RSVPstyle

Shopping with Focus

By Cathy Lee, RSVPstyle

Does this sound familiar? You’re in a store, looking for a gift or browsing on your lunch hour, when you stumble across the most gorgeous lamp, painting, rug—you name it. Nothing could be more perfect for your home! Except once it arrives, you realize that it’s too big. Or too formal. Or too red.

I’m all for retail therapy, but the fact is inspired purchases often end up right back at the sales counter as returns. How do we avoid the disappointment and waste of time? The answer is to shop with focus. Whether you’re furnishing and decorating from scratch or simply updating your space, here are some guidelines that will help you achieve the space you want with fewer missteps.

Style Tip #1. Choose your styles and colors. Is your dominant decorating style Contemporary? Island? Rustic Asian? And what colors do you want to play up—earth tones with splashes of gold? A neutral scheme anchored by black accents? Determine your choices first, then stick to items within these choices when you’re out shopping.

Style Tip #2. Contrast textures. Does your room have too much wood? Marble? Fabric? Your mix of texture can spell the difference between boring and dramatic, chaos and sophistication. Juxtaposing the same texture makes things indistinct, so find a wool or sisal rug to lay between wood floor and wooden furniture, and try glass or metal bowls on your wooden coffee table, or stone figurines for your glass shelves. And here and there, repeat some of these textures to tie the room together.

Style Tip #3. Lay out a furniture plan. Nothing stops irrational furniture purchases better than having a plan.

Style Tip #4. Measure! There’s a world of beautiful furniture, ceiling fans, mirrors, rugs and art out there. Knowing your sofa is seven feet long will tell you that painting for the wall above should be smaller. An 8-inch shelf will have a hard time holding a 10-inch bowl.

Style Tip #5. Vary heights. Does your room look incomplete, or overly imposing? Too many short or too many tall pieces create these effects. When you shop for furniture, lamps and accessories, keep in mind the goal of varying heights across a room—it will look more composed.

Style Tip #6. Consider the function of the space. You’ll need hard-wearing, resistant surfaces, fabrics and accessories for kid-friendly rooms. Save the antiques for grown-up spaces where you can go more elegant and expensive.

Style Tip #7. Have enough pattern? Patterns are the accents of the texture world. Too often they are overlooked in decorating—rooms have too many clashing patterns, or none at all. One or two bold patterns should dominate, and if you want more, bring in a medium-size or small pattern. My favorite showcases for pattern: cushions and area rugs.

Style Tip #8. Threesomes work. If you have room for a grouping of accessories, look for items that would work in a trio. They don’t all have to be the same thing—in fact, they should be of varying heights and sizes—but they do have to share at least one unifying element, like color or shape.

You can find more tips on Style Tips page.