Rooms can be as pretty as you please, but if they lack enticing little extras then they will lack soul. The details should reflect the owner so well that even if you had never met them, you could pick them out in a crowd after seeing their home.
No matter the room’s function: from hallway to bedroom, personality should be layered over practicality. Details invite you to linger, take a second look and want to ask about the story behind the object. This does not mean laying out a row of pictures and calling it a day: details have power only when they come from the heart.
So coat walls with the colours that make you the happiest – this can include white. Arrange a visual landscape across a mantelpiece that combines flea-market finds with an inherited treasure. Place a patterned pillow on a serious chair, wallpaper a wall with a slightly silly pattern. Do not worry about what goes with what: if it means something to you, its inclusion will always looks right.
Sometimes the most effective decorating is not what you add in, but what you edit out. Details only resonate when not cohabiting alongside clutter. Ask yourself: do I really love everything in these rooms? Remove what is not essential, then begin the joyous process of layering in the little things.
As these layouts from some of the world’s best designers show, you can be fearless, a little whimsical and personal. Your home isn’t just a shelter. It’s your way of saying: “Welcome to my little world.”
Bedrooms People think that bedrooms need to be serene and sparse to inspire sleep. But a bedroom layered with colours, patterns and accessories can be just as soothing. I like to mix linen patterns – matchy-matchy gives me insomnia.
Bathrooms I love to put in pieces that people associate with other rooms of the house, ie a small oriental rug, a glamorous lighting fixture, even an elegant painting.
Think about how much time you spend in this room. Why should it not be filled with wonderful details?
Desks/shelves I never like to have anything too corporate on desks or shelves. I prefer accessories that can help organise: a pretty tray or a bowl, maybe a shell to hold stationery.
Living rooms Your living room should tell a story about who you are and why you love to live where you do. Try to include at least one piece that is completely fearless.
Staircases Consider all the creative opportunities that come with the staircase – not just their surfaces but their often neglected edges, the bannister, the surrounding walls and the steps themselves.
It’s the Little Things: Creating Big Moments in Your Home Through the Stylish Small Stuff by Susanna Salk is out now (£30, Rizzoli)
