to Etsy. Etsy has one-of-a-kind items, typically at very reasonable prices.
So now you know where to buy, let’s talk about finding inspiration and learning how to put together a room. I find Houzz to be an invaluable resource. It’s a site where interior designers, furnishing companies, and regular people post pictures of home decor (you can also buy home products on Houzz but I use it only for inspiration).
It’s easy to search–you can designate what type of style you’re interested in seeing (eclectic, modern, rustic, etc.), and for which room of the house. You can save your favorite pictures to your “Ideabook” and view later for inspiration. When you sign up, begin by just casually browsing. Save the images you like in your account. Then go back after a couple sessions of perusing and figure out what your saved pictures have in common. Do you tend to gravitate towards neutral colors like brown, cream, and tan? Do you seem to prefer rooms without much clutter? Do you like bronze and gold hardware as opposed to silver? Use this information to guide your buying. Yeah, that bright blue fabric couch may look great on the store floor, but if you know that in a finished room, you really prefer a black leather couch, then you can easily avoid buyer’s remorse. It’s much easier to begin tackling your home decorating when you’ve narrowed down your options. You could also try Pinterest for inspiration, but it’s much more of a chaotic jumble than Houzz. Still, you might find some good ideas, especially for home DIY projects.
Your home should reflect your personality: for the boxer-owner, the Maine native,
and the bicycling enthusiast.
Okay, so how should you actually go about buying these items? Start with the rooms you use the most–no point in furnishing the dining room first if you’ll only be using it for formal occasions. Also, don’t rush it. That empty office might be driving you nuts, but I guarantee, 100%, if you rush out and buy furniture and wall hangings in one weekend just to fill the space, in a year, you’ll hate what you bought and you’ll replace it. This is what I did with the walls in the spare bedrooms of my house. I hated that they were blank so I went to Art.com and bought a bunch of prints that now baffle me. Seriously, it’s like a stranger bought them and put them in my house–what was I thinking? It’s much better to keep your eyes open, to check out Craigslist every week, to visit furniture outlets on a regular basis, and wait until something sings to you. You’re also more likely to get quality pieces this way, because buying slowly allows you to spend more money on each item, instead of trying to finance a whole room on a single paycheck.
Also, think about your home being a place that represents you and describes you, much the same way we often talk here on Dappered about how what you wear is an extension of yourself. When you’re on a memorable vacation, buy a print to hang in the kitchen. If as an adult you now live somewhere different than where you grew up, get a coffee table book that features vistas or diners or hiking trails or architecture from your home state. Make your home a reflection of where you’ve been and who you are.
-Beth
Got a question for Beth? Send it to: askawoman@dappered.com
Apartment Therapy is great for low budgets and small spaces. As a tip, if you are worried about your home looking empty, Ikea has some rock bottom prices on the most basic version of every furniture item ($80 bed, $20 coffee table, $75 dining table with chairs, etc.). You can use these to fill out our space while you figure out and look for the pieces you really want. Then you can flip those Ikea pieces on craigslist for 75% of what you paid for them. It allows you to furnish your home without feeling rushed. And if you like modernish (but not overly so) furniture, two of my favorite stores are CB2 and Room & Board.
I agree on taking your time, find things you ACTUALLY like, instead of trying to do it all at once and getting mediocre stuff.
Also I would say that you should pick a type of style you like, and then find things that you like within that given style. I’ve been to too many homes where people like a certain modernist chair, certain antique couches….etc, and while all the pieces are nice individually, they don’t really create cohesive spaces, unless you have a really good eye to do it well. Just my .02
I love Houzz and Apartment Therapy.
I just can’t bring myself to put shelves on the walls…I can only think of all the massive holes left over
Resembl is useful for doing “soft” searches for furniture and decor. It’s image-based and suggests similar styles to what you like. You can also filter by price/color/size/etc.
