I have a thing about casual decorating, the laid back kind where you walk into someoneâs home and it makes you feel like you can plonk yourself on the sofa, pour a whisky if you so wish, play some tunes and generally enjoy hanging out. I am not a fan of uptight decorating with everything in its place, perfectly co-ordinated and tidy. It feels to uptight, to formal and not somewhere I want to be. Style as we all know has nothing to do with money, throwing a ton of cash at something doesn't give you the coolest pad on the block it can (not always) however give you a perfectly anonymous cold pad (just take a peak at some of the decorating magazines the world over)! Some of them naming no names showcase homes with zero personality.
Adding a casual vibe involves adding oodles of texture (rugs, cushions, throws) it involves not having everything in place (i.e. books in neat rows) it involves buying what you love, it involves celebrating nature no matter what the season with foliage, flowers, pine cones whatever and having a laid back attitude. Art doesn't need to necessarily hang on the wall gallery style it could be propped against the wall on a table for instance. Cushions don't need to be lined up in a row on a sofa, accessories should never be in rows on mantles on tables, (uptight) rather they should jostle for space and hang out together one in front of the other, to the side so they are 3 dimensional little arrangements. It takes skill to create a home that looks so casual people think its hardly been designed! Its the hardest look to pull off I can tell you that, but there is no bigger complement when guests walk through the door and immediately smile!
I've used both these images before (I think I will continue to do so until at least 90). Its the apartment belonging to two of my favourite designers Roman and Williams - beautiful, casual and to darn cool if you ask me!
When you have a floor to ceiling bookcase the biggest trick on the planet it to position some of your tomes front facing as R&W have done. It will make the whole thing way more intriguing, the eye will linger rather than zooming over super quickly!
Casual decorating at its best!
