Dear Debbie: We have purchased a condo unit after 25 years in a house and want to start fresh with furnishings. We have always liked French style and are looking for pieces that will work in a smaller space but still look fabulous. What would you suggest?
Francoise
Dear Francoise: The secret to success when furnishing a small space is to choose pieces that are multi-functional. Due to downsizing, which has become a huge trend, we are seeing a broad selection of furnishings that meet the requirements of versatility and style.
Grange is a global leader in French design and decor. It chooses to moderate its version of period styles, adapting them to current tastes, and in so doing, fulfils today’s practical and esthetic requirements. Grange is based in France, and distributes to the U.S. and Canada, grangeny.com.
I discovered one of their new collections, Côté Design, which you can access at the bottom of Grange’s home page. Their dynamic small space designs solve two decorating challenges that we all face.
The first to catch my eye was their Brooklyn TV Bookcase. With open space plans, hiding today’s large flat screen TVs is not easy. Sliding well-appointed bookshelves presents an alternate view that is both pleasing and practical.
Corners are awkward and often result in wasted space. Côté Design has fashioned their Domino seven-drawer corner chest with colours and cleverly angled drawers that turn this storage unit into a work of art.
If these pieces are too costly or difficult for you to attain, then use their ideas. Storage can be beautiful. By decorating whatever unit you have with a distinctive paint finish, interesting hardware, and colour, storage becomes an integral part of your overall design plan, be it French, modern or country style.
Dear Debbie: I am looking for suggestions on how to brighten my family room. Walls and carpet cappuccino, fireplace white, large entertainment centre dark wood, burgundy couches, medium-sized wood coffee table that opens up for storage. What colours can I bring in, should I paint the coffee table, add throw pillows? Thanks for your help.
Nancy
Dear Nancy: You have chosen a rich, traditional palette for your family room. Blue, green and yellow are accent colours that will add a bright note. Why not make a focal point of your coffee table and paint it? Choose a yellow ochre for the base colour and apply wide stripes on the top in three colours, bright blue, lime green and burgundy. Throw pillows in these shades and some lively accessories will pull it all together.
Dear Debbie: We have two dormer rooms and can’t decide if we should paint the entire space the same as the wall colour or use ceiling paint on the angled walls. What do you suggest?
Karen
Dear Karen: Generally, I suggest that ceilings should be a different colour from the walls, whether traditional white or a delicate pastel. Otherwise, you feel as if you are living in a box.
A dormer room, however, is different as the beauty of these irregular walls comes from your eye roaming along the surface from wall to slanted ceiling.
It’s an option to paint the vertical walls a different colour, or the end wall, but I think one soft colour throughout always wins.
In my house in London, my bedroom sits under the roof.
I painted all the walls white, but added colour by using an oversized headboard with a fabulous print.
Debbie Travis’s House to Home column is produced by Debbie Travis and Barbara Dingle. Please email your questions to house2home@ debbietravis.com. You can follow Debbie on Twitter at twitter.com/debbie_travis, and visit Debbie’s website, debbietravis.com.