If you’re going into this from ground zero, then start from ground zero. Ask yourself what you’re going to do in the duplex. Yes, you’re going to live there but that means very different things depending on whether you’re a homebody who never goes out or a busy extrovert who’s almost never home. You almost certainly need a place to sleep. That might be a king-sized canopy bed, a pallet on the floor or a sofa in the living room but having somewhere to crash is probably pretty high on the list. Do you cook a lot or do you usually eat out? If you plan on cooking, then you’ll need dishes, pots and pans, utensils, small appliances, etc. Details depends on what and how often you cook. You’ll need a place to eat. Again, that might be a formal dining-room table, a bar stool for the built-in island, a tv-tray for the sofa in the living room you’re sleeping on, etc. Do you entertain? The living room and kitchen are likely much more important, then. But to get started, sit down with a pad of paper and ask yourself “What do I want to do here?” Once you have a list of things you want to do, ask yourself “What do I need in order to do this?” Prioritize those lists, then start looking for inspiration on style, etc.
Just a small caveat: There is nothing wrong with buying used furniture and the like. However, make sure you know the exact environment from which the furniture came. Was the house clean? Is the seller the second owner? Pets? For example, old couches are especially prone to trapping odors, stains (both of which may be hidden from you), or worse, bugs!
Oh, I like those bookends! Too bad I don’t have a bookshelf. Or books.
Craigslist is the way to go. New furniture pieces are like new cars: they’re outrageously priced and they tend to lose a lot of value after you take them home. As far as wall art, I like putting up my photographs. If you watch Slickdeals, you’ll often see deals for big prints for as low as $30–for instance, at Easy Canvas Prints.
Primer has an interior decorator series that is worth checking out http://www.primermagazine.com/tag/the-intentional-apartment
Also check out the magazine rack at your books store. Dwell and Architectural Digest are full of ideas
Maine Natives? I think you meant Mainahs.
I bought aimlessly until I found a style I was really comfortable with – once I did, I sought out blogs that championed that particular style and read everything they had, studying texture, palates, and density of knick-knacks per sq ft. I ended up going Scandinavian modern, so I read Emmas Designblogg, Trendenser, STIL Inspiration, and Hitta Hem.
Once I found one I liked I browsed their blogroll to find similar designers and decorators, and now I know precisely what I like and can rule out all the neat stuff I find that doesn’t fit that.
In a short, concise answer? Let her do it.
Consignment shops too! Got lots of stuff for great prices at consignment stores
Nah. Be a man; be vocal with your opinions and make your own choices.
Her style matches mine about 90% of the time. And we live together – so I trusted her choices. Wound up with an awesome spot decorated in a way I never would have done on my own
If you’re a renter or a designer working with a budget, check out Dali Decals. They’re a small company in Florida that makes wall decals in all sorts of shapes, patterns, and designs.
I especially like their colorful kitchen mosaics – removable decals that look like a tiled backsplash. A few of these panels breathe a new life into a boring apartment kitchen without sacrificing your deposit.
If you’re looking to spruce up some bare walls without forking over a lot of money for framed art, I can’t recommend them enough. http://www.dalidecals.com
You can get good prices on furniture and rugs from Overstock.com, but (of course) returns will be a pain so make sure you pick things you absolutely love.
As for decorating a room, I think it’s smart to start with the rug and work your way up from there. otherwise, it’s REALLY hard to find a good rug after the fact.
And even if you have a wall color in mind, save that step for the very last. It’s easy to change the color of paint. It’s hard to change the color of a sofa.
I really enjoy building my own stuff. I get inspiration these sites : Ana-White, The Lettered Cottage, and Young House Love. They all have furnishing tips AND how to tips for building stuff. Want to refinish those kitchen cabinets? Easy! I really like Ana Whites site because she has blueprints and everything you need to build stuff you might see at Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware.
Constructing your own furniture is pretty rewarding, if you’re feeling particularly Offerman-esque. Plus you end up with tools and abilities to use elsewhere in the home..
Well said as always! My partner and I purchased a large home and resisted the urge to fill every room right away! It’s only worked to our advantage. We went slow, bought the best quality, and now our home is filled with beautiful and useful things that reflect us both. Patience is the key. Now if I could just find that perfect couch for the living room . . .