Genevieve Gorder's Tips for Blending Styles
Everybody's favorite Trading Spaces designer on making two styles work as one.
First, Gen's Ground Rule for women: "You can't just decorate a house yourself and expect your husband to be happy. Even if he says he doesn't have an opinion, he does. So be flexible and let him have an equal say. After all, design isn’t a girl thing; it's an everybody thing." Now here are Gen's best transformation tips.
The Nest: When one half of a couple loves clean, modern design but the other half feels that look is cold and uncomfortable, how can they compromise?
GG: First of all, modern doesn't have to be a stark, white room with a chrome chair; modern can be warm as well. But regardless of what styles you like, designing a home together is about compromise and finding common ground. To find out where your tastes overlap, grab a stack of magazines and each tear out pictures of rooms that appeal to you and make you smile. Spread these out to create a "mood board." Look at what you chose and see which elements attract the two of you. You might realize that you both hate orange, but love green. And don't feel that you have to stick to one style. Good design is about combining styles in a way that works for you. And if there are things each of you owns that the other really hates, you could make a deal: I'll toss my Holly Hobby collection if you get rid of your ratty old recliner. Finally, if there is space, you can each carve out a room or area that's all your own and put whatever you want in it.
The Nest: One person's collection is another person's clutter. Other than just putting things all together on a shelf, what do you suggest for organizing a collection?
GG: Collections are often viewed as clutter because they aren't displayed correctly. If something is displayed well, even someone who doesn't care for the collection can appreciate it. But don't put out the whole collection if it's close to 500 items. Choose the 10 best pieces to display. Then position the objects in a way that makes them look special. You could buy glass domes -- the kind stores used years ago to cover food with -- and put those over your collection. Whether you put a squash or a toy car under glass, it makes people think, 'Oh, I can't touch it. It must be precious.'. Another option: Install trim, such as a wooden ledge or beveled-edge chair rail, around the wall just above eye level, and arrange the collection on that. You could also place it on translucent shelves that are lit from behind or underneath -- that looks really cool. A lot of people collect bottles, and this is a great way to display them.
The Nest: What's the best way to display great photos from the wedding and honeymoon?
GG: The big wedding photo above the fireplace is just too much. Instead, find the three best pictures from your wedding photo collection and use them around the house. Or make a wall into a gallery by using 20 framed photos instead of just one. Don't limit your photos to just your wedding -- your life together is more than just that one day. Build up from each of your childhoods to the present day. It can be tough if one of you moves into a home the other already lives in, but displaying both your photos is an easy way to make the newcomer feel at home.
The Nest: Couples starting from scratch tend to have a lot of registry things like dishes, vases, and candlesticks, but little in the way of furniture. What is the first big furniture purchase a couple should make if they are starting from scratch?
GG: The first room you should address is the one you share: the bedroom. You want to create one that is a retreat. Start by buying a bed that no one has slept in but the two of you -- you want to get rid of all the old memories and ghosts. Another word of advice: When choosing colors for your bedroom, don't do red, which represents anger, or blue, which represents sadness. Instead, do green or a creamy yellow. Also, storage is a major issue because most people don't have enough closet space. If you already have a new bed or can afford another piece, invest in a beautiful armoire that you can keep for many years and use in different ways in future homes.
The Nest: What about couples who are renting and can't paint their apartment walls. Any ideas for decorating walls that won't make them lose their deposit?
GG: I've been a renter my whole life and the truth is, you can paint the walls and then paint them back to white before you leave. It's not that much work and it's totally worth it. But if you don't want to do that, bring in color through accessories such as pillows or throws, or even through a couch. Think of room accessories like you do that great handbag that makes an outfit interesting. Another idea -- which I often tell people who live in dorms and really can't paint -- is to create a border of cork and then tack fabric to it. To do that, just line the seam between the ceiling and the top of the wall and the baseboard and the floor with 6x6 pieces of cork. Use a plastic adhesive (available at office supply stores) to hang the cork so that when you take it down there won't be any nail holes.
The Nest: Some people are nervous about putting holes in the walls, especially in a brand-new home. Short of living with bare walls, what are some alternatives?
GG: here is this thing called Spackle that people have used for years and years...even toothpaste will work to cover the holes in a pinch! Seriously, though, putting a nail in the wall isn't going to devalue your house, but it will make you happier while you live there. So just let it go! Knowing how high to hang things can help if you're nervous. You want them situated at eye level for you and your partner. To find that place, stretch your arm straight up the wall as high as you can. Now bring it down 3 inches -- and that's the spot for your first picture. Arrange everything else around that. But if you really can’t handle nails, look into adhesive hooks. You can also paint murals or stripes on the walls to give them a less bare look.
The Nest: Lots of couples start off with a combination of hand-me-down and disposable furniture. How can all of these pieces work together?
GG: Reupholstering is a good way to go. It gives objects new life and can make a collection out of random pieces. Plus, it will cost you a few hundred dollars instead of the thousands you’d spend to buy new stuff. If you have two couches that are horrible together -- for example, if one is overstuffed and the other is all sagged out and flat -- build up the saggy one with batting and then cover them both with slipcovers. You can also sand and repaint woods and veneers so pieces like coffee tables and entertainment centers complement each other. Look for pillows and throws in patterns that pull your pieces together. Finally, drift off from the pieces you have and buy some things to go with them. eBay is fantastic for that!