A Recipe for Good Design

If decorating were like baking a cake, there would be a recipe to follow, something simple that would result in something delicious!

Just like with the cake analogy, there are a million different flavors of cake, some which are favorites, and others which cater to a more exotic palette.  So in a way there are tried and true recipes for decorating, and there really is no right or wrong, the ingredients can vary and the outcome will sometimes flop, but you can start over, amend the recipe, and try again.

If I were writing a decorating cookbook of sorts, I would be sure that each recipe included 3 key ingredients, Color, Light, and Texture.  For me, these are like sugar, flour, and butter...essential to creating that prize winning cake, or to creating good design.

I am not a master chef at decorating, but I do know what I like.  Like the photo above of my trusty bucket bench.  This bench has traveled with me from house to house and in its lifetime it's been several colors, including a deep green.  Today, it's painted Benjamin Moore's Simply White, but next month it may find a new color, who knows.  It holds a small collection of crocks, and if you look closely, you'll see something dark sticking up from the crock in the back right.  I use these crocks to hold our dog's leashes, they keep things close at hand but out of sight...well sort of since you can see them in the photo!  

The clock was an inherited gift from Mr. Tide's grandparents, we still need to take it to a repair shop to get it back into working order.  I love the deep dark brown of the wood, the wavy glass which reflects the light pouring in from the backyard, and beautiful intricate carving...color, light, and texture!

For me, color comes in many forms.  White on white, or tone on tone interiors are all the rage right now as evidenced by the numerous books and magazine articles featuring interiors with monochromatic color schemes.  When done well, with lots of varying shades of white and plenty of texture, I swoon right along with the masses, but I know that for me, it would never work.

For me, having an all white house would be like eating angel food cake for dessert every night.  Not that I don't love a good angel food cake with its soft center and slightly crispy browned crust, but I need more color in my life than that.  On the other hand, I'm not a red velvet cake person either, with deep rich hues and plenty of saturated colors.  I think if I was any cake it would be a lemon chiffon, or maybe a spice cake with a big dollop of fresh whipped cream...something light but colorful, or something with a kick of flavor from a mix of ingredients.

With design, I think it's fair to say that you can appreciate and even enjoy different flavors, but in order to find your own sense of style you need to figure out which tastes appeal to you and then learn to hone those flavors into something that satisfies your needs.

If Paula Deen or Martha Stewart told you to only like cupcakes would you believe them?!  The same can be true for magazines and books.  Just because something is in vogue at the moment and it's not to your liking doesn't mean you have to re-do your entire house to suit someone else's taste buds.

I think we all struggle with this, I know I do.  And believe me, when you work in a business that is focused on what's hot at the moment, it's easy to get caught up and swept away with the latest design trends, often feeling somewhat inadequate if your 2 layer yellow cake somehow doesn't measure up to the perfect chocolate truffle souffle being featured on the pages of your favorite magazine.

Instead of letting it overwhelm you when you feel like your home someone doesn't make the grade, stop and take a moment to look at all the ingredients found in the rooms and homes you see featured.  Maybe you love the pinch of salt, like the all white walls and white slipcovered furnishings they've used, but your blood pressure can't handle it, so take what you can use, maybe the white walls, but leave the rest.

Find your own secret ingredient, using things you already own, and mix up the recipe to create something new in your home without having to start from scratch with a whole new recipe, baking dishes, and oven!

Good design chefs come in all shapes and sizes, and they offer up all sorts of variations on those tried and true recipes.  My Color, Light, and Texture recipe isn't a one size fits all, it's just a recipe that has worked for me over the years.  Becoming a great decorator and creating a home you love isn't always about having the perfect, most expensive ingredients, it's really about taking the things you already have and whipping them in to something special that says something about you and the way you live!

And speaking of homes, my heart goes out to the people in Australia who are dealing with horrible flooding!  Our dear friend A-M is suffering firsthand the effects of this terrible natural disaster.  Please take a moment and stop by her blog (HERE) and send her, and all the others like her and her boys, a big virtual hug!  My thoughts are with all those who have lost so much!