Interior design
Using extreme opposites
Pairing opposites may or may not be the recipe for a good marriage, but it's definitely an exciting approach when it comes to interior design. Here are four secrets for working the magic of high-contrast decorating into home design. 1. PAIR LIGHT AND DARK COLOURS One of the most effective ways to play with opposites in decor is to pair dark and light colours. Some of my favorite dynamic duos? Black and white. Navy and cream. I love to pull these and other high-contrast colours together when designing because of their wow factor. My dining room features navy walls. If the entire room happened to be this deep, dark colour, it would be a little too brooding for my taste. So I painted the trim and the paneling, which covers the lower portion of the walls, in cream. The cream keeps the space from taking itself too seriously by brightening the overall appearance of the room. Black and white, a perennial favorite of mine, is gaining strength with interior designers again. We're seeing it popping back up at market
and in the work of new designers. It's never gone out of vogue in my heart because it's such a timeless classic. You can also use high-contrast colour combinations in furnishings. Just place a light-colored piece of furniture next to one that is dark. Bingo! Accent your light or dark sofa with a mix of contrasting pillows. If you have dark hardwood oors, zip them up with light area rugs.
2. MIX REFINED AND ROUGH OBJECTS Another of my favorite techniques for high-contrast decorating is to create tableaux that include both reďŹ ned and rough elements. We wanted to make an elegant silver tea service even more arresting, so we brought in some visual contrast by including a gritty garden statue in the display. The pairing of these two unlikely partners makes them each all the more beautiful. Look around your home and see what type of reďŹ ned and rough pieces you have, and then mix them together in a display. Maybe it's a china soup tureen or English footbath ďŹ lled with earthy moss balls. Or a primitive wooden dough bowl cradling crystal candlesticks. A natural place to blend reďŹ ned and rough is in outdoor rooms. A
weatherworn cement table stands in my courtyard year-round. It seems ironic to cover this rugged piece of furniture with a gorgeous custom tablecloth, doesn't it? A delicate urn on the table doesn't belong out in the yard - or does it? It does at my house. When I entertain outdoors, you'll ďŹ nd my best pieces on the al fresco dining table, from heirloom china to crystal water goblets.
A delicate urn on the table doesn't belong out in the yard - or does it? It does at my house.
3. WED THE MANUFACTURED WITH THE ORGANIC My style is ever evolving, and I'm increasingly in love with the clean and simple contemporary accents that are so hot today, like colorful pottery. But an unshakable bedrock of my style is using organic elements in everyday decor. To create a high-impact, high-contrast look, I use them both, together, in my decor. I often display items that are made out of natural materials with those that are not. For example, I may place a lovely drinks
service on a wicker tray. Or ďŹ ll a china bowl with stones or nuts. What natural treasures delight you? Collect things you fancy as you walk in the woods or along the beach, then add them to your existing decor.
4. PUT INEXPENSIVE AND = EXPENSIVE TOGETHER Sometimes there is no replacement for using well-made, high-quality pieces in your decor. I feel that way about upholstered furniture. You deďŹ nitely get what you pay for. But when I can, I love to cheat, opting for pieces that look super-expensive but are a bargain. If you wander through my home, you'll see pieces of great value mixed together with those that are inexpensive. Often, they are hardly distinguishable from one another. I embraced this marriage of inexpensive and expensive in my 20s, when I was too broke to purchase more than a few nice things for my apartment. I would save my pennies and buy one or two investment pieces, then ďŹ ll in with low-cost pretenders. Another example is the place setting, where I grounded the display of china on inexpensive placemats.
XXX QHHXSF DP O[
Ashburton 12 Orchard Grove
3 A 1 C 1 D 2 F 2 I
Simply Irresistible • Sun soaked 951m2 section with magical outlook • Master bedroom with a walk in wardrobe and gorgeous ensuite • Seamless indoor/outdoor ow to deck and lawn area • Fabulous generous living spaces for relaxing and entertaining • Internal access double garaging with off street parking
Neg over $589,000 Open Home Saturday 19th April 11:00am - 11:45pm
Storage Facility
For Sale rwlincoln.co.nz/LIC21338 Nataasha Haley 0273 619 833 Lincoln OfďŹ ce 03 325 7299 nataasha.haley@raywhite.com
t "DDFTT GPS USVDLT BOE USBJMFST t $POWFOJFOU MPDBUJPO t 4FDVSF MPDL VQ GBDJMJUZ t " TIBSFE UFOBODZ GBDJMJUZ t 3FBMJTUJD SFOUBM SBUF
Red Chili Real Estate Ltd LICENSED (REAA 2008)
t Large modern building, 3000m2
www.pggwre.co.nz ID: "4)
Ashburton For Lease Colin Gilbert B 03 307 8710 M 027 434 3478 H PGG Wrightson Real Estate Limited, Real Estate Agent, REAA 2